Communitech to host Canada Summer Games hackathon

Waterloo Region’s ecosystem accelerator is getting behind the Waterloo Region’s 2021 Canada Summer Games bid in a major way.

Communitech CEO Iain Klugman says if the Waterloo Region is selected to host the 2021 Canada Games, it intends to host a hackathon at its 80,000 square foot innovation hub— with the goal of leaving a legacy for future host cities.

“The Canada Summer Games is about more than athletics,” said Klugman. “It’s about collaboration and it’s about the future. We have a community of over 1,000 tech companies and we intend on showing the country what makes this region special while helping take the Games to new heights.”

The Canada Games have been around for 50 years. Communitech envisions the theme of the hackathon will celebrate its history with “Canada Games: 50 Years into The Future.” Communitech plans to invite Canada Games Leaders, the transition team of the Waterloo Region 2021 bid, government officials, students and the tech community to examine how technology could be used to enhance the Canada Games experience in the Waterloo Region at all levels and to deal with some of its biggest challenges.

“We want the Games Evaluation Committee to know that we are a globally-recognized community of creative innovators and energetic problems solvers that are behind the Games, especially if hosted in the Waterloo Region,” said Klugman. “We will use that expertise during a hackathon focused on creating tech that would improve the future Games experience.”

The Canada Summer Games Evaluation Committee will announce the host city decision on March 30th. Waterloo is competing against Sudbury, Niagara and Ottawa.