Huntsville is getting ready to host the Ontario 55+ Winter Games in 2019. This will be the second time the games will be in town, as the event was here in 2013.
The town had its official announcement of the games this week at the Active Living Centre, with Mayor Scott Aitchison saying athletes from across Ontario will be in town to compete. He says it’s a popular location for these types of events, and now an organizing committee will be put in place to start the planning.
Huntsville’s Executive Director of Community Services, Kari Lambe, says 10 winter sports will take place throughout the community at a variety of different facilities. That includes the Canada Summit Centre, resort meeting rooms, and schools.
Lambe says it’s a mid-week event, running from Tuesday to Thursday.
Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism, Sport and Culture is investing $235,000 into the winter games, and Lambe says the goal is to keep the cost off of taxpayer’s shoulders.
Lambe says the town had to fill out a bid document and Huntsville was picked to host because of the town’s experience and facilities for these kinds of events.
The Ontario 55+ Winter Games will run in February of 2019.