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Sports Hall of Fame traveling trailer has uplifting message

The traveling display of Saskatchewan athletic accomplishments came to Moose Jaw for the first time, featuring athletics inductee Ted Jaleta

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame traveling trailer of memorabilia parked itself at Sunningdale Elementary this Thursday, opening its doors for the kids to witness some great moments in Saskatchewan sports history. 

The trailer has been making its way across the province and back since 2016, each time with a new message and a new inductee to talk to students. 

This year, the message is “Never Give Up;” a message that athletics inductee Ted Jaleta has held onto his whole life. 

An accomplished long-distance runner, Ted was caught in a time of civil war in his home of Ethiopia in the late ‘70s. After taking a bullet to the leg, and being captured and tortured following a rally, Jaleta escaped and immigrated to Canada in 1982. 

He continued his running career in 1986, collected an impressive number of titles, and remains very involved in the south Saskatchewan running scene to this day — his whole life story emulates the message, “never give up.”

Traveling with the SSHF trailer has offered Jaleta the opportunity to share his advice with students across Saskatchewan. 

“What we hope they take is that life has never been easy, and you have to work, have discipline, commitment. All of those things don't just show up, you have to work for them,” said Jaleta, of the presentation’s message. 

“They can have anything they want; if they make up their mind, they can achieve it,” he added.

jaleta_studentsTed Jaleta (R) with a pair of students following his presentation.
He hopes that the students take his message and pursue the things they want in life, even if it becomes difficult. Jaleta hopes to inspire them with his story, as well as the stories of other famous athletes featured on the trailer’s walls. 

A previous school the traveling presentation stopped at actually had some students who immigrated from the same area of Ethiopia as Jaleta — a touching experience for Jaleta, as they were so excited to talk to him.

One thing he really emphasized was the possibilities available, and how important it is to take advantage of them: whether it be sports or education, Jaleta encourages kids to be active and participate in everything they can.

The trailer tries to stop wherever possible, with sponsorship from various sources. This is the first time it has come to Moose Jaw and chose Sunningdale School because of who the principal is — Steven Michaluk, the only SSHF inductee for lacrosse.

It was hard to decide what to include in the trailer, according to education coordinator Vickie Krauss, but she feels they cover all the highlights: hockey jerseys, Olympic medals, even old Roughrider jerseys from before the iconic green and white colors.

“We kind of started with some of the more prominent names, some of the greatest achievements out of all of them. It was really, really hard to whittle it down,” said Krauss, pulling out a drawer containing an original hockey jersey from the 1914 Regina Victoria team. 

She went on to point out a 1924 Olympic Gold medal won by William Beattie Ramsay, as a player on the Toronto Granites hockey team, which represented Canada in that year’s games. Also on display was a torch from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and a plaque commemorating famous curler Sandra Schmirler.

The collection is really meant to be inspiring, for kids to see the great accomplishments of people who come from places just like their hometowns.

“It just gives them inspiration from the people around them, and encourages them to keep participating in sport, and be active,” said Krauss.

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