Canada’s 2007 Winter Games is a Good time for a Vacation

A good time to vacation in Canada for sports lovers is during the 2007 Canada Winter Games. Athletes across Canada are in the midst of their preparations for the games which will be held in Whitehorse, Yukon from February 23 to March 10 2007. It is estimated that 3,500 athletes, coaches and officials will be participating in the 22 sport and cultural events that will take place over the two week period.

This is the first time that the Canada Games will be held north of the 60th parallel. The city is in the midst of preparing for the games with final touches being put on most of the sport venues. The banners of sponsors are already appearing on downtown buildings. Everyone in Whitehorse is involved in one way or another. It is estimated that 5000 volunteers will be needed to support the events during the games and their preparation.

Mt. McIntyre is the venue of the cross-country skiing races. Here the upgrades were completed well ahead of time. Improvements to the ski trails were finished last year in time for the Western Canadian Championships when the new race trails were improved to meet FIS standards. The existing trail network was widened and some new trails and connectors were added. The stadium was completely re-designed and the courses ski very well. There will be some very exciting racing at the games.

There are a number of construction projects throughout the city to handle the games. The newly constructed athletes’ village is a permanent apartment complex that will be used as residences for Yukon College after the completion of the games. It is quite impressive and is very close to downtown, as are most of the sport venues. This makes it convenient for participants and the audience to get around.

The new Canada Games Center is close to the athletes’ village and houses an aquatic centre, NHL size rink, Olympic size rink, leisure ice, field house with artificial turf, flexi-hall with sprung hardwood floor and an indoor running/walking track. The $45 million centre will be the venue for several sports including Artistic Gymnastics, Badminton, Figure Skating, Hockey, Judo, Short Track Speed Skating, Synchronized Swimming and Table Tennis.