Waskatenau ( ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordered ...

, Canada. It is surrounded by

Smoky Lake County Smoky Lake County is a municipal district in north-eastern Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division No. 12, its municipal office is located in the Town of Smoky Lake. Geography Communities and localities The following urban munici ...

, approximately northeast of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. Waskatenau is a

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

word meaning "opening in the bank" in reference to the clef in the nearby ridge through which the Waskatenau Creek flows. It is pronounced WAS-ET-NA, with a silent "k."

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, the Village of Waskatenau had a population of 247 living in 118 of its 138 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 186. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Waskatenau recorded a population of 186 living in 99 of its 129 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 255. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Home Run For Life softball marathons

Waskatenau is known for its repeated efforts to set a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for the longest continuous game of

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

. The town held three such softball marathons, known as the "Home Run For Life", as fundraisers for the

Cross Cancer Institute Cross Cancer Institute is the comprehensive cancer centre for northern Alberta. The institute, named for Wallace Warren Cross, is located in Edmonton near the southwest corner of the University of Alberta, and is one of two tertiary cancer cent ...

and

Stollery Children's Hospital The Stollery Children's Hospital is a 218 bed children's hospital that opened in October 2001. It is a "hospital within a hospital," being situated within the University of Alberta Hospital and co-located with Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute ...

. In late June 2005, the first marathon went for 60 hours and 4 minutes and raised $75,000, unofficially holding the world record for less than 1 day before a team in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

broke it. Waskatenau tried again in 2007, and played for 108 hours and 3 minutes from June 27 to July 1, raising over $91,000. However, the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

disallowed the record for technical reasons. Finally, in 2009, Home Run For Life III successfully set the official, Guinness-approved record for the "longest game of softball", playing 115 hours and 3 minutes from June 30 to July 5, and raising more than $110,000.

History

The 1880s name for the area was Wah-Sat-now after the nearby cleft as mentioned above. The Wah-Sat-Now (Cree) band in residence there in the 1880s later moved to the Saddle Lake reserve. The new spelling Waskatenau was in common use by 1920. About that time a CNR line was built from Edmonton to St. Paul. Waskatenau was the station built between Radway and Warspite. The Village of Waskatenau was incorporated on May 19, 1932.Harrison, Place Names of Alberta, volume 3

References

External links

* {{Subdivisions of Alberta, villages=yes 1932 establishments in Alberta Villages in Alberta

Demographics

Home Run For Life softball marathons

History

See also

References

External links