Ward: 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.