World Curling Chief tours Prince George

The president of the World Curling Federation will be in Prince George this weekend to survey the community’s capacity as a training and pre-Games competition site.

“I am truly looking forward to my first visit to Prince George as I have been hearing such great things about the city and its support of various national and international sporting events,” said Les Harrison, President of the World Curling Federation. “It takes a real partnership of all levels of government, business, volunteers and fans to gain this kind of reputation, along with the required supporting infrastructure to ensure success and financial viability.”

Harrison notes that from a curling perspective, Prince George has recently hosted the Canadian Women’s Championship and has a solid base of curlers to support these type of events. “I look forward to visiting your curling club and having the opportunity to discuss ways we might be able to work together for the future,” said Harrison.

Prince George Mayor Colin Kinsley says he is looking forward to welcoming Mr. Harrison to the community. “It’s exciting to see that Prince George is on the radar of international sport organizations. Our city has extensive experience when it comes to hosting curling events and I look forward to showcasing what our community has to offer,” he said.

Harrison’s visit is being coordinated by Events Prince George. Virginia Sprangers with Events Prince George said the visit is a result of marketing activities with the Train in PG campaign. She said Harrison will spend the weekend touring sport facilities like CN Centre and the Northern Sport Centre. He and Mayor Kinsley will play a fun game of curling at the Prince George Curling Club.

On Saturday, Harrison will attend the Prince George Cougars game, and be hosted by Wolftek Industries. “Wolftek believes in our community and is pleased to be able to support Events Prince George in hosting the International Curling Association’s visit to Prince George,” said Wolftek President Bruce Sutherland.

“As Train In PG ramps up, Prince George will see more international activity when it comes to sport. International sport federations are interested in Prince George and the word is spreading about how our wonderful our community is, how fantastic our facilities are, and most importantly the great support from the community,” said Sprangers.

The “Train in PG” campaign is geared to international athletes, teams, coaches and officials in promoting Prince George as a place to acclimatize prior to national or international competition. The campaign currently focuses on five major winter sports; hockey, curling, speed skating, cross country skiing and biathlon. Based on the current success of the “Train In PG” campaign, extension of the program will increase to include summer sports. More information about the campaign can be found at www.traininpg.com.