THUNDER BAY — Competitors in some high-profile sports will be missing when the Ontario Winter Games open in Thunder Bay in February.
There's no word yet from the City of Thunder Bay or the local organizing committee, but the groups that oversee downhill skiing and freestyle skiing in the province are two of several that have decided to skip the games.
Wheelchair curling is out as well, while informed sources say snowboarding is another impacted sport.
The high cost of transportation to Thunder Bay from other parts of the province is cited as a key reason.
"We're very sad that we're not participating, and particularly sad for the amount of effort that went in from our local skiing community and organizers up in Thunder Bay that have done a lot of the legwork through the summer and fall to get prepared for this event," said Patrick Biggs, executive director of Alpine Ontario. "It's very disappointing from our end that we're not there."
Biggs said Alpine Ontario ran into several issues around travel "that really put our organization in a place that we could not take on that financial risk to continue being a participant in the Games."
He explained that the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport has always reimbursed some travel expenses for athletes coming from outside the host community.
"In this case it wasn't adequate. My understanding is there weren't enough regular flights to take on all the athletes coming up, which required the ministry to charter flights. Those came with very large price tags, much higher than the regular-price tickets."
There was also a shortfall in the number of downhill skiers committing to come to Thunder Bay.
"The challenge we ran into is that we had to commit to the number of athletes that were going to participate in the alpine events by early December, and for every athlete that did not participate that we had on our list, the provincial sport organization would have had to pay for the flight and hotel for that athlete. So if there were 10 no-shows, we'd be on the hook for $10,000," Biggs said. "We're a not-for-profit sports organization...We really don't have a contingency budget to take on that type of risk for this type of event."
Dave Bradley, a coach at the Port Arthur Ski Club at Mount Baldy and member of the bid proposal committee that worked to bring the OWG to Thunder Bay, said the local ski community is disappointed with the outcome from an athlete development perspective.
"Our athletes don't have an opportunity to race at home. Typically, they have to travel away to race. This would have been a great opportunity to have cost-effective racing in the field, the competitive field coming to Thunder Bay for a change...We've got a huge hole in our season because it's gone."
Bradley said the ski community has had its eye on the winter games for a couple of years now with a view to providing a major stimulus for Alpine skiing in the city, and to showcase local skills, officiating, and everything that goes into sustaining a sport.
"Our race organizers and the hosts over at Loch Lomond put a lot of effort into getting ready for the games, and of course all of that is for naught now."
In terms of a bigger picture, he said, "There's the economic development side of it all, which of course is very disappointing for our partners, because we don't play in a gym or on ice where it's sort of subsidized surfaces. We're out in the free market on a ski hill. So we need to find every way we can to work with our partners to incentivize and sustain the sport."
Sports groups and Ontario Winter Games need to be 'more connected'
Bradley believes more preparation by provincial organizers might prevent a repetition of this situation at future Ontario Winter Games.
" We have challenges in our sport that were just magnified by the fact we had such a huge travel cost go get up here. Families and athletes spend a lot of money to get around to get the competitive events they need for their own development. So I think the sports and the OWG need to be more connected and understand each other more a year or two in advance, so that we make the OWG events fit into the way the sport has to work."
On this occasion, though, he thinks that if the province had "just come up with some more dough to support each athlete making the trip up here," it might have made the difference.
"I never envisioned when we were doing the proposal that we would actually see events like Alpine skiing not attract the field of skiers because of the cost...But anyway, that's what's happened."
Neither Freestyle Ontario nor Ontario Snowboard, the groups responsible for those sports, could be reached for comment for this story.
Wheelchair curler Gino Sonego said he's disappointed to lose the chance to compete against athletes from across Ontario in February.
Sonego, who plays on a team skipped by Doug Dean, is a former runner-up at the Canadian wheelchair curling championship.
"We were looking forward to the winter games being held in Thunder Bay and being able to compete on home ice, number one, and not having to travel to another city to compete. It was disappointing that it got cancelled altogether. From what we understand it's due to the cost of travel."
Sonego added "It's a little baffling to me that they would give the games to Thunder Bay and not realize that there's going to be an expense to travel here, and then to cancel some of the sports at this stage because of the travel. It just doesn't make sense to me."
In a statement to TBnewswatch, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport said the ministry has been working closely with the city and the local organizing committee to help address challenges related to travel, and that the issue stems from reduced airline capacity since the city submitted its initial bid.
It said the ministry committed $500,000 to help with travel, in addition to the original $1 million hosting grant, and that it's been working with airlines to find solutions to flight capacity issues.
The statement added that officials are in constant contact with the city and with provincial sports bodies to ensure as many athletes are able to attend as possible.
Over 2,000 athletes, coaches and officials are expected to participate, and the event is projected to have a local economic impact of about $6 million.
TBnewswatch reached out to a spokesperson for the city for comment, but was told Friday that an update will be provided to the community in early January.
The city's website continues to show Alpine skiing as a scheduled event at the February games.
