BC Winter Games to return to Kamloops for 50th anniversary

May 28, 2024 | 2:40 PM

The BC Winter Games are coming to the Tournament Capital for a third time.

After hosting the initial Winter Games in 1979 – and again in 2018 — the event will return to Kamloops in 2028.

On May 27, game organizers made it official, revealing Kamloops will host the games in less than four years from now.

Niki Remesz, chair of the BC Games Society board of directors, said the Tournament Capital is the best fit for the 2028 games.

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“It’s significant that the B.C. Games will be hosted in 2028 here in Kamloops, because the first games that ever were, were in 1979 and they were hosted in Kamloops,” said Remesz. “To have them return for a 50th anniversary is spectacular.”

More than 2,000 athletes will compete in nearly 20 different events during the Winter Games.

“[More than] 2,000 athletes coming into the city for competition is huge,” Kamloops city councillor Margot Middleton explained. “In all sorts of economic sectors, whether it’s our hospitality industry, transportation — just everything is impacted in a positive way by having the games here.”

The last economic impact of the BC Winter Games was assessed 10 years ago and is estimated to be about $1.5 million. Remesz expects the impact to be even greater for the Tournament Capital.

“I expect that nowadays it will be exceeding $2 million easily to host the B.C. Winter Games,” she said.

Middleton highlighted the importance of bringing tourists during a slower season when businesses can handle the added volume.

“I mean, [we’re] talking sort of winter, when it’s not the highlight of tourist season,” said Middleton. “And now we’re seeing in summer seasons, we’re seeing impacts of wildfires and evacuation centres and travel being impacted a lot more in the summertime than it used to be — so the winter is a really nice fit.”

Though the BC Games Society will need about 1,800 volunteers during the games, Remesz says recruitment is the least of her concerns.

“I never worry about volunteers in the Tournament Capital of Canada,” said Remesz. “Honestly, we have the best volunteers that really bring the heart of everything they do to building out a games or an event of any kind here in Kamloops.”

Over the last two decades, Remesz says more than 250 BC Games alumni have gone on to compete in the Olympics or Paralympic Games.

The next step for the board will be to announce a president of the 2028 Winter Games.

The BC Summer Games in 2028 will be held in Penticton, 50 years after the inaugural BC Summer Games were held in South Okanagan city in 1978.

by Sydney Chisholm/CFJC Today

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