Preparations go on for the 2018 Saskatchewan Winter Games.
Rob Rongve and David Schell, co-chairs of the Saskatchewan Winter Games committee, were before city council Monday to speak on the organization of the Games committee.
The bylaw formally incorporating the Games was presented. Also they outlined a number of divisions that have been set up for the Games including athlete services, Friends of the Games, marketing and promotions and sports and venue division.
The Games committee itself includes several voting members and non-voting representatives from the City. There is provision for the City to appoint a city councillor to the committee, but it’s been agreed to hold off on an actual appointment until after the October municipal election.
The board consists of Rongve and Schell as co-chairs, Derek Sieben as finance chair, Bruce Friesen as athlete services division chair, Jane Zielke de Montbrun as ceremonies and protocols chair, Rosalie Payne as Friend of the Games division chair, Peter Frey as marketing and promotions chair, and Kelvin Colliar and Tom Hawboldt as sports and venue division chairs. Non-voting are the honorary chair Ian Hamilton, games council consultant Lorne Lasuita and Director of Leisure Services Bill Samborski.
Council approved the appointment of the board and the execution of the draft bylaw unanimously.
The Games were awarded to North Battleford in February, and there have already been a number of meetings and initial preparations started.
One of the main activities was a trip by several members of the committee to Estevan for the Saskatchewan Summer Games to see how those were run.
“They did a great job,” said Rongve. “They definitely stressed the importance of every division has to be firing on all cylinders very quickly.”
“It was a real eye-opener,” said Councillor Cathy Richardson, who had also made the trip. She stressed the importance of recruiting volunteers for the Games saying “the more volunteers you have, the better – the smoother things run.”
Rob Rongve and David Schell present to city council about the Saskatchewan Winter Games. A Games t-shirt was presented to councillors and to Mayor Ian Hamilton Aug. 15. Photo by John Cairns
Photos by John Cairns
