GFOG – CANUSA

Greater Flint Olympian Games

As the Vehicle City continued to flourish in the 1950’s and 1960’s, communities within Flint and Genesee County continued to grow, and so did the number of student athletes participating in sports. This in return created a larger demand for organized sports programming in the summer, where programming wasn’t currently being offered.

In an effort to help bring organized sports programming to student athletes within Flint and Genesee County during the summer, the Greater Flint Olympian Games were born in 1957. Teams from all over Genesee County and Flint competed against each other in numerous different sports to help create more competition through leagues.

In July of 1957, the first Greater Flint Olympian Games was launched.

The Greater Flint Olympian games were a great success for the community. So much so that Flint officials of the Games wanted a city that was similar in size and population to compete against each other on a yearly basis to further create more athletic competition. Hamilton, Ontario of Canada was eventually selected, and the CANUSA Games were officially formed in August of 1958.

The CANUSA Games are the last International Junior Olympic competition in North America.

CANUSA Games

Flint, Michigan (USA) vs. Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)

The CANUSA Games are the last International Junior Olympic competition in North America. This 3-day sporting competition consists of many different sports and competitions between Flint and Hamilton.

Throughout the history of the CANUSA Games, there has been more than 26 different sports for athletes to participate and compete in: Basketball, Baseball, Swimming, Tennis, Archery, Skeet, Hockey, Track, Soccer, Bowling, Darts, Pickleball, Volleyball and Weightlifting are just some of the sports that have been offered throughout the history of the Games. The Greater Flint Olympian and CANUSA Games have also produced numerous professional and semi-professional athletes in the process.

Since 1957, more than 700,000 athletes from ages 5 - 85 have participated in the Greater Flint Olympian and CANUSA Games, and have created numerous professional and semi-professional athletes over the past 63 years.

Every year the host city alternates and the student athletes are billeted with host families that have kids competing in the Games. This is where the motto and spirit of the games “Experience the Friendship” turns into fruition. After daily competition, athletes get a chance to just be kids and learn the different customs and cultures from each other, showing them what their host City has to offer and help create memories for them to last a lifetime.

PAST RESULTS

2022 CANUSA Games

2021 CANUSA Games

2019 CANUSA Games

  • Congratulations to all of our Flint athletes on winning the 2019 CANUSA Games!​

Follow along on our social media for the latest news about the upcoming games!

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