If there is one thing the local community has shown in recent years it is the willingness to get behind projects which enhance sport in Yorkton.
One only needs to look at the skateboard facility in the city’s downtown to see an example of how a community can come together.
There was an obvious need for a better skateboard facility in the city to serve a segment of the youth population which might not otherwise be enticed to participate in a sport activity.
Users became involved in a plan for a new park alongside representatives of the City.
And then Farrell Agencies stepped up to spearhead the local project being involved in the Aviva Community Fund program.
Local people jumped at the cause and voted the skateboard project through to being an Aviva finalist.
The Aviva Fund came our way, and with the City already on board a park which is as good as there is in the region was built. It is a community asset which will be there for youth in the city for years to come.
That the skateboard area became a natural anchor for a park development stretching from Broadway Street to Patrick Park was a natural spin-off of and again the community benefits.
We see the same sort of community buy-in as a new football clubhouse has been built at Century Field.
Football has traditionally been a school sport in the city, but in recent years, with the creation of a vibrant minor football program, the sport is growing, and with it the need for better facilities. The Yorkton Community Clubhouse will have broader purposes than football, but it was the growth of football which spurred the development.
Again the community has been quick to become involved in the fund-raising effort undertaken to finance the clubhouse. It is obvious from the involvement people see the benefits of providing sport facilities in the community.
And, there will be more calls for such support into the future.
The sport of cricket has gained a foothold in Yorkton in large part because of recent immigration. The Yorkers team has existed for a couple of years now, playing in a league even though they do not have a local ‘pitch’ to host games.
There is a need for a pitch, and the local club is working on a plan to create one. When the time is right there will need to be some funding, and the community will again be called upon for help.
The same scenario is taking place at the Farrell Agencies Arena where hockey dressing rooms are small, antiquated and inadequate for teams including the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Terriers.
While the arena is City-owned, a dressing room upgrade is going to take outside funding support to happen.
The good news in all the examples noted, when the community does step forward with dollars, it is in essence legacy funding. The facilities are ones which will be used for years to come keeping youth and adult’s alike active through sport. Helping provide such facilities becomes a case of providing for the community not just today, but for years ahead.
