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Alberta

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame OPEN AGAIN!

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THE HALFTIME REPORT
News from the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

Your Hall is back!

We’re excited to announce that we have reopened our doors as part of Step 2 of the Government of Alberta’s Open for Summer Plan.

We are open to the public Monday to Friday from 9 am – 5 pm, and on weekends and holiday Mondays from 10 am – 5 pm.

Since closing our doors in mid-December, we have worked behind the scenes to enhance the overall museum experience for our visitors.

Among these enhancements are four new interactives, among them the Lyndon Rush Bobsleigh Experience, which briefly opened to the public last fall; an Obie interactive projector, which projects a series of games onto the floor; a Hoops FX arcade basketball game; and a Super Chexx bubble hockey game.

Many of our displays have also been updated since the last time the hall was open, including our new featured exhibit, “When Sports Stopped.” This new exhibit, which was installed in mid-November, examines multiple times where global events brought sports to a halt, from the Spanish Flu to the World Wars, up to the effects Covid-19 continues to have presently. The exhibit will be on display until the end of the year.

Other new displays examine the history of Alberta athletics and the former freestyle skiing discipline known as ski ballet.

Come check out everything we have on display.

This newsletter is sponsored by City of Red Deer.

Honoured Member in Focus: Kevin Sirois

Kevin Sirois was on his way to becoming one of the few Canadians to compete in both the Winter and Summer Olympics in the same year.

He competed at the 1971 Pan American Cycling Competition and toured Italy with the Canadian Cycling Team.

At the 1972 Winter Olympics, he placed 14th in the 10,000 m speed skating event and set a Canadian record that would not be broken until 1982.

He set over 20 Canadian speed skating records at both junior and senior levels, in races from 500m to five miles. He was the first recipient of the Canadian Amateur Speed Skating Association’s Skater of the Year Award in 1968.

Provincial Sport Organization: Alberta Bicycle Association

The Alberta Bicycle Association (ABA) is the affiliated Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) of Cycling Canada. It operates under the authority of the world governing body of all cycling’s many sports, the Union Cycliste International (International Cycling Union) in Geneva.

The mission of the ABA is to advocate, develop, and facilitate bicycling for Albertans.

The vision of the ABA is to be the recognized authority and leader for bicycling in Alberta.

The Board of Directors and committees of the ABA are elected by the general membership at the Annual General Meeting every November. All members and clubs have the opportunity to run and vote for members of the Board. The Board reflects the input of the three Committees (BMX, Racing, and Rec. & Trans.) which meet throughout the year to plan and coordinate the programs and services offered by the Association to our membership.

The ABA relies on volunteers whose passion and contribution are essential, including:

  • coaches
  • commissaires
  • race organizers
  • board
  • and committee members.

The ABA also employs several full-time staff to administer the day-to-day operations of the ABA and to provide services to thousands of members across Alberta.

You spin me right round 

The sport of cycling steadily gained popularity into the 1890s with improved roads and the introduction of races that are still held to this day.

The famous Tour de France was first contested in 1903 and has continued every year since, except during World Wars I and II.

Apart from road racing, like what is contested during the Tour de France, there are a number of other cycling sports that have been developed alongside the evolution of the bicycle such as Track Cycling, Mountain Biking, and BMX.

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Annual General Meeting is scheduled for June 29

The Annual General Meeting of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors will be held on Tuesday, June 29.

Special Olympics recognizes Heather Roberts for her contributions as a volunteer

One of our long-time volunteers and supporters, Heather Roberts, recently received the Lifetime Sports Achievement Award 2021 for her contributions to Special Olympics locally.

Congratulations, Heather!

Please check the link below.
https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/sports/red-deers-heather-roberts-receives-lifetime-sport-achievement-award/

Photo Credit: Bryon Hackett, Red Deer Advocate

Golfers wanted!

We’re looking for sponsors and golfers for the Annual Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Golf Tournament, which tees off on Tuesday, September 14 at the Innisfail Golf Course. We are excited to announce that we will be partnering with the Innisfail Eagles Hockey Team for this year’s tournament.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to support the preservation of Alberta sports by playing at one of the province’s crown jewels.

Call (403) 341-8614 or email programmer@albertasportshall.ca for more information.

Your Hall is hiring.

Are you a student itching to work in a fun, rewarding environment?

Of course, you are. Consider this your lucky day. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is looking for a Collections and Research Assistant, and a Marketing and Communications Assistant to work behind the scenes.

The positions are 35 hours a week and work from Thursday to Monday.

Visit our website, www.albertasportshall.ca, for more information.

Leave a legacy

The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame needs your support to continue the ongoing preservation of Alberta’s sports history and the development of museum exhibits. We are grateful and appreciative of the generosity of our supporters and friends. We would be happy to assist you in choosing how your personal legacy will be fulfilled and the many options available. Here is some information on donating shares to ASHFM and the benefits to you as a donor.

Donate

The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame provides a family-friendly, interactive experience. You will be surprised by what you discover inside! Have fun, laugh, play and discover Alberta sports heroes together. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is an interactive, hands-on celebration of Alberta's sporting history. Our over 7,000 square feet of exhibit space includes a multisport area with virtual baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer; an adaptive sports area, including a 200 meter wheelchair challenge; a Treadwall climbing wall; the Orest Korbutt Theatre; the Hall of Fame Gallery; an art gallery displaying works by provincial artists, and much more. Our venue boasts a collection of over 17,000 artefacts of Alberta sports history and showcases many of these items in a number of displays. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame also offers an education program, group activities, and a unique environment to rent for your birthday party, special event, corporate reception or meetings.

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Alberta

CPP another example of Albertans’ outsized contribution to Canada

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From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

Amid the economic uncertainty fuelled by Trump’s trade war, its perhaps more important than ever to understand Alberta’s crucial role in the federation and its outsized contribution to programs such as the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).

From 1981 to 2022, Albertan’s net contribution to the CPP—meaning the amount Albertans paid into the program over and above what retirees in Alberta received in CPP payments—was $53.6 billion. In 2022 (the latest year of available data), Albertans’ net contribution to the CPP was $3.0 billion.

During that same period (1981 to 2022), British Columbia was the only other province where residents paid more into the CPP than retirees received in benefits—and Alberta’s contribution was six times greater than B.C.’s contribution. Put differently, residents in seven out of the nine provinces that participate in the CPP (Quebec has its own plan) receive more back in benefits than they contribute to the program.

Albertans pay an outsized contribution to federal and national programs, including the CPP because of the province’s relatively high rates of employment, higher average incomes and younger population (i.e. more workers pay into the CPP and less retirees take from it).

Put simply, Albertan workers have been helping fund the retirement of Canadians from coast to coast for decades, and without Alberta, the CPP would look much different.

How different?

If Alberta withdrew from the CPP and established its own standalone provincial pension plan, Alberta workers would receive the same retirement benefits but at a lower cost (i.e. lower CPP contribution rate deducted from our paycheques) than other Canadians, while the contribution rate—essentially the CPP tax rate—to fund the program would likely need to increase for the rest of the country to maintain the same benefits.

And given current demographic projections, immigration patterns and Alberta’s long history of leading the provinces in economic growth, Albertan workers will likely continue to pay more into the CPP than Albertan retirees get back from it.

Therefore, considering Alberta’s crucial role in national programs, the next federal government—whoever that may be—should undo and prevent policies that negatively impact the province and Albertans ability to contribute to Canada. Think of Bill C-69 (which imposes complex, uncertain and onerous review requirements on major energy projects), Bill C-48 (which bans large oil tankers off B.C.’s northern coast and limits access to Asian markets), an arbitrary cap on oil and gas emissions, numerous other “net-zero” targets, and so on.

Canada faces serious economic challenges, including a trade war with the United States. In times like this, it’s important to remember Alberta’s crucial role in the federation and the outsized contributions of Alberta workers to the wellbeing of Canadians across the country.

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Alberta

Made in Alberta! Province makes it easier to support local products with Buy Local program

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Show your Alberta side. Buy Local.

When the going gets tough, Albertans stick together. That’s why Alberta’s government is launching a new campaign to benefit hard-working Albertans.

Global uncertainty is threatening the livelihoods of hard-working Alberta farmers, ranchers, processors and their families. The ‘Buy Local’ campaign, recently launched by Alberta’s government, encourages consumers to eat, drink and buy local to show our unified support for the province’s agriculture and food industry.

The government’s ‘Buy Local’ campaign encourages consumers to buy products from Alberta’s hard-working farmers, ranchers and food processors that produce safe, nutritious food for Albertans, Canadians and the world.

“It’s time to let these hard-working Albertans know we have their back. Now, more than ever, we need to shop local and buy made-in-Alberta products. The next time you are grocery shopping or go out for dinner or a drink with your friends or family, support local to demonstrate your Alberta pride. We are pleased tariffs don’t impact the ag industry right now and will keep advocating for our ag industry.”

RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation

Alberta’s government supports consumer choice. We are providing tools to help folks easily identify Alberta- and Canadian-made foods and products. Choosing local products keeps Albertans’ hard-earned dollars in our province. Whether it is farm-fresh vegetables, potatoes, honey, craft beer, frozen food or our world-renowned beef, Alberta has an abundance of fresh foods produced right on our doorstep.

Quick facts

  • This summer, Albertans can support local at more than 150 farmers’ markets across the province and meet the folks who make, bake and grow our food.
  • In March 2023, the Alberta government launched the ‘Made in Alberta’ voluntary food and beverage labelling program to support local agriculture and food sectors.
  • Through direct connections with processors, the program has created the momentum to continue expanding consumer awareness about the ‘Made in Alberta’ label to help shoppers quickly identify foods and beverages produced in our province.
  • Made in Alberta product catalogue website

 

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