Canada Summer Games building a legacy
Henley Island building will provide needed training facilities
It’s getting cold, and the Henley rowing course is quiet, but sunny days are ahead on the water for the site which has hosted events for more than 100 years.
Dignitaries broke ground on Henley Island in Port Dalhousie for a new accessible rowing centre earlier this month. The project is one of the benefits for Niagara as host of the Canada Summer Games in 2022.
“I rowed there back in the 1970s and 1980s, and the facilities aren’t that much different,” said Doug Hamilton, the chair of Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games.
“This is an excellent opportunity for the young rowers to have a place to train and for the rowing community to gather and use the facilities to gather and host other events.
“The improvements were basically a precondition for getting the 2024 world rowing championship. If they didn’t have this facility and accessible washrooms, they wouldn’t have the 2024 worlds. It should set up the course for the next 50 years.”
The host society refers to the rowing centre and the Sport and Ability Centre under construction in Thorold at Brock University as legacy projects. They carry the heftiest price tags and get most of the attention, but work is planned and completed in partnership with local municipalities across the Region, Hamilton said.
“Good examples are the baseball and softball diamonds,” Hamilton said. “Oakes Park in Niagara Falls needs some upgrades for the Games in the dugouts and some of the facilities. Niagara Falls is making those improvements, and we are contributing.
“The same holds for the baseball facility in Welland, where they are making improvements to the field. We are contributing to that as well.”
There are upgrades planned for the softball facilities at Southward Community Park in Grimsby using the same model.
“These are all things that will be required for the Games,” Hamilton said. “The aquatic centre at Brock University needs new diving boards and some swimming equipment, so we are working on that with Brock for the Games.,” Hamilton said.
“We are also going to make improvements on a mountain bike course along 12 Mile Creek heading up toward Decew Falls. Those improvements will leave a better course for local mountain-bike riders.”
The Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course will be the rowing competition site for the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games, which will take place from August 6-21, 2022. Construction of the new facility on Henley Island is expected to be completed by the end of 2021 and will cost about $5 million.
Therowing centre will include amenities the current course lacks — training facilities, a medical room, and accessible change rooms.
At the groundbreaking, St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik called the Games a transformational opportunity for the community that will leave a legacy for generations to come.
“The new Henley Rowing Centre will not only be home to the Games in 2022 but will also serve our rowing community well into the future, building on the world-class sports tourism experience St. Catharines offers,” Sendzik said.
About 5,000 athletes will compete in 18 Canada Summer Games sports in 2022. The Games, initially scheduled for 2021, was delayed for a year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The combined operating and capital budget for the Games is about $150 million. The funding is coming from multiple levels of government.