‘Dream big’: How Huntsville’s $90,000 Winter Games Legacy Fund will lift local sports

Amateur sports organizations have until Aug. 18 to apply for grants from The Legacy Fund.

This past February, more than 1,000 participants took to Huntsville to partake in skiing, curling, hockey, and seven other sports at the Ontario 55+ Winter Games.

With the event’s success, the games delivered a surplus of more than $90,000, which was placed in a Legacy Fund to benefit local amateur sport projects.

Canada’s Legacy Fund provides funding opportunities for community-initiated projects.

“Any local sport organization is eligible,” said Kelly Haywood, executive director for Explore Huntsville and the Huntsville Municipal Accommodation Tax Association. “It’s up to the applicants to dream big and to build an application that helps the organization thrive for a long time.”

Haywood said applicants can stand out when their initiatives make an effort to support the town during shoulder season.

“That is our biggest goal in life, not just with this legacy, with everything we do,” said Haywood. “We’re hoping that we see some sort of long-term capital asset requests where there’s the potential for sustainable growth for a group.”

Haywood told the Forester that businesses often struggle during the winter in Huntsville and could use an extra hand.

“These types of initiatives do matter,” said Haywood, adding that for some businesses the Ontario 55+ Winter Games brought in some of their best sales of the year.

The Legacy Fund is an opportunity for organizations to get creative, and for the Huntsville Municipal Accommodation Tax Association to help underwrite risks that local sports projects may have been wary to take.

“I think we’re really hoping people will use their imagination,” said Haywood.

Haywood said Huntsville is well-positioned not just for winter sports, but for fun and exciting community events.

Having a variety of events to offer during the winter, from the Forest of Lights to Arrowhead’s ice-skating rink, Haywood said the town is not the kind of community you’d want to visit if you’re not interested in the outdoors.

“People complain that there’s not enough to do here, but there is tons to do here,” said Haywood.

Applications to the Legacy Fund are open until Aug. 18. For more information, visit huntsvillemat.com/legacyfund.

By Rebecca Hudescu, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Huntsville Forester