Seniors rock region in winter games

THE KING HAS ARRIVED:. Former world champion Elvis impersonator Stephen Kabakos performs during the closing ceremonies of the 2013 Ontario 55+ Winter Games last Thursday at Deerhurst Resort. Brent Cooper

HUNTSVILLE - With any large sporting event, numbers play a big part in the eventual outcome.
Whether it is the winning time or the final score, statistics always factor into the ultimate decision.
When it comes to final figures involving Ontario 55+ Winter Games, there are two that stand out above all else … 951 and $710,000.
The first digits represent the record number of competitors for this year’s games while the latter symbolizes the estimated economic impact in dollars the region received over the three days.
The 2013 games were the most successful senior winter championships to date, according to event organizers. Not only did they attract a record number of competitors, the event brought in another 102 in officials and partners that resulted in more than 1,053 people overall attending.
If the attendance figures are correct, Huntsville undoubtedly received a substantial financial shot-in-the-arm for the three-day event.
According to a 2007 report that was created by the Town of Huntsville’s event tourism subcommittee entitled Marketing Huntsville and Lake of Bays, information from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism estimates that the average sport event visitor and athlete spends between $150 to $300 per day in the community.
If the average competitor for the senior games were to spend the median of the two figures, $225, during the course of the championships, the event could have generated an economic drop in excess of $710,500 over the course of the three days.
Steve Carr, who was the accommodation chair, said that the preliminary feedback that he has received just days after the conclusion of the games appears to be positive. He said that most of the town’s hotels and motels were reportedly booked full, or at near capacity, by competitors and officials for the three days.
He added that those in the restaurant business he has communicated with told him they were full of activity during the championships.
“That’s my understanding about the restaurants,” he said. “It was a very busy time.”
Jonathan Wiebe, the chair of the 2013 senior winter games, expressed gratitude to everyone who made the games a great success, adding the championships met his expectations.
“You know, it’s been an incredible experience,” he said, looking tired and excited at the same time as he gathered a plate of food together at the closing ceremonial banquet. “We worked long and hard for this, and we finally see it over. I think we’re all a little sad, with mixed emotions now that it’s over, but it’s been great.”
Wiebe said that the early feedback he has received from the competitors has been positive, but he pointed to another fact that he said indicates that the championships were a success.
“The numbers kind of speak to it. We broke a record for attendance … we almost broke 1,100, and I don’t think any other game has reached 1,000, so we beat the old record handily. That speaks to the excitement people had about coming to Huntsville, and the feeling I got from the people I’ve spoken to is that they really, really love it here. We said we would deliver and we did. We couldn’t have done better I don’t think.”
Some of the competitors, like Randy Frederick of London, also felt the same as Wiebe. The badminton player, who took gold in mixed doubles, said he enjoyed his stay here and was looking to perhaps coming back another time, as either a competitor in future games or as a visitor.
“I understand that with a huge event and this many people, a lot of logistics were involved, moving a lot of people around from one venue to another, and it was tough. Putting all that aside, we had a great time here, met a lot of wonderful people, everyone was good in trying to accommodate our visit.”
Fredrick said that he had already been to Huntsville years ago, saying that he had come to the region more than 30 years ago to stay at a friend’s cottage during his high school days. He said that he plans on coming back to this area soon.
“It’s a gorgeous area. I hope that when I come back here again next time we’ll have a little more time on my hands to enjoy myself more.”
Margaret Wallis, who took bronze in the women’s 65 doubles play, came from the Etobicoke region to compete in her fourth winter championships. She found the experience to be a lot of fun, adding that the people at the games were very sociable.
“People might be a little competitive, but they’re also very friendly,” she said. “ I’ve enjoyed them (championships) all and it’s very well organized. It’s a pity we didn’t stay at the resort like we were supposed to. The courts we played at were great, the organization was great. It all went very smoothly.”
When asked if she would come back to Huntsville if the games were ever held here again, Wallis said that she would, “if I can qualify.”
Douglas Steen of Wallaceberg was part of a mixed curling team that competed at the Gravenhurst Curling Club during the two days of competition. He said he really enjoyed his experience during the championships, saying that he and his fellow curlers were treated very well.
Everyone was very friendly, he said, it’s been well organized … this was my first championships, and it’s been a lot of fun. It has been better than what I expected, with the camaraderie of the people and the curlers. I really enjoyed that. It was an all-around good time.”
Steen said that he would undoubtedly come back to Huntsville if the town were to ever host the games again.
“I’ve been here before but never in the winter, he said. We used to come here in the summer a lot, but now that we’ve been here, we’d like to come back again, as a visitor.”
The featured performer for the closing ceremonies for the 2013 winter competition was 2001 world champion Elvis impersonator Stephen Kabakos.
Only minutes before the entertainer took the stage at Deerhurst Resort on Thursday, event organizers officially announced the closing of the three-day long games. It was also announced at the same time that the 2015 games would be held in neighbouring Haliburton County.
Now that the dust has settled, Wiebe said the organizing committee will meet soon to discuss all the information gathered during the championships and the talk about the impact of the event.
“We will basically do an internal audit, to figure out what we did right, what we did wrong, to give to the next hosts in Halliburton in terms of information of what we learned. Also, we hope to host this event again sometime, and will be that much better prepared,” he said.

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