The agreement is signed and sealed.
Now, all that local organizers need to do is deliver on their pledge to pull off a stellar Winter Games in the Battlefords next February.
The 2018 Saskatchewan Winter Games tripartite agreement between the City of North Battleford, the local games organizing committee and the Saskatchewan Games Council was formally signed Thursday morning at the NationsWEST Field House.
The agreement solidifies the responsibilities of each of the parties in hosting the Games.
It was signed at the same location where the announcement had been made a year earlier that the Battlefords would host the 2018 Games.
While that previous announcement was greeted with tremendous excitement in the room that day, the signing ceremony Thursday brought home a different feeling, and that was one of responsibility.
“There’s no turning back now,” said Lorne Lasuita, provincial games consultant.
“The community’s engaged, city council’s cooperating, and the volunteer committee they’ve got here is doing an awesome job.”
For city officials, the day brought home the reality that North Battleford would indeed be hosting the games.
“This was an important day, because it’s official,” said Mayor Ryan Bater.
“The financial commitments are there, the financial commitments from the city are there, and we’re ready to get to work.”
Bater was enthusiastic about the prospects of an economic boost to the city. He pointed out that roughly 7,000 additional people were expected in the city for the Games, boosting the population of the Battlefords for that week from about 19,000.
But the mayor also said it would shine a light on the community.
“We will be able to show the province we’ve got the best facilities in Saskatchewan. We’ve got the best volunteer ethic in Saskatchewan. There are a lot of people from all over Saskatchewan who are not aware of what we have here, and after they’re here to compete, they’re going to become aware.”
With the official signing, Saskatchewan Games Council chair Julie Brandt presented a cheque for $670,000 to the host committee.
That is the council’s own financial commitment as part of the agreement. The money itself is raised from provincial lottery revenues.
So far, things seem to be going well for the local hosts as they prepare for next Feb. 18-24, when the games are held.
In terms of organization compared to other provincial games, this event is “on par” with those, Lasuita said.
“Certainly in the area of fundraising and Friends of the Games, they’ve really started to step up to the plate to encourage corporations to donate.”
The volunteer board, he said, is “committed, enthusiastic and lots of fun.”
As for members of the local games committee, they were happy to see this latest milestone achieved.
“It’s always agreed upon, but it’s official now,” said David Schell, who along with Rob Rongve is co-chair of the games committee.
While Schell and Rongve have had extensive experience in volunteer roles in the city, they have never organized a provincial games before and Schell admitted it was a “daunting” experience.
But he credits a “great crew” on the host committee for taking a lot of weight off their shoulders. He added the “guidance has been awesome from the games council how to host a successful games.”
“It’s a large task, but one that’s going to be awesome for the Battlefords,” Schell said.
As the games approach, two needs stand out for the host committee. One will be recruiting volunteers.
About 1,200 to 1,500 volunteers will be needed, said Schell, and an online volunteer registration will soon be up and running. At the moment, they are collecting names of those interested, but it is still early days yet and the real push for volunteers will come later on.
“It’s going to be fun, to be honest,” said Schell. “You’re going to not want to miss out on volunteering, because it’s going to be something you’ll want to be part of.”
The other need will be fundraising. A little over $500,000 is going to be needed so the games can meet its budget of roughly $2 million.
Co-chair Rob Rongve said that Brett and Keri Payne of Canadian Tire have taken on responsibility for the fundraising efforts, and they have been talking to different businesses, groups and service clubs.
So far the efforts have gone “phenomenally well,” Rongve said.
“We’ve had some recent really great news come in from some major sponsors that have committed,” said Rongve. Those haven’t been publicly announced yet, but Rongve is promising some “big announcements” in the coming weeks and months.
While the effort is off to a good start, more money is needed. Rongve said they plan to continue “pounding the streets” looking for donations.
The end goal, he said, is to “make this the best games ever” and to do all the “extras” needed to ensure it is successful.