The final countdown

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/07/2016 (3400 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The final countdown is on for the 2017 Canada Summer Games.

Today marks 365 days until the start of the massive sporting event to be held in Winnipeg next summer — and organizers are celebrating the milestone in style at one of the city’s marquee landmarks.

Free and open to the public at The Forks, today’s kickoff to the countdown to the 2017 Games will feature a concert series and a variety of interactive kiosks showcasing 14 of the 16 sports that will be in the spotlight next summer.

Event-goers will be able to test the speed of their pitch, take a shot at soccer’s hardest kick, and see if you can row on the same level as an elite-level athlete. Official Canada Summer Games swag will be available for purchase and, if selfies are your thing, official mascot Niibin will also be on hand.

“It’s an opportunity to make people aware the Games are just a year away now, but it also gives people a sense of what they can expect when they come,” said Jeff Hnatiuk, CEO of the 2017 Canada Summer Games. “The Forks is going to be utilized at the Games and there will be nightly entertainment during the Games. We expect a fantastic party.

“The Canada Games are a stepping stone in an athlete’s development. A great number of our Olympians are Canada Games alumni. It’s a developmental Games. These athletes aren’t household names, yet, but many of them go on to be.”

Hnatiuk and his team will be shifting into high gear this fall as they prepare to welcome 4,000 athletes and an expected 20,000 visitors beginning July 28, 2017. At this point, there are more than 100 meetings a month taking place between 40 staff and 500 leadership volunteers to bring the 50th rendition of the Games to life.

The 2017 Games are expected to generate $153 million into the local economy, based on an assessment done by Economic Development Winnipeg. It is a conservative number, according to Hnatiuk.

“The last Games in Sherbrooke, Que., realized over $165 million, we anticipate exceeding that here,” he said.

Winnipeg, the largest city to play host to a Canada Games, won the bid in April 2013. The 50th Canada Summer Games will also coincide with the 150th birthday of the nation.

Manitoba last played host to the Games in 1997 in Brandon.

“With Winnipeg having the experience of hosting the Pan Am Games in 1999 and 1967, I think we have a really good sense of how hosting an event like this develops capacity in our community,” Hnatiuk said. “We want to build that next generation of community leaders and, hopefully, set the bar for future games.”

Mariette Mulaire, president and CEO of World Trade Centre Winnipeg and co-chairwoman of the 2017 Games committee, knew little about the event and its impact on furthering sport in Canada prior to being asked to help organize the Games.

“It was a big surprise to me,” said Mulaire, who came aboard in 2012 to help with the bid process. “It hooked me. When we saw that we were getting the Games, it was so exciting to see that we got what we put all this effort in for.

“(Today) is all about how huge this is. Get involved. Twenty-thousand people over two weeks. This is going to be good for everybody. There’s a sports side and a cultural side.”

The next year, Mulaire said, is going to be filled with momentum and logistics. The opening ceremony, for instance, is being held at the MTS Centre to allay fears of weather souring the festivities.

Mulaire also encouraged the business community to allow employees time off work to help volunteer with the Games, something she herself is doing.

“I think you get people who are more in tune with the Games,” she said. “It gets people excited about it and makes for a better experience.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @scottbilleck