The Weyburn Rider Nation is one of the five finalists in the Where is Riderville? contest. It is a complete and utter euphoria, exclaimed Nicole Wendt, one of the chairs with the Rider Nation committee.We are just really excited that all of the communitys hard work paid off and that we have made it into the top five, added Rochelle Wendt. Now we are looking ahead to what is next.In celebration of their 100th anniversary, the Saskatchewan Roughriders had encouraged communities across the province to show their Rider pride and qualify for a chance to be declared Riderville.Weyburn and the other four finalists Avonlea, Nipawin, Unity and Yorkton were recognized at the July 17 Rider home game against the Edmonton Eskimos. There were a total of 38 communities who participated in the competition.Everyone who were in the competition had put a lot of effort into their submissions, so now it will be interesting to see what else these five finalists can do to prove they have the best fans, said Rochelle Wendt. The premise of the Weyburn Rider Nation has always been that the best Roughrider fans live and work in Weyburn. We have really seen the fan support, and how much fun it is to be a Rider fan in this community.For these communities, the next step in the Where is Riderville competition will be centennial visits. The selection committee will be in Weyburn on Thursday, August 5.Each community will be celebrated during the centennial visit. It will be an opportunity to show our Rider pride to the rest of the province, as well to show off our community, said Rochelle. National, provincial and local media will attend the celebration of the Rider pride in Weyburn, and video footage will be available online for viewing during fan voting.We want a big showing to the entire province to why Weyburn should be voted as Riderville, added Nicole.Then on Aug. 13, fan voting will open at www.riderville.com and that will continue until Aug. 31. It becomes especially important to showcase Weyburn Rider Pride now, to reach the voters who have the power of voting. We really need to promote ourselves to other communities. We encourage people to take the ball and roll with it now, explained Rochelle. Just go with it, show your love of the Riders.We are really excited to see what people in Weyburn will do in the next month, now that we have been named as one of the top five finalists, added Nicole.The community that best demonstrates that they are Riderville will be announced at the Labour Day Classic on Sept. 5.In addition to the official designation of Riderville, the winning community will receive $25,000 for minor sports and a full-day football and cheerleading camp from the Riders. The remaining four finalists will receive $2,500 to benefit minor sports in their communities.It is important for everyone to stay excited and motivated and remember why we are doing this, said Rochelle, referring to the funds that minor sports organizations could receive.
