Ontario Winter Games

How very exciting. The Ontario Winter Games are coming. Not quite the Olympics, but fun nonetheless.

Held in Rosseau, Baysville, Huntsville, Gravenhurst and all sorts of places in Muskoka. Cast of thousands! Athletes will be staying in a wide variety of accomodations. There are maps of the venues, as far as Sudbury!

The Ontario Winter Games are scheduled for March 4 to 7, 2010. Opening Ceremonies, March 4th, 2010, Gravenhurst Wharf. Cross-country skiing will be held Jan. 16 and 17. This will prove to be a good practice run for the G8 2010 - with similar numbers expected. Much less security, mind you!

Even if there were snowshoeing races, I prefer the peace and quiet around our place. Crowds give me the heebee geebies, after spending a career in crowd control (a classroom!).

They expect 3,300 athletes, coaches, officials and up to 10,000 spectators. Holy smokes. An estimated $4 million in economic benefits for the local economy. You can register as a volunteer, before Dec. 20. Your local face for the 2010 Ontario Winter Games These are the folks hired to coordinate it all.

On that note, the only games I've seen have been the neighbour's kids. In the city of Nepean. In the backyard! The last year we lived in Nepean (2006), I borrowed the school video. These were large lots, 100' x 150'. The people behind us had a wonderful property, and big bucks. They had an inground pool, a hot tub, and in winter they put up a snowboarding ramp. Really!

Now, Muskoka has quite a few ramps. There are several I've spotted, but this one really tops it. In the backyard, made of metal. It tooks days to put it together each year. I would watch and wait to see if they made it to the other side. He'd often do a faceplant! Sorry you can't watch, Gaelyn, but it is a funny video.