living feature
Members of the
Lethbridge Sports
and Social Club enjoy
a hike at Waterton Lakes
National Park.
A SPORTING
JEREMY FRANCHUK
P H OT O G R A P H Y: C O U RT E S Y O F
LETHBRIDGE SPORTS AND SOCIAL CLUB
SOCIAL SCENE
The Lethbridge Sports
and Social Club is
a new organization
in town that aims to
bring adults of all ages
and abilities together
through social and
physical activities, while
helping participants
establish a new network
of friendships.
S T O P M E I F Y O U ’ V E H E A R D T H I S O N E B E F O R E : you finished
school, got a job, and started a family. Then you changed jobs, maybe changed
cities. Your schedule is packed and so is your Facebook feed. Life is good, but
something is missing until one day, you realize what it is: you don’t have any
friends.
It may sound harsh, but a lack of friends is the reality for more and more
adults, one with profound implications for one’s physical and mental health.
For Patrick McCullagh, founder of the Lethbridge Sports and Social Club,
finding himself in a new job in a new town meant having to develop a new
social life. “I moved here from Ottawa about three years ago without knowing
much about Lethbridge or Alberta. When you move somewhere new, you have
a couple of choices: you can start working on an exit plan, or you create a life
and community opportunities for yourself, and that’s what I decided to do,”
explains Patrick.
Patrick quickly threw himself into his community, volunteering as a fitness
instructor at the YMCA and serving on its board of directors, while getting
involved with his neighbourhood association executive. But Patrick, who came
to Lethbridge to run the Lethbridge Public Library’s Bookmobile program,
wanted something more.
Early in 2017, Patrick launched the Lethbridge Sports and Social Club, which
offers up a variety of coed recreational sports leagues, including volleyball
and basketball, as well as activities and social events designed to help people
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