City officials continue to gush over the hosting of the Saskatchewan Winter Games in the community last week.
“I think that people living in and around the Battlefords ought to be incredibly proud with the way our community was represented over the last week,” said Mayor Ryan Bater in his remarks at a meeting of city council Monday.
“The Saskatchewan Winter Games by almost all accounts was a resounding success.”
Bater noted “at least 1,200 thanks” were owed to volunteers, but added the event was “a real testament of the strength of our community in that so many people came together to deliver a strong experience, a memorable experience, for the athletes, and that’s really what this event is about.”
For a lot of people, Bater said, this was their first experience in the Battlefords and they left with a “very good impression of what we have to offer our residents and visitors.”
The facilities were a big part of that but also the hospitality they received was second to none, Bater said.
“This event came at the perfect time. It was a great event to unify the community when we needed it the most.”
Other city officials at Monday’s meeting also voiced enthusiasm about the way the games unfolded.
Director of Leisure Services Bill Samborski noted the extensive planning that went into the winter games on the city side with weekly meetings.
“The success depended on everybody who was involved at an intricate level fulfilling their commitments, on time and on par with what it needed to be,” said Samborski.
“Everybody met their timelines. There was really no surprises looking back. It was well planned, well executed, and from what I heard no real surprises throughout the week.”
Councillor Kevin Steinborn noted the strong teamwork shown throughout the week among all city staff.
“That’s what really impressed me the whole week was the teamwork that went in,” said Steinborn. “From the volunteers to the city staff to everybody, it was fantastic.”
Community safety co-ordinator Herb Sutton congratulated the city for the effort, and noted the positive spinoff on the safety side.
“I can’t help but think that when we continue to talk about the need to build a sense of pride and a sense of community when it relates to community safety, that events like that take us closer to that goal overall,” said Sutton.
Sutton also noted the feedback he had gotten from people who had come in from out of town was that they had noticed the “pride and enthusiasm” of the local volunteers.
RCMP Inspector John Sutherland noted they had a number of RCMP members in uniform during the opening and closing ceremonies, many of them with connections to the Battlefords.
As well, he noted the Saskatoon City Police combined traffic services unit were in the city during games week, providing additional support to the RCMP. Their cars were visible on the city streets during the games.
“That was great, and that’s what it’s about in this province, to work together to get things done,” said Sutherland.
On Monday, the Saskatchewan Games Council sent out their own news release highlighting the achievements from the Winter Games.
They noted North Battleford hosted 1,800 athletes, coaches, managers, officials and mission staff from over 300 communities. A total of 1,356 athletes competed in 17 different winter sports, with youth ages 11 to 17 making up the majority of participants.
Over 1,200 volunteers from the Battlefords and surrounding area volunteered their time to the games effort, both during the games and over the two years of planning through the host organizing committee.
“We owe an enormous thank you to all of our volunteers,” said games co-chair David Schell in a statement.
“We couldn’t have done any of this without them – they stepped up in a huge way to showcase our community to the entire province.”
In a news release the Saskatchewan Games Council noted that the 2018 Saskatchewan Winter Games leaves behind a half-million dollar legacy of upgraded sporting venues and equipment in the Battlefords, as well as a trained and enthusiastic volunteer corps.
“One of the goals of the Saskatchewan Games is to enhance community development through a sport legacy of upgraded equipment, facilities, experienced officials, cultural understanding and appreciation, and a core group of volunteers,” said Chantelle Patrick, chair of the Saskatchewan Games Council, in a statement. “The Saskatchewan Games Council is very impressed with the legacy left behind in the Battlefords.”
In a statement, Games manager Nicole Clow also pointed to the games’ legacy.
“We feel that we’ve left a big legacy in the community, both in sport facility and equipment upgrades and in civic pride. It was just a ton of fun – the athletes were happy, and that’s the biggest goal.”
