Prince George’s future sporting scene benefiting with conference in Ottawa

Prince George hasn’t completed its trophy case quite yet.

As part of the Sports Event Congress in Ottawa, Tourism Prince George was sure to have the Northern Capital represented, which came in the form of Leanne Schinkel, Manager of Sport and Event Development.

The event took place from March 18 to 21 and welcomed numerous community tourism organizations.

CEO for Tourism PG, Erica Hummel says the four-day event gives the city an opportunity to build relationships with sports organizations, which can help in hosting future events.

“We’re talking to Volleyball Canada, Ringuette Canada, Badminton Canada,” Hummel told MyPGNow. “These are all sports we’ve had success in, but we’re also meeting with sports we’ve never really learned much about and how they operate. For example, we’re meeting with the Chess Federation of Canada, Speed Skating Canada, Little League Canada, just things that might be new for us as well that we can introduce ourselves and get on the radar for future events.”

Thanks in large part to Prince George’s track record of hosting such events — like the Canada Winter Games and, most recently, the World Para-Nordic Skiing Championships — the city has put itself on the map when it comes to hosting major national and international sporting events, according to Hummel.

“We have a great reputation with most national sport organizations. They’re already familiar with Prince George, so I think we’re starting in a really good place when we introduce ourselves. They might already know we’ve hosted some major events.”

With the hosting of the Canada Winter Games in 2015, the Northern Capital was able to improve a number of its venues with legacy events, which would go on to help in the hosting of future events such as the Para-Nordic Skiing Championships, as well as next year’s World Women’s Curling Championships.

One asset that certainly aids in Prince George’s ability to put on successful events happens to be the city’s volunteers.

It was addressed by Mayor Lynn Hall when it was announced the city was placing a bid on the 2021 Esso Cup, and Hummel completely agrees.

“We have a really good volunteer base that people are really aware of, and I think that goes a really long way in a hosting community.”

The conference also allowed Leanne Schinkel to get together with other Canadian cities, such as representatives from North Bay, Ontario, which hosted the World Women’s Curling Championships last year.

It’s opportunities like this that allows Prince George to efficiently plan events, and it has shown.

“We can put together a really good bid package together based on prior history and success,” said Hummel