THUNDER BAY – Some of the best young skiers in the province will take to local slopes next year.
Alpine Ontario officials earlier this week announced that Thunder Bay has been selected to host the 2019 U14 Provincial Championships next March.
Scott Barrett, the executive director of Alpine Ontario, said the city has proven its hosting capabilities with last year’s U16 national championships.
“Something we as an organization have really focused on over the last couple of years is trying to get major events across the whole province and not just sequestered to one area,” Barrett said.
“In years past typically a lot of events would be held in Southern Ontario in the Collingwood corridor, we call it. There are a lot of passionate ski clubs down there but also in other parts of the province and Thunder Bay is one.”
Prior to hosting the nationals, Alpine Ontario had held the provincial U16 championships in Thunder Bay in 2015.
Barrett said it’s easier for local organizers to build hosting capacities when events are held more frequently.
“The hope is by coming back every other year or even trying to get one major event in the calendar every year is that you build capacity at the race organizing committees and the clubs,” Barrett said.
“Also from a development standpoint, you get young kids seeing it. They can feel it and they can touch it. It’s their own backyard. The hope is that the growth of the sport builds and in that arena with having it in the backyard of their own ski hills.”
It’s expected that 200 skiers from across Ontario will come to Thunder Bay for the competition, which is scheduled to have events at both Loch Lomond and Mount Baldy ski areas.
Dave Bradley, vice chair of Lake Superior Division Alpine, said it means a lot for athletes to compete on their home hill. As many as a dozen skiers from local clubs could participate.
“It’s a big deal. Most of the time, because we’re in Thunder Bay, our kids have to race elsewhere. When we get the opportunity to host, that’s a special opportunity,” Bradley said.
Bradley said an analysis done with the city’s tourism department found there is a $1 million economic impact from hosting major events, with about 60 per cent of that directly spent on the local economy.
Hosting an event also draws attention from across the province on what’s happening in Thunder Bay, he added.
“It gives a sense of confidence that what you’re doing is meaningful,” Bradley said. “We’re a smaller ski community here. It’s nice to get those injections of enthusiasm and inspiration at these special events.”
