Renfrew – There is a lot of excitement building among provincial athletes, volunteers and committee members as the Renfrew County 2023 Ontario Winter Games kicks off Thursday night at Ma-te-Way Park.

“This is one of the most unique and interesting things I have been involved in,” noted chair Peter Emon, the reeve of the Town of Renfrew and Warden of the County of Renfrew. “We are excited about showcasing our community.”

The Valley will be welcoming 1,100 participants this weekend for the games, with another 1,400 registered participants next weekend. This weekend events include artistic swimming, curling, fencing futsal, U14 men’s hockey, judo, ringette and speedskating. All events are in the county, except the speed skating which takes place in Kanata. This weekend there will be events at Dundonald Hall in Petawawa (futsal), the Renfrew Curling Club (curling mixed fours), Pembroke Curling Centre (curling mixed fours), Opeongo High School (fencing), St. Joseph’s High School (judo) and Nick Smith Centre (ringette).

The opening ceremonies, which begin at 6:30 on Thursday night at Ma-te-Way Park, promise to be quite exciting, Warden Emon said. There will be a band, smudging ceremony and lots of great activities including some dancing to keep warm during the two-hour ceremonies. It is all outdoors at the ballfield, so he stressed any spectators will need to dress warm. There will also be food vendors, fireworks and an athlete’s parade, reminiscent of the Olympics.
“We have bleachers for spectators and in the infield Shaw Lumber donated 1,100 stumps for participants to sit on,” he said. “So, this is a true Renfrew County feel.”

Games Ambassador Melissa Bishop will be there, as well as Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski, among others.

Warden Emon said they are encouraging interested spectators to come and join the fun of the opening ceremonies as well as enjoy watching the various events during the two weekends.

“We know we will have curious local folks,” he said. “This is quite unique to see in our area, so we are expecting a full ballfield.”

They are also keeping an eye on the weather. A “polar vortex” is due to bring in the coldest weather of the winter on Friday, so if it gets too cold on Thursday night the ceremony might be condensed a bit.

“We are looking for hand warmers and will likely have some warming centres,” he said.

The games have been many years in the planning and were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the next two weekends are the culmination of a lot of work and anticipation. The warden said there is a great deal of enthusiasm among the volunteers and participants about the games and the organizing committee members – although tired – are happy to see it all coming to fruition this month. The games are bringing thousands of people to the area and this is a way of showcasing Renfrew County and the Ottawa Valley, he said.

“We are working hard to make it unique,” he said.

Spectators are welcome at all venues and it is free to attend, so this is something area residents can really enjoy, Warden Emon said.

The games are primarily funded by the province, which has promised up to $1.4 million in funding. On top of this there are “in kind” donations by municipalities and the donations of money and services by many sponsors.

Athletes also contribute a fee and the organizing committee also had a goal of $50,000 in sponsorship money, which has far been exceeded. There has not been a financial cost to hosting the games funded by county or municipal coffers, he said.

“The county’s contribution was donated services,” he said. “Not cash.”

Renfrew and Arnprior have also donated the fees which would have been paid for the use of facilities and this is a big help too, he said.

“We have been well supported by our sponsors with cash and goods in kind,” he said. “We have many who have been very generous.”

With the games a few days away, about 85 percent of the volunteer shifts have been filled but there is still a need for more volunteers. Warden Emon said people can still sign up to volunteer and participate in this unique event that way. He noted two training sessions went very well recently in Petawawa and Renfrew and some volunteers drove from Toronto to participate. Having a big event like this again is very exciting after the years of closures and cancellations with the pandemic, he added.

“People are hyped and excited to be out,” he said.

While there was a scare about a possible search for a new ice surface when there were issues at the Nick Smith Arena recently, fortunately they were able to repair them quickly and events there will continue as scheduled.

Unfortunately, snowboarding was cancelled because it would have been too challenging to have the series of structures made out of snow in time.

“It has to be manufactured snow and it takes about two to three weeks,” he said. “There was just not enough time on the calendar.”

Legacy Funding

Warden Emon said the organizing committee is hoping to have a surplus to be used as legacy funding to encourage sport in the Ottawa Valley.

“The idea is to have $100,000 after all the bills are paid,” he said. “It is to see everyone can be involved in sports.”

Funding might be used to make facilities more accessible or expanding existing facilities, he said.

The importance of sport is not lost on him. He noted growing up his family did not have a lot of money but there was an organization in Renfrew which donated funds so youth could participate in sprots. He made a pitch to them and was accepted for funding which enabled him to participate in various sports and sporting camps.

“I was fortunate as a kid to have that help and was able to go to football camp and basketball camp,” he said. “It helped make me a better person and a more well-rounded person to be in team sports.”

For more information on Renfrew County 2023, or to volunteer, go to renfrewcounty2023.ca.