Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to rise in the House to update members on the progress being made for the upcoming IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics being hosted in Moncton next July, or as it is being called by the people already working full-time on the event, Moncton 2010.
This is a world championship competition of athletics, which in North America has yet to gain the popularity it enjoys in other parts of the world, but I guarantee that will change after Moncton 2010.
There will be more than 2,500 athletes and coaches from 170 countries. More than 2,500 volunteers will be involved in these championships, thus making it one of the biggest sporting events to have ever taken place in Canada.
As part of the event, the City of Moncton continues to work on a 10,000-seat stadium and just announced last week the development of additional facilities that will be a lasting legacy of the championships.
I want to congratulate the organizing committee chair, Larry Nelson, and encourage all Canadians to come to Moncton 2010.