Sami Jo Small Hockey Facility open at NGCC

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This article was published 16/01/2017 (3196 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Organizers at Norberry-Glenlee Community Centre are celebrating the upcoming completion of some renovations with a distinctly Olympic theme.

A recent event marked the pending completion of Phase 2 of the Sami Jo Small Hockey Facility at the centre’s Norberry site, which is located at 26 Molgat Ave.

Small grew up in St. Vital and enjoyed a highly-successful school sports career while attending Collège Jeanne-Sauvé, and then Stanford University, before going on to become a two-time Olympic gold medallist (in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Turin in 2006) and a five-time world champion with the Canadian women’s hockey team. Her first ice time came at the centre when she was a girl.

“It’s an opportunity to honour an Olympic and world champion that grew up on our rinks,” said NGCC’s president Sean Fedorowich.

“At the same time, we’ve been doing some much-needed renovations to the oldest part of the building.”

Fedorowich, who has been the centre’s president for the last five years, said the work to the “bones of the building” includes replacing windows, putting new siding on the outside, and new flooring in the back hall and dressing rooms, as well as infrastructure improvements such as increasing the efficiency and capacity of the hot water tank.

“This part has always been called the hockey side,” Fedorowich said, while standing near the sign marking the Sami Jo Small Hockey Facility.

He said the renovation is a three-phase project with funding coming from the City of Winnipeg and the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program (CIP 150), as well as money raised by the club. Phase 3, which will include replacing the centre’s west rink, will happen down the line.

Forming part of the recent event, which was attended by Small, was the unveiling of a painting of the Olympian by Toronto artist Jane Eccles, which has been lent to the centre for permanent display.

Fedorowich said the centre continues to serve as a focal point and hub for community members, both indoors and outdoors.

“We really think of the club as the centre of the community,” he said.

“We all live in the community and spend time together, and I’ve got teenage kids that also use the centre. For all of the club’s board members, it’s nice to be able to help make the community a little bit better.”

Go online at www.norberry-glenlee.ca to learn more about the centre.

simon.fuller@canstarnews.com

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