Calgary to host 2024 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games
Calgary has been selected as the host city for the 2024 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games.
"Calgary is proud to have been chosen as host city for the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games 2024," said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek in a release.
“We look forward to sharing our great facilities and our inclusive community spirit will welcome all with open arms. I know Calgarians will volunteer in great numbers to ensure that this event delivers the experience of a lifetime for these amazing athletes and their families."
Alberta has a history of hosting Special Olympics events. The 2024 event will be the fourth time the national games are held in the province, and Calgary previously hosted the Special Olympics Alberta Winter Provincial Games in 2019, as well as the 1988 Winter Olympic Games.
"Having previously hosted international and national events, we know Calgary will go above and beyond to deliver an exceptional games experience for the hundreds of athletes participating at Special Olympics Canada’s signature sport competition," said Special Olympics Canada CEO Sharon Bollenbach.
"Our athletes have been anxiously waiting for an announcement of the next national games since February of 2020. To say they will be ecstatic to hear the news of Special Olympics Canada Winter Games 2024 in Calgary is an understatement."
The city will host around 1,300 participants during the event, in addition to officials, family, friends and honoured guests. Tourism Calgary says it anticipates the event will pump over $9 million into the city's economy.
"Calgary knows what it takes to host large scale sporting events and just as important is our track record as ultimate hosts. The incredible athletes, along with family, friends, supporters, coaches and officials can all expect a warm welcome to our city and a fun-filled event complete with the chance to experience Calgary's new winter festival, Chinook Blast," said Tourism Calgary CEO Cindy Ady.
The Special Olympics Canada Winter Games is a national sporting event for Canadian athletes with an intellectual disability. Athletes will compete in one of eight different sports; five pin bowling, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, floor hockey, snowshoeing and speed skating.
"The sport community in Calgary looks forward to celebrating the hard work of the athletes, coaches and officials and hearing their stories," said Olympic gold medal winner Catriona Le May Doan, the president and CEO of Sport Calgary and a Special Olympics board member.
"Calgary is a city withstrong commitment to providing diverse opportunities in sport to individuals of all abilities. Sport connects us all and we’re excited to bring this amazing event to our city."
The Special Olympics Canada Winter Games were last held in 2020 in Thunder Bay, Ont.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.