First View of Facilities for Grande Prairie 2010
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For photos of the sports competition venues, click on the "Gallery" link on the left side of the page, then find the sport(s) you are interested in. Click on 2010 Games > Chef's Inspection Trip, October 2008 > Sport Venues for the 2010 Games > the name of the sport you are interested in.
You can also click on the name of the sport below to take you to the photos of the associated venue(s).
The photos are not professional quality, but most should serve to give you at least a little preview of the facilities. The number of photos taken at each venue varies quite a bit, but don't feel neglected if there are fewer shots for the facility you're interested in than for some others.
The venue for alpine skiing (and snowboarding and freestyle skiing) is the Nitehawk Ski Hill, a small hill about 6-7 miles/10-11Km south of Grande Prairie. The hill has a triple chair and a poma lift, and a good-sized lodge/warming hut. The terrain around Grande Prairie is very flat, so, as is the case in other areas with similar topography, a river valley provides the vertical drop.
The parking and lodge are at the top of the ski hill, and 160 vertical meters (530 feet) below the top is the Wapiti River, which flows into the Smoky River just a few miles downstream. There seems to be a pretty good variety of terrain available, and at least a few sections of pretty steep drops. Although there isn't much vertical, the area seems well-managed and well-operated, so the events should go well.
Badminton competition will take place at St. Joseph's High School which is located between the ice hockey venue (Coca-Cola Center) and the gymnastics venue (Grande Prairie Gymnastics Center). This is a relatively new high school with a good-sized gym sufficient for four badminton courts, as well as a reasonable amount of seating both on the competition floor level and a balcony above the floor.
There is a very comfortable entrance/foyer/gathering area which should be a great place for coaches, competitors and spectators to sit, rest and mingle when not on the competition floor.
The plan for basketball is to have competition in three different venues. We only saw one of these venues on our trip - the gym at Grande Prairie Regional College. This is a very much up-to-date competition venue, with a good floor (just refinished) and very comfortable, theater-type seats. Players and coaches will enjoy competition in this venue which can be set up to accommodate either a single competition floor or two floors for simultaneous action.
Grande Prairie Regional College is also one of the three main accommodations venues, and will be the site for all dining at the 2010 Games.
The other competition floors will be at two new high schools which are now under construction. Each of these schools will have two full-sized gymnasiums with seats and locker areas between the gym floors. On our next inspection trip, in October 2009, we'll get to see these facilities.
Both ski and snowshoe biathlon will take place at the Wapiti Nordic Center, the site of similar competition at the 1995 Canada Games in Grande Prairie. This facility is located just across the street from the cross country skiing venue, where the warming facility is located. According to the locals, the biathlon trails are typically flattish and gently rolling. There is a 24-firing-point range that is well constructed adjacent to a small stadium, with sufficient space for a penalty loop. There is a two-story timing building on one side of the stadium.
Waxing for biathlon and cross country skiing will take place in trailers which will be moved into the parking lot of the cross country ski center, which is about 100m from the biathlon stadium. The Wapiti Nordic Ski Club has a good assortment of grooming equipment, with two Alpina Sherpas (the large, four-stroke snow machines you may have seen grooming Birch Hill in Fairbanks) and at least a couple of Yellowstone Track Systems combination grooming/tracksetting devices.
The cross country skiing venue is located very close to the biathlon venue. The two trail systems interconnect and are both groomed by the Wapiti Nordic Ski Club. The cross country trails have a substantial amount of vertical (according to the locals) as they descend from the stadium area down toward the Wapiti River, several hundred feet below. No exact specifications were available at the time of our trip.
The stadium, though a bit narrow, will be sufficient for the AWG competition. Trails appear to be reasonably wide. There is a large, two-story warming hut/lodge on one side of the stadium which should provide plenty of space to get out of the weather on race day. As on the biathlon side, there is a two-story timing building on one side of the stadium.
Waxing for biathlon and cross country skiing will take place in trailers which will be moved into the parking lot of the cross country ski center, which is about 100m from the biathlon stadium. The Wapiti Nordic Ski Club has a good assortment of grooming equipment, with two Alpina Sherpas (the large, four-stroke snow machines you may have seen grooming Birch Hill in Fairbanks) and at least a couple of Yellowstone Track Systems combination grooming/tracksettingdevices.
The Grande Prairie Curling Club will host the curling competition at the 2010 Games. This is a well-constructed, modern facility with eight sheets for competition. The club has hosted major national and international competitions in the past, so it should be a well-run competition. The facility also includes a spacious snack bar/spectator area, comfortable locker rooms and meeting space for team meetings, if so requested. This venue is very close to the venue that will be used for opening/closing ceremonies, figure skating and Inuit games (Canada Games Centre/Crystal Centre).
Dene games events will be contested primarily in the vicinity of Muskoseepi Park/Muskoseepi Pavilion. There are comfortable spaces for stick pull, hand games and pole push in the area, but it is possible that snow snake may be held elsewhere. The park's parking area will also be the site for the Athlete Center, which will be housed in a large, heated tent.
Dog mushing competition will be held at Evergreen Park, a horse-racing track just a few Km south of the city center. This facility includes a large building with heated areas, as well as a very large outdoo, covered grandstand overlooking the start/finish area. The trails for the competition are yet to be completed. They will be based upon existing, but non-maintained, trails in the vicinity. There is a long, wide stretch for starting and finishing the races. This will also be the venue for snowshoeing competition.
Figure skating competition will be held in the Canada Games Centre, a 3100-seat arena constructed for the 1995 Canada Games. This arena will also be used for the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2010 Games. The ice-sheet is NHL-sized. There are comfortable locker rooms for competitors and teams. The Crystal Centre, the Inuit games venue, is attached to this building, and the curling club is not too distant.
The venue for freestyle skiing (and snowboarding and alpine skiing) is the Nitehawk Ski Hill, a small hill about 6-7 miles/10-11Km south of Grande Prairie. The hill has a triple chair and a poma lift, and a good-sized lodge/warming hut. The terrain around Grande Prairie is very flat, so, as is the case in other areas with similar topography, a river valley provides the vertical drop.
The parking and lodge are at the top of the ski hill, and 160 vertical meters (530 feet) below the top is the Wapiti River, which flows into the Smoky River just a few miles downstream. There seems to be a pretty good variety of terrain available, and at least a few sections of pretty steep drops. Although there isn't much vertical, the area seems well-managed and well-operated, so the events should go well.
Nitehawk is a major regional center for freestyle ski training, especially for summer training, as they have a pool for summer inverted aerial practice. A local skier who grew up training at Nitehawk has qualified for the 2010 Canadian Olympic Team, so the facility should be sufficient for the Arctic Winter Games.
The gymnastics facility will be the best ever for the games, with 26,000 square feet available for gymnastics competition. Imagine a large, big-box store with a high ceiling and lots of light, and you will have an idea of what the Grande Prairie Gymnastics Center looks like. G.P. has a very active gymnastics club program that raised over $4,000,000CND to assist with the construction of this facility. Everything is state-of-the-art. There will be some seating available on the competition floor, but plentiful seating will be available on a balcony level. This facility is located very close by the ice hockey rink (Coca-Cola Centre) and the badminton venue (St. Joseph's School).
Hockey competition will be held on two NHL-sized rinks at the Coca-Cola Centre, adjacent to the gymnastics venue and the badminton venue. The facility was constructed quite recently, and is very up-to-date. One rink has a seating capacity of 1200, the other is 350 plus 400 more on pull-out bleachers. There are plentiful locker rooms between the two rinks.
The organizers plan that each delegation will be assigned one locker room to be used as a drying room for all three teams (women's, midget, bantam) from that delegation. This will make things a little tight, but will mean a huge relief in logistics, as there would be no need to organize and transport a team's gear before and after each competition. Coaches, athletes and parents will enjoy this venue.
Indoor soccer competition will have some of the best facilities ever for this sport: the Leisure Center and the Grande Prairie Soccer Association. There will be two large turf fields available for competition. The newer facility is 200' x 85', and the older pitch is 180' x 80'. The soccer pitches are surrounded by hockey-style dasher boards, and the goal-mouths are flush with the boards. The larger pitch accommodates more spectators than the smaller pitch.
The venue for the Inuit games competition is the Crystal Centre, a large open space attached to the Canada Games Center, the venue for figure skating and for opening/closing ceremonies. Current plans call for constructing a competition floor with an appropriate surface, and providing lots of seating to accommodate the normal large crowds. A possible change of venue for the high-kicks was discussed, but it is unknown if that will occur. Whether it does or does not occur, this will be a good space for the competition.
The venue for snowboarding (and alpine and freestyle skiing) is the Nitehawk Ski Hill, a small hill about 6-7 miles/10-11Km south of Grande Prairie. The hill has a triple chair and a poma lift, and a good-sized lodge/warming hut. The terrain around Grande Prairie is very flat, so, as is the case in other areas with similar topography, a river valley provides the vertical drop.
The parking and lodge are at the top of the ski hill, and 160 vertical meters (530 feet) below the top is the Wapiti River, which flows into the Smoky River just a few miles downstream. There seems to be a pretty good variety of terrain available, and at least a few sections of pretty steep drops. Although there isn't much vertical, the area seems well-managed and well-operated, so the events should go well.
The organizers have said that there will be a pipe-dragon available to construct the competition half-pipe.
Snowshoeing competition will be held at Evergreen Park, a horse-racing track just a few Km south of the city center. This facility includes a large building with heated areas, as well as a very large outdoo, covered grandstand overlooking the start/finish area. The trails for the competition are yet to be completed. They will be based upon existing, but non-maintained, trails in the vicinity. There is a long, wide stretch for starting and finishing the races. This will also be the venue for dog mushing competition.
I will soon be posting similar summaries and links to photo pages for these sports:
Speedskating
Table Tennis
Volleyball
Wrestling
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Last Updated (Tuesday, 02 March 2010 09:25)