The Alberta Winter Games are less than one month away, and numerous recreation organizations are gearing up for the more than 2,400 coaches and athletes who will be using their facilities.
Nitehawk, Eastlink Centre, Design Works Centre, Bonnetts Energy Centre, the Grande Prairie Curling Club, Northwestern Polytechnic, and the Crosslink County Sportsplex are among the most prominent facilities that will be utilized during the games, and Lisa Kerkhof, Games Manager for AWG, says many of the city’s recreation options will be closed to the public during the games.
“Every recreation centre in the city is for sure being used,” she says. “There will be limited hours for Eastlink Centre for sure, everything else won’t have availability.”
The games fall on a long weekend, which Kerkhof says would lead to closures for many facilities regardless of the games.
“The Saturday and Sunday will be limited hours at Eastlink and then everything else will be closed to the public for the most part.”
Despite the closures, Kerkhof says she is encouraging residents to still get out in the city during the games to watch the 17-sport event. She says the games present a great opportunity for residents to get out and watch young athletes excel in their respective disciplines.
“It’s a great opportunity for the community to see not only some great athletes but some really fun sporting adventures,” she says. “You can head to Eastlink Centre on Saturday and take in things like speed skating, ringette, judo, gymnastics, fencing, there’s a whole bunch happening at that campus.”
Kerkhof adds that the volunteer process is going “very well” and the games have seen great support from the community. Interested individuals can still sign up online until February 7th.
