Hundreds of athletes spent the week running, jumping, and throwing at the Maple Ridge Secondary track as part of the athletics events at the BC Summer Games.

In addition to the many athletes, there were also countless volunteers helping everything run as smoothly as possible.

One of these volunteers was Gary Stewart, who was no stranger to the Summer Games, having run-ins with the provincial tournaments multiple times in the past. 

Not only did both of his kids compete in softball at the BC Summer Games as teenagers, but Stewart himself also coached the Vancouver-Coastal softball team at the 2012 Summer Games in Surrey.

"It was just an amazing experience," said Stewart. "You go to all of these tournaments for softball, but the Summer Games is just really something special."

And when Stewart saw that the Summer Games were coming to Maple Ridge, where he resides, he jumped at the chance to volunteer.

"This is our opportunity to give back a little something to the community," said Stewart.

As the sports liaison, Stewart was running around the field on Saturday and Sunday doing a bunch of little tasks for the sports chairs, including ensuring the safety of both the athletes and the attendees, which he said he really enjoyed.

Stewart was one of more than 1,200 volunteers who helped put the Summer Games on this year.