The 2007 Canada Winter Games are less than five months away and the mayor of Whitehorse is looking forward to the exposure they will bring to the country's north.
``We see it as a bit of a coming out party,'' Ernie Bourassa said Tuesday during a promotional rally for the event at Toronto's downtown Dundas Square. ``The north is not a homogenous unit _ Nunavut has a different geography and people than the Northwest Territories and both are different from the Yukon.
``That's why we're hosting the Games as a pan-northern Games.''
Whitehorse will become the northernmost host of the Canada Games, held every two years alternating between summer and winter sports, and is looking to capitalize on it.
Nearly 3,000 athletes competing in 22 sports are headed for the Yukon capital for the Feb. 23-March 10 competition that will generate an estimated economic impact of $130 million for the area.
``That's huge for a city of 30,000,'' said Bourassa.
As the Games begin city officials plan to launch a national media campaign to increase awareness about the north to the rest of Canada and TV coverage from the CBC, TSN and APTN should only help.
A partnership with the Northwest Territories and Nunavut will bring performers, artists and artisans from there to Whitehorse alongside the athletes.
The games will also leave behind top-notch hockey, skiing and skating facilities, creating a northern hub for the region's athletes.
``This is a huge legacy for our community,'' said Bourassa. ``Our venues our probably 96-97 per cent complete.
``It's tough to find a contractor to do anything in Whitehorse right now.''
The Toronto rally also featured a $100,000 donation from Subaru to the Canadian Athletes Now Fund, a body which distributes financial grants to amateur athletes.
The fund gives athletes who apply up to two grants of $6,000 each per year and has given about 500 Canadians over $4 million since 1997.
``The demands on our athletes are unreasonable,'' said Jane Roos, the fund's executive director. ``We want to help in the advancement of our athletes.''
That's certainly something the Canada Games has done as the competition prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Alumni include: Bob Gainey (1971); Catriona LeMay Doan (1983, '87); Bruny Surin (1985); Steve Nash (1993); Alexandre Despatie (1997); Adam Van Koeverden (1997); and Sidney Crosby.
Freestyle aerialist Deidra Dionne of Red Deer, Alta., competed at the 1999 Games and said the experience helped her at the 2002 Olympics where she won a bronze medal.
``It was huge for me, it was my first big multi-games experience, it was the first time I competed live on television,'' she said. ``You get used to getting instructed by cameramen, being on a time schedule, my first live interviews, it's a great way to practise through the experience you're going to encounter at the Olympics.''
Prince Edward Island will host the 2009 Canada Summer Games.
