As a kid growing up in Chatham, Morgan McNaughton spent most of his summers playing competitive soccer. Looking back now, he realizes the chance to play his favourite sport in an organized league was something of a luxury.

“I knew people who weren’t able to play sports like hockey just because registration and equipment was so expensive,” said the fourth-year kinesiology student. “It’s unfortunate that some people can’t play because everyone wants us to be physically active. It’s a shame to miss out on those opportunities because your family can’t afford it.”

As president of the university’s Human Kinetics Society, McNaughton has the chance to do something about that. He’s playing an integral role in organizing the society’s seventh annual Tri4Life event, all the proceeds of which will go to a local charity dedicated to making sure that no kids are left out of organized sports because their families can’t afford to register them.

The event, which begins at the St. Denis Centre on April 1 at 8 am, will see participants swim, bike and run for 15 minutes in each activity. Participants pay a $35 registration fee and collect pledges on top of that. All of the proceeds will go to ASSIST – Putting Kids in Sports, an organization that helps financially vulnerable families by providing bursaries to offset the costs of registering their children in local sports leagues. Since it began in 2008, they’ve helped more than 100 children play sports.

“We were thrilled when we heard the kinesiology students were going to help us out,” said ASSIST board president Mike Dugal. “Our association is all about promoting physical activity for everyone, so having participants in an indoor triathlon supporting us seems like such an obvious fit. We’re extremely grateful for the help, which will allow us to help a lot more families.”

McNaughton said the event typically draws about 60-80 participants. He said some people enter as teams and are more competitive, but stressed that the event is open to anyone who just wants to participate and help support a great cause. And as an added incentive, McNaughton said there will be registered massage therapists on hand to rub down those aching muscles after participants are finished.

“A lot of people come out just because it’s a really fun environment,” McNaughton said.

For more information or to register, visit the event’s Web site.