Hundreds of athletes from around the province will be descending on Moose Jaw this weekend for the 2017 Special Olympics Saskatchewan Summer Games.

The Games kick-off on Friday night with the Opening Ceremonies at Mosaic Place and then jump into high gear throughout the day on Saturday with action in all eight sports – Bocce Ball, Track and Field Athletics, Swimming, 5 and 10-Pin Bowling, Softball, Soccer and Golf.

This is the first time that the Games have been hosted here in Moose Jaw and a number of local athletes will be looking to use the home turf to collect some hardware.

Carl Paulhus will be competing in the Bocce Ball event and is one of those locals that’s hoping to find success this weekend.

“I’m going to have fun and I hope I do good too,” said Paulhus when he joined Rob Carnie on 800 CHAB’s Heartland at Noon on Thursday.

This won’t be Paulhus’ first trip to the provincial championship, but this one is more special than the previous ones due to it being in his hometown. Paulhus said he expects there to be some stiff competition at the Games.

“There will be lots of people from Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current, all over the province,” he said. “I know lots of them and I’d say they’re pretty good.”

The Bocce Ball event will be happening at YaraCentre and gets underway with divisioning on Friday from 1-4 p.m. There’s more action on Saturday from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. followed by the finals on Sunday at 9 a.m.

The events will be held at venues all over the city with the track and field going at Gutheridge Field on South Hill; the swimming is happening at the Kinsmen Sportsplex; the 5-Pin Bowling will be hosted the South Hill Bowling Centre, while the 10-Pin will be happening in Regina; softball goes at Memorial Field; soccer at Sunningdale Fields; and the golf will takeover the Hillcrest Golf Club.

“If there’s people that are interested in coming out to watch, do it,” said Paulhus.

Click here for the full list of events throughout the weekend.