Airdrie City council voted unanimously on June 22 to allocate remaining funds from the City’s 2020 Alberta Winter Games budget to create a new sports council, as well as the development of a cross-country ski trail.
Following the success of hosting the Alberta Winter Games in February 2020, the organizing committee identified a surplus of approximately $200,000. At the June 22 council meeting, Jeremy Lupien, who was also the vice-president of Airdrie’s 2020 Winter Games Committee, told council the goal of the committee is to uphold their mandate of providing ongoing support to the local sports community.
“We’ve been looking for the right vehicle for us to move these funds toward and our board has reviewed the options that are in front of us. And after doing some research, [the Legacy Committee] is recommending that we transfer remaining funds to the Airdrie Sports Council,” Lupien said.
Lupien said that as a starting point for addressing the needs of the local sports community, the committee conducted a survey with 26 distinct local sport groups. Through collected survey data and conversations with community members, he said there were a number of issues identified that were affecting Airdrie’s sport community; one of which was the recruitment of volunteers and athletes, which along with the effects of COVID-19, “almost decimated some of the sporting groups” according to Lupien.
Other concerns identified among the groups were fundraising challenges, higher operating costs, reduced revenue, provincial government allotment of funds for sport, competition between groups for the use of City-owned facilities and the lack of resources available to smaller sports organizations that, as a result, are not able to access adequate training for their coaches.
Taking these challenges into consideration, Lupien said creating a group that can advocate and provide aid for communication and coordination between various sports organizations would be advantageous.
“The Airdrie Sports Council is well-positioned to address and support a lot of these challenges and get Airdrie active again,” he said.
Grant Erickson, the director of the 2020 Alberta Winter Games Legacy Board and the chair of the Airdrie Sports Council, continued the presentation to council by bringing up the vision of the new sports council. He said the goal “is ultimately to improve the quality of life in Airdrie by growing opportunities for the community to come together through sport and activity.”
Erickson reiterated Lupien’s point that when it comes to funding for local sports groups, the “tough economic period” the community is coming out of is expected to put a strain on teams and clubs to fundraise effectively.
With that point, he introduced the self-sustaining funding model – a plan to ensure the council has the ability to provide support long after the legacy funds have depleted. This model involves a fund-matching program, a fund-developing program and requirements for organizations to return a portion of the funding received back to council, once they are able to get back on their feet, Lupien explained.
Following the presentation, Coun. Tina Petrow inquired whether or not there was the expectation this funding model would be successful, or if there was an inclination that additional funding from the City would be required.
Erickson replied that the hope is for the council to have a generous cash flow and be entirely self-sustaining following its third full year. He also mentioned the council had been approached by a potential corporate sponsor, but he did not provide the name of the company.
Erickson also touched on the interest that has been generated in Airdrie surrounding a local cross-country ski trail since the city hosted the Winter Games in 2020. Petrow said she was quite happy to hear about the sport council’s focus on the development of the trail, adding that she thought it was “quite wonderful.”
In regard to the formation of the sport council, Coun. Candice Kolson said, “I’m so happy to see this. I think it’s going to be a great enhancement to sport in Airdrie.”
Other councillors that praised the idea included Al Jones, Ron Chapman and Mayor Peter Brown, who said, “I am absolutely thrilled to see this.”
Ultimately, council voted unanimously to approve the transition of funds from the existing 2020 Airdrie Winter Games Legacy Fund to the new Airdrie Sport Council. Additionally, Petrow’s motion included the requirement for one voting representative each from administration and council to be appointed to sit on the new council.
The representatives – who will each be elected by their own colleagues – have yet to be selected. The nomination and voting process is expected to take place at a later date.
