Sports tourism is big business for municipalities both large and small.
Single-sport tournaments and big multi-sport events like the Alberta Winter Games are important economic drivers. They help pay some of the bills for building and maintaining recreation facilities, but even more important is their power to build a community’s reputation.
And nothing reflects a community’s spirit as much as its ability to muster the volunteers needed to host the big show.
In bigger cities there are people who have made a second (albeit unpaid) career out of volunteering for major events. A concert here, a Brier there, maybe an arts festival or culinary event—it always adds up to taking in the high-profile tourism draws for free.
It’s fun. You come away with new friends, with stories of the performances you’ve seen, some official Volunteer gear, a couple of free meals, and some memories that will sustain you until your next opportunity.
And there’s always a great party at the end of it all.
It’s a major coup for our region to host the Alberta Winter Games next month. The Alberta government sent some cash our way to upgrade some facilities, upgrades that will serve us all after the games are over. Young athletes and their families will get a sense of our region’s beauty and the warmth of our communities.
For our economy, it will mean an influx of dollars for the duration of the games and it will also earn us some return visits—not just from the participants and spectators, but from organizers of future events.
And that means more opportunities for us to enjoy the performances and the spirit of major tournaments or multi-sport meets.
But first we have to invest a little spirit of our own. If you’ve been thinking about volunteering for the Games, call today (see the ad on page 6 of the January 20th Respect). If you haven’t been considering it, call anyway. A volunteer roster is never full: there’s always room for more.
When we say “The Lakeland is hosting the 2026 Alberta Winter Games,” we don’t just mean our hotels and sports venues; it’s all of us.
Join the team and have some fun!