THUNDER BAY – A decade ago, Thunder Bay wasn’t even a consideration when it came to hosting major provincial and national downhill skiing events.
In 2015, that changed.
Today, the city is in high demand, thanks to the effort of local organizing committees and having a facility like Loch Lomond Ski Area ready and willing to host.
Later this month, about 180 of Ontario’s top young skiers will be back to tackle the Giant at the Under 16 Ontario Cup Finals, with about 40 spots at the national championships on the line.
“Starting in 2015, it was a really big job to get the province to buy into coming to Thunder Bay and basically bringing the whole field here,” said event chair David Bradley.
“But now it’s a whole different thing, where there is no hesitation whatsoever. In fact, people want to come here.”
The return of the Ontario Cup comes three years after the national under 16 championship was staged at the hill.
At the time, Thunder Bay skiers fared pretty well, Bradley said.
“Three of our athletes actually finished in the top 10, one of them on the podium multiple times. We’re actually capable of being very competitive in our national events. We’re a smaller population, so we might be really strong one year and not so strong in another,” Bradley said.
“But our strongest athletes are probably in the top 20 in the province, which is really respectable when you look at how strong these clubs are coming from other regions. And every now and then someone pops out and becomes a new Steve Collins.”
Collins, a ski jumper, represented Thunder Bay and Canada at the Olympic Games on three separate occasions, from 1980 to 1988.
About 90 male and 90 female athletes are expected to compete at this year’s event.
John Cameron, the city’s tourism development officer, said the economic impact of the event is huge and well worth the $20,000 investment through the municipal accommodation tax.
“It’s just shy of $300,000 in economic impact for this event for the city of Thunder Bay. If you look at hotel rooms alone, it’s over $75,000. The Prince Arthur is sold out hosting the athletes, but there’s also the spinoff at other hotels where parents are coming to town and staying at other properties,” Cameron said.
Spectators are welcome to watch the action. Admission is free.
