Just when people in the Bow Valley are tired of hearing about the cost of everything going up, about how difficult it is to find employees and the ever-onerous task of finding housing – comes good news from Alberta Winter Games organizers.
At the time of the Feb. 6-9 2014 Games, the Outlook commented on the many positive aspects of the event – the fact Banff and Canmore organizers, municipalities and volunteers worked together toward the hosting of upwards of 2,000 athletes, coaches and support staff.
The Winter Games not only showcased many of the venues the Bow Valley can boast of, it showcased the communities themselves, the Rockies, and the mountain towns we call home.
A quality Games experience, we surmised, was very likely to result in many of those same athletes, coaches and support people – not to mention all the friends and family who accompanied the young athletes – to include future visits to our valley.
What we hadn’t surmised, but has now come to light, is a financial legacy the Games have created.
On Wednesday (Sept. 3), the board of directors for the Winter Games announced a $127,000 legacy that will input funds to be distributed in the Bow Valley through the Banff Community Foundation and Canmore Rotary Club.
That’s right. Funds coming into the community, rather than going out.
You’ve gotta love that.
It’s just more success that’s building on the success of the Games themselves. At any venue Outlook staff attended during the Winter Games, smiling faces were everywhere as young athletes, many competing away from home for the first time, embraced our communities.
A large portion of the legacy funds will go toward amateur sport, of which the Bow Valley boasts many organizations.
Better yet, Games officials say further legacy monies will be announced in 2015 once all and sundry in regard to the event has been wrapped up.
We’ll say it again – the 2014 Alberta Winter Games was a special event and one that everyone in the valley can be proud of.
While many of the recent special events that have been promoted and accepted and run their course have come and gone, with varying degrees of success and/or negative impact on our communities, the Winter Games remains a shining light of municipal cooperation.
And the $127,000 is on top of what may be viewed as other Games legacies, including a boost in green power at Banff Community High School through Bull Frog Energy, increased recycling and sports upgrades.
In looking back at the Games, and viewing this current financial offering, the Outlook would like to congratulate those who originally conceived the hosting of the Games locally, the 2,000 volunteers who made the event happen and all businesses who stepped up with sponsorship.
While the financial legacy is now firmly in place, it remains to be seen, and will be difficult to measure, just how far into the future these successful Games will reach.
But, if you had seen the smiling faces of competitors as Outlook staff did, along with the friends and families cheering their sons and daughters in their endeavours, it’s hard to imagine many of them won’t return for another visit.
