The role of the College in the 2019 Canada Winter Games

Duane Rolheiser

Published

6 years ago

5 minute read

RDC is Ready for the Games

In just eight days, the 2019 Canada Winter Games will begin, and the feeling of anticipation and excitement is becoming palpable across our community and at Red Deer College.

It’s been four-and-a-half years since Red Deer first learned we would get the Games – years that now seem to have gone by in an instant – but years that were filled with planning and preparation. After so much work by so many people, this community is ready. And Red Deer College is ready.

As a competition venue, RDC will be showcased on the national stage when we host five competition events in our new Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre/Centre des Jeux du Canada Gary W. Harris. In week one of the Games, we will host Wheelchair Basketball and Speed Skating – Short Track. In week two, there will be Badminton, Figure Skating and Squash.

I had an opportunity to see competitions in these sports earlier this fall, when RDC hosted Pre- Games events leading up to the Winter Games. What I saw was incredibly talented young athletes who were at the top of their sport. Coaches, parents and spectators were using our new Centre – many for the first time – and the feedback they gave was that it was an incredible facility, and they couldn’t wait to come back for the Games. These Pre-Games events were exciting and positive, and they were just a sample of what’s to come. I cannot wait to see all of the activities that will take place and the people who will be here from across our nation during the Games.

Beyond competitions at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, RDC will have another major role during the Games when we host all 3,600 competitors at the Athletes’ Village. Each week of the Games, there will be about 1,800 athletes living on our main campus. They will eat, sleep and live at Red Deer College, including in our new Residence, which will be complete and ready for athletes when they arrive.

Outside of the competitions and the training that happens during the Games, there’s a mini community formed when people from across the country come together and live in the same place. This community will have its home in the Athlete’s Village at RDC, and we’re very pleased to host such an important part of the Games. It is only possible because of extensive work and planning on part of our leadership team, the Games Host Society, our Residence staff, Olds College and our students – thank you for all of your expertise, input and support in making this happen.

And thank you to all of the RDC staff, faculty and students for the work that you’ve done leading up to the Games and for the contributions you will make during this major event. In my conversations with people from across the College, I know that there are many passionate, dedicated people who have already and will continue to volunteer their time to be part of the Games – at RDC and in other roles throughout the community.

An event of this magnitude won’t likely happen again in our region for a generation or more. I encourage everyone to get involved, in whatever way works best for you. Whether it’s volunteering, watching events or enjoying the arts and cultural activities happening throughout the city, please take every opportunity to enjoy all the Games have to offer.

I look forward to seeing you at Red Deer College and throughout the community during the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

Joel Ward is President & CEO of Red Deer College.

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Duane Rolheiser

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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2019 Canada Winter Games

Gift that keeps giving: 35 Alberta non-profits funded through the 2019 Canada Winter Games Legacy Fund

Published on May 18, 2021

Todayville

From the Canada Games Council

LEGACIES OF THE 2019 CANADA WINTER GAMES CONTINUE TO GROW

Legacy Fund Society awards legacy funds to not-for-profits across Alberta

The 2019 Canada Winter Games Legacy Fund Society has awarded the financial legacy from the 2019 Games to not-for-profit sport and community organizations across Alberta.

“The Legacy Fund Society is pleased to announce that we have awarded $655,000 in grants to 35 not-for-profit sport and community organizations across Alberta,” said Guy Pelletier, Legacy Fund Society Chair. “The grants support a wide variety of projects across the province. These organizations and their respective projects build on the numerous legacies of the 2019 Games.”

Through a grant application process in early 2021, the Legacy Fund Society received and reviewed funding requests for 200 projects from nearly 150 organizations at a value of over $7.1 million.‍

“The response to our call for applications was phenomenal. There was no shortage of meaningful and innovative projects,” said Pelletier.

“The 2019 Canada Games in Red Deer were truly transformative and continue to foster meaningful legacies across Alberta,” said Kelly-Ann Paul, Senior Vice-President of Host Relations at the Canada Games Council. “These legacy grants will enrich and uplift organizations and communities as we strive to strengthen the fabric of Canada through the power of sport.”

Requests for funding were reviewed and evaluated based on their alignment with the values of the 2019 Games and distributed in four categories: athlete and coach or official development; infrastructure or equipment development or acquisition; sport development capacity building; and non-sport or discretionary projects.

The following is a listing of the organizations who were awarded funding:

‍

2019 Canada Winter Games

2019 Canada Winter Games Chair Lyn Radford Wins STC Sport Event Volunteer of the Year Award

Published on March 5, 2021

Todayville

From the Canada Games Council

Lyn Radford, Chair of the 2019 Canada Winter Games, has been named the recipient of the 2020 Sport Tourism Canada (STC) Sport Event Volunteer of the Year Award.

The presentation of the 2020 PRESTIGE awards, postponed from last year, were hosted virtually as a gala on-line production. The presentation was hosted by Olympian, World Cup medallist and CBC Broadcaster Kelly VanderBeek.

The STC Sport Event Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes the outstanding contributions of an individual’s volunteer efforts during the hosting of one or more sport events in Canada in 2019.

Lyn Radford Background and Accomplishments

-Lyn Radford served as the Chair of the 2019 Canada Winter Games Host Society from 2014 – 2019

-Lyn oversaw the leadership, planning, execution, governance, and fundraising of the 2019 Canada Games, while serving as the primary spokesperson for the organization

-She is the first singular female Chairperson of a Host Society in Canada Games history

Lyn has volunteered her time to other major events throughout Red Deer and Alberta including the following:

2003, 2006 and 2007 Bid Committee member for Alberta & Western Canada Games
Committee member for 2013 Memorial Cup Bid
Chair of the 2006 Alberta Summer Games
Directed the 2010 Olympic Torch Celebration
Served as a Director for 1998 Alberta Winter Games
Served as a Director for the 2004 and 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts
Served as a Director for the inaugural 2013 Tour of Alberta cycling race
Served as Capital Campaign Chair for Red Deer’s Ronald McDonald House
Founding member of both the Alberta Sport Development Centre – Central and the Red Deer Leadership Centre
Served on the Alberta Sport Connection as the Provincial Games Chair
Served as a Director on Red Deer College’s Board of Governors

Lyn has been recognized through various other awards including:

2005 Alberta Centennial Medal for Volunteer Service
2006 Toyota Never Quit Award
2007 Mayors Award of Distinction for Volunteer Service
Red Deer’s 2009 Citizen of the Year
2011 Women of Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award winner
Governor General of Canada 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
2019 City of Red Deer Lifetime Achievement Award
2019 honorary bachelor of interdisciplinary studies degree

Quotes

“The 2019 Canada Winter Games were an incredible event that showcased our nation’s top amateur athletes and left behind a legacy of infrastructure, sustainability, and community pride in Red Deer. Lyn Radford was the driving force behind how successful these Games were, and we are grateful for the years of hard work and dedication she invested in the 2019 Canada Winter Games. The Canada Games are stronger than ever because of Lyn, and we’re thrilled that she’s being recognized for all of her accomplishments.”

Evan Johnston, Chair, Canada Games Council

“Congratulations to Lyn on being recognized by Sport Tourism as the Sport Event Volunteer of the Year. What a well deserved honor. Lyn has worked tirelessly as a volunteer for all of her adult life. No task is too small or too large for her to tackle. But the legacy of her volunteerism goes deeper than just her own involvement in a myriad of activities and events. She leads, motivates, encourages, cajoles and celebrates in such an infectious manner that the result is literally thousands of people who are giving back to their community because of her passion for commitment. The 2019 Canada Winter Games was just one of many opportunities for her to lead others to impact our community. I am sure all of the nominees have been involved in their events because of an intrinsic motivation to make a difference. And Lyn was no different. Her motivation is never about self but about transforming community and people. During one day in the preparation for the Games, Lyn made an important presentation to our political leaders in the morning, helped with the orientation of volunteers in the afternoon and then was found hanging ornamental snowflakes from the light posts of main street in the evening. She exemplifies the saying ‘life is short-do stuff that matters-for and with others.”

Hugh McPherson, Vice Chair, 2019 Canada Winter Games Host Society

“Thank you to Sport Tourism Canada for recognizing the 2019 Canada Winter Games, and the hard work of our “force-to-be-reckoned with” Chair, Lyn Radford. This award recognizes the leadership, strength and fortitude demonstrated by our Chair, Lyn Radford and CEO, Scott Robinson, and the more than 5,000 incredible community volunteers. We made this once-in-a-lifetime moment ours, as individuals, as a community, and as a country in pursuit of possibilities. Congratulations Lyn on this prestigious award.”

Tara Veer, Mayor of Red Deer

About the Canada Games

Held once every two years, alternating between winter and summer, the Canada Games are the largest multi-sport event in Canada for up and coming amateur athletes. Each Games features two weeks of competition, between 16 – 19 sports, approximately 3,400 summer and 2,350 winter athletes, and over 4,000 volunteers. Hosted in every province at least once since their inception in Quebec City in 1967, the Games are proud of their contribution to Canada’s sport development system in addition to their lasting legacy of sport facilities, community pride and national unity.

The organization of the Canada Games is made possible thanks to the contribution and support of the Government of Canada, provincial/territorial governments, host municipalities and the Canada Games Council.