Through family, friends and the community, Mike Starko’s passion for sports and making a difference to others will live on.
It was back in April when the lifetime Tsawwassen resident was tragically killed in a cycling accident doing his regular weekly ride on his hometown roads. The 57-year-old father of three was not only an avid triathlete but gave up his time to be involved in a number of local organizations over the years.
Now an event has been launched that will raise money for his favourite charity – Right to Play, a non-profit organization which educates and empowers children around the world to overcome adversity through the power of play.
The Mike Starko Challenge was created when a couple of his former South Delta Secondary classmates approached his family about doing something in his memory.
Starting on Sept. 15, participants will begin a month-long challenge of recording kilometres of any activity that creates trackable distances such as running, walking, swimming, paddling and cycling. The campaign can be registered at the Mike Starko Challenge website where pledges and individual donations can also be made.
“It’s really simple where people can kind of do whatever they want, like walking 500 metres a day. It’s supposed to get everyone involved,” explained Mike’s daughter Emma.
“I think it really encompasses who my dad was as a person, with a couple of different aspects between his physical activity and competitiveness. Through the month long challenge, that's going to highlight that side of him.”
The campaign will conclude with an evening to reflect Mike’s good nature and sense of humour.
The Mike Starko Whacky Shirt Gala will take place on Oct. 15 at the Beach Grove Golf Club. It is rapidly heading towards a sellout with 80 percent of tickets sold in just over a week. They can still be reserved on the website and include dinner and a drink. There will be entertainment, a silent auction and individual campaign awards with all proceeds going to Right to Play.
“Some of the awards are a lot to do with kind of being creative and silly,” Emma added. “My dad was really known for being quite light-hearted and a bit of a prankster. So we're really going to try and throw that in the mix. The biggest thing too is bringing everyone together. I think that would just mean the world to him.”
The plan is to make the Mike Starko Challenge an annual event to at least reach the point of the overall pledges matching the total number of kilometres he has trained in his life, estimated to be over 350,000 kms.
