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Steph Crosier

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February 19, 2021 • • 1 hour ago • • Read 4 minutes Kingston hosted the eight-team Little League Major Provincial Championship tournament in July 2019. Photo by Ian MacAlpine /.The Whig standard

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Despite the current “green” status of the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington regions, tourism in the region continues to be hard hit as local sports organizations struggle to host provincial, national and international tournaments – tournaments that draw thousands of people to the region can city.

“When local sports organizations are not healthy, it is a domino effect,” said Megan Knott, executive director of Tourism Kingston, on Thursday. “And we know some are really not healthy.”

Allyson Tonelli, director of sales at Tourism Kingston, said a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Canadian Tire Jumpstart found that one in ten local sports organizations went bankrupt during the pandemic, and 26 percent are on the verge of bankruptcy. The survey also found that many organizations’ operating budgets have been cut in half and that unless conditions change, 18 percent of them will close in the next six months, or 44 percent within the year.

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“We have to be able to help here,” said Tonelli. “If we can’t figure out what to support, all of the tournaments that give our city such economic value won’t happen.”

To see what to do, Tourism Kingston and the city brought together local amateur sports organizers for Tourism Kingston’s City Hall meeting. They wanted to hear how their organizations survived the pandemic, what their plans are and what concerns they have about the future.

Knott noted Thursday that the meeting was on time as the city council had just passed a proposal to donate $ 600,000 to support the arts, culture and sports. City officials are now looking into how to use those dollars.

The meeting was attended by more than 25 representatives of all sports, which compete against each other on land, water, ice and even in the air.

All water sports enthusiasts want the city to take a look at the inner harbor and realize its full potential. They also indicated that there is potential with the new Cataraqui Bridge to accommodate spectators.

Countryside District Coun. Gary Oosterhof noted that the town recently lost two boat launches north of Highway 401 that were on privately owned property, which has adversely affected sport fishing. He also made requests from the Kingston Panthers Rugby Football Club for a new field to be used for tournaments.

A local football association called for debt relief on facility rentals, and volleyball players called for more competitive beach volleyball courts. The president of the Kingston Striders Speed ​​Skating Club stated that he is currently struggling to grow, adding that a Kingston Transit route to the Cataraqui Community Center would help accommodate post-secondary students.

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The director of Kingston Elite All-Star Cheerleading urged the city to engage with the provincial government so that they could start training again. She pointed out that an annual event, usually held by Cheer Evolution, brought 20,000 people, including athletes, coaches and their families, to town each March. It was canceled last year because of the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier.

The Kingston Eros Trampoline Club was supposed to take provincials but has been postponed due to COVID and now the club is seeking help with scholarships to help them stay afloat.

“I think every recommendation made was in the realm of possibility,” said Knott. “I don’t think we’ve heard a single thing that is impossible. I think even when I am talking about needing 50+ grass beach volleyball courts, I think it can be done with the right people at the table.

“I honestly think we can work with any community partner – the city, Tourism Kingston, local sports organizations – to make your requests easier or faster.”

Knott stated that sports tourism is an important cog in Kingston’s tourism industry because it is not seasonal.

“Often times we have a very seasonal market in Kingston, which means on May 1st the town comes alive, the courtyards expand, tour buses come in, and you instinctively know there’s a healthy, vibrant tourism economy,” Knott said. But then fall comes when the post-secondary students return, and there is a shift in late fall, early winter.

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“Then we really rely on local sports organizations to work with community partners to host these types of tournaments as they are vital to the health of hotels and local businesses like restaurants.”

Tonelli said there are still many public health restrictions in place in the province and around the world to bring sports tourism back to life in Limestone City. She noted that many communities are still being told not to travel outside of their public health spheres, and of course international travel is not possible either.

“At the same time, we see customers for sporting events. But they all adjust the way they would normally run so they can comply with any applicable regulations, ”Tonelli said. “And unfortunately, some of them just can’t run – it’s that simple. They can’t adapt to adapt, and then there are certain sports that aren’t even allowed right now. “

Knott explained that any healthy tourism economy needs a balance between meetings and conferences, leisure, unique festivals and sports.

“Everyone has a place in the market to fill hotels seasonally, and exercise is really important,” Knott said. “I think our community in general really relies on this influx of visitors through sports to obviously showcase the great city we live in, but also for supply and economic stimulus.

“We have never seen the importance of having a healthy sports ecosystem like the one we did with COVID when we see the real, true effects of limited travel with sports and really only localized sports.”

scrosier@postmedia.com

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