A centre of competition and training excellence

World-Class Facilities and Destination

Niagara Prepares for the 2015Pan Am Parapan Games

2013 Niagara Sport IndustryCongress

Making Sport Accesssible

In this issue:

3

Contents

Welcome to NiagaraOn behalf of the Niagara Sport Commission, it is with a great deal of community pride that I invite you to Niagara – a region that works together toward common goals – a region that offers you a vibrant, active and fun destination that ensures your next sporting event is one that your participants will never forget.

Niagara is a place of wonders! From the thunder of Niagara Falls to experiencing a ship climbing the Niagara Escarpment while transiting one of the Welland Canal’s 8 locks, our wonderful region offers your participants an everlasting experience for the entire family, ensuring their return to the following year’s event. Niagara’s robust destinations also includes a thriving festival and entertainment scene, miles of white sand beaches, our wine & culinary routes, recreation trails, watersport activities, fishing, golfing and unique shopping districts – Niagara has truly become a world-class four season host community for any sport event!

Our amazing team is ready and able to assist you with your next sporting event, festival or conference. With over 20,000 room nights, over 250,000 square feet of meeting space and world-class sport facilities, we can accommodate any sporting need.

I highly encourage you to consider Niagara for any sport-related need and welcome you to contact any of our staff. We would be more than pleased to assist you and look forward to welcoming you to the premier centre of competition and training excellence in Canada.

Best regards,

Vance Badawey,Board of Directors Chair, Niagara Sport Commission

On behalf of all of us who live and work in the Niagara Region, I would like to invite all sporting groups, organizations, and federations to come to Niagara to meet, train and compete at our world-class sporting venues. I am confident that www.sportniagara.com and our staff will be an invaluable tool when planning your event and visit to the Niagara Region. Our website is full of sport venue information and sporting events that we have recently hosted with great success, from provincial to national to international events in a variety of sports. The Niagara Region is renowned for the majestic Niagara Falls and yet, there is so much more! Our visitors agree that the wonderful thing about Niagara is there is never a shortage of things to do while you are here. Whether you love the outdoors or prefer to stay indoors, there is an event, attraction or activity, and over 200 accommodation options to suit every individual and group. When you are not training or competing, you will be able to enjoy our exceptional culinary variety, tour and taste at some of Ontario’s finest wineries, visit Niagara’s casinos that offer non-stop excitement 24/7, unwind at one of our world-class spas, explore our sandy beaches, or explore nature by hiking or cycling on our region-wide trails. Once again, I invite you to experience all that Niagara has to offer - 365 days a year, in spring, summer, winter and fall. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Warm regards, Bram CottonExecutive Director, Niagara Sport Commission

4 Destination Extraordinaire

6 Niagara is Ready for the World!

82015 Pan Am Update

9Niagara’s World-class Facilities

19Niagara Sport Industry Congress

19Niagara Accessible Sport Committee

202013 Event Calendar

2 SportNiagara.com

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DestinationExtraordinaire

For many who come to train, compete, or cheer for their favourite team,

Niagara is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For those who come more

often, they return because there’ so much to see and do.

Eleven cities populate the region all within a 30 minute

drive and all with something unique to offer.

In addition to the majestic Niagara Falls, the region offers

hundreds of restaurants, unique shopping experiences, over

60 wineries on a breathtaking wine route, championship golf

courses, scores of attractions, indoor and outdoor water parks,

over 200 hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, and campgrounds.

Combine all of Niagara’s assets with a vast selection of

meeting space and our experienced team of event managers,

and you have a winning formula for your next event. We can

help make it a vacation.

Everyone is welcome with open arms, good cheer and

a smile around every corner.

Niagara is your ultimate host.

You may come for a game,but everyone leaves a champion

Niagara is ready for the World!

We’ve investedover $300 million to build and market state-of-the-art facilities. We train high performance athletes and host world calibre competitions. The same facilities are enjoyed by recreational and amateur athletes who come to compete from regions near and far.

Over 12,000 years in the making, the mighty Niagara is the iconic backdrop to a region that has become a centre of competition and training excellence. In just seven short years Niagara has earned the reputation of a world-class sport tourism destination and is the home of major sporting competitions from around the world.

The sport facilities of the Niagara Region were built to be

utilized as training sites, competition, teaching facilities

for elite athletes and parathletes, and for community use.

The investment into the infrastructure of sport venues in

Niagara has grown considerably in the last 15 years, and

sport venues continue to be created at an incredible pace.

We have the courts, pools, diamonds, fields, arenas,

gymnasiums, courses, trails, lakes, waterways, and

multi-sport facilities.

Niagara welcomes the world to come and experience

these high-performance facilities whether it is for

training/acclimatization or competition.

Preparing for the 2015 Pan/Parapan Games

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Aquatics HandballArchery Martial ArtsAthletics Modern PentathlonBaseball Racket SportsBasketball Roller SportsBowling RowingCanoeing RugbyCycling SailingEquestrian SoftballFencing TriathlonField Hockey VolleyballFootball (Soccer) Waterski/WakeboardGolf WeightliftingGymnastics WrestlingPa

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n Ev

ents

Our story is resonating with the worldLast year alone, Niagara hosted the 2012 Ontario Cup - Under 12 and Under 17 Boys Basketball Provincial Championships, the 2012 FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships, and the 130th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, to name a few. Over the next three years, Niagara will be welcoming athletes from the America’s when they come to train and acclimatize for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.

The Welland International Flatwater Centre will be the official Canoe and Kayak Sprint venue and the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course will be the official Rowing venue for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.

World-class Facilities

BROCK UNIVERSITY

500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, Ontario

The Brock University Athletic Centre is an expansive multi-story,

multi-use health and fitness facility housing three gymnasia, a 50 metre

Olympic pool, a 25 yard pool, a three lane 200 metre indoor track, basketball courts, a fitness centre,

fencing studio, an indoor rowing centre, squash courts, outdoor tennis courts, and seven playing fields.

The venue has three different gyms that are all multi-use and can house several different events. In

past years, Brock University has hosted training camps for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL and the

Toronto Raptors of the NBA.

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Welland International FlatwaterCentre Named as Official Pan Am Games VenueThe Welland International Flatwater Centre (WIFC) has been selected as the

official venue for Canoe/Kayak Sprint for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American

Games. “The Welland International Flatwater Centre is world-renowned for its

competitive water sport facilities and significant recreational programs,” said

Ian Troop, TO2015 Chief Executive Officer. “This venue embodies our philosophy

of making Toronto 2015 the ‘People’s Games’ bringing sport and community

together. The investments we’re making today will create a rich public legacy for

generations to come.” As the premier calm water surface in the heart of the Niagara

Peninsula, the WIFC will be hosting many international calibre competitions

leading up to Toronto 2015, including the 2013 ICF Junior and Under 23 Canoe

Sprint World Championships.

Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course Named as Official Pan Am Games VenueThe Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines has been selected

as the official venue for Rowing for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American

Games. The City of St. Catharines, in partnership with the Canadian Henley

Rowing Corporation, will host the Rowing events at the world-renowned Royal

Canadian Henley Rowing Course in July 2015.

Did you know?• The 2011 Pan/Parapan American Games in Guadalajara hosted 7,355 athletes from 42 nations participating in 36 sports

• 2015 Toronto games will be the second largest international multi-sport Games after the Summer Olympics

• They will be the largest multi-sport games Canada has ever hosted.

Event Pan Am Toronto 2010 Vancouver 2015 Winter Olympics

Sports 48 20

Venues 43 9

Ath/Coaches/Officials 11,000 7,000

Source: Supply Ontario

GALE CENTRE

4171 Fourth Avenue, Niagara Falls, OntarioThe Gale Centre’s slogan is “We Make and Host Champions.” One step inside this new multi-use sports facility which features four National Hockey League sized rinks, 17,000 square feet of Concert and Tradeshow space and you will see why they adopted this slogan.

The main arena has a seating capacity of 2,170 and is home to the Niagara Falls Canucks and Riverhawks of the Ontario Hockey Association. In 2011, the Gale Centre was one of the training camp locations for Team Canada’s World Junior Men’s Hockey team. The next year, the Centre played host to the Canadian Women’s Hockey League Clarkson Cup Championship. The facility is proud to be barrier free and fully accessible with over 900 spaces for parking.

YOUNGS SPORTSPLEX

570 River Road, Welland, Ontario

The new Sportsplex which opened in late 2012,

features a FIFA regulation sized soccer field, four

indoor tennis courts as well as a Sport Performance

Centre and convenience food area. Surrounding the

complex are five FIFA regulation soccer fields, two

of which are artificial turf fields. This facility offers

numerous field oriented sports and a place where

athletes can train year round. The new complex will

be able to not only serve the residents of Welland,

but sport communities from Ontario, Canada, and

around the World.

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WELLAND INTERNATIONALFLATWATER CENTRE

Welland, OntarioThe WIFC is located in the heart of the City of Welland, midway between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It is a significant water- based recreational area that combines international-standard competitive water sport facilities with recreational and social opportunities. Set in 411 acres of parkland and 272 acres of water, the WIFC is the premiere calm water surface in the heart of the Niagara Region. Able to host Rowing, Canoe/ Kayak Sprint and Marathon, Canoe Polo, Open Water Swimming, Triathlon, Water Polo, and Dragon Boat Racing. The WIFC will host the 2013 ICF Junior and Under 23 Canoe Sprint World Championships, the 2015 World Dragon Boat Championships, as well as Canoe/Kayak (Sprint) events of theToronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.

SCOTIABANK CONVENTION CENTRE

6815 Stanley Avenue, Niagara Falls, Ontario

Located a mere 500 metres away from the world-famous

Canadian Horseshoe Falls, the Centre draws from the

breath-taking sight of nature’s power, and the numerous

fun and lively entertainment, dining, and retail options

found in the Fallsview Tourist District.

The 288,000 square foot Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Level designed facility

features: 82,000 square foot free span exhibition hall to

accommodate over 400 - 10ft. x 10ft. display booths; a distinctive

17,000 square foot ballroom; 26,000 square feet of flexible

meeting and breakout space; and an intimate 1,000 seat

theatre offering live entertainment and stage productions. 1312

NIAGARA COLLEGE

300 Woodlawn Road, Welland, Ontario

In the fall of 2010, Niagara College opened a new five-storey high Athletic Centre at the Welland

Campus that includes a double-varsity gymnasium with seating for 1,000 spectators, as well as

expanded fitness and aerobics areas, a central athletic therapy area, change rooms for athletes and

officials, and a two-storey entry concourse. Since opening, the new athletic centre has hosted the

2011 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Women’s Basketball Championships and the 2013

Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Volleyball Championships.

VALE CENTREHealth & Wellness Centre

550 Elizabeth Street, Port Colborne, Ontario

The Vale Centre is a 145,000-square-foot multi-sport complex

featuring two NHL-sized rinks, an aquatic centre with a 25

metre lap pool and leisure pool, a field house with a double

gymnasium, a fitness area, eight outdoor bocce courts,

as well as a track for year-round use by joggers and

walkers, and 12 dressing rooms. The larger ice rink has a

seating capacity of 1,000, while the smaller rink, which is

open year-round, can hold about 200 spectators.

In addition to a restaurant located near the entrance to the

complex, user-friendly features include monitors displaying

directions and schedules for upcoming events. The facility

is nestled within the T.A. Lannan Sports Complex that is

home to six soccer fields, three baseball fields, a playground

and recreation trails that connect with the Welland Canal

Multi-Use Trails.

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SEYMOUR-HANNAHSports & Entertainment Centre240 St. Paul Street West, St. Catharines, Ontario The Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre boasts four NHL size ice pads, Recreation and Community Services administration offices, the Lookout Sports Lounge, Concession Booths, a Sports Store and a Sports Clinic. Rink 1 has an ice- surface of 200 feet long by 85 feet wide withseating and standing room capacity for 1,500 spectators. The arenais the home of the Brock University Badgers Men’s and Women’sVarsity Hockey teams, as well as the Niagara Lock Monsters,a Men’s Professional Indoor Lacrosse team in the CanadianLacrosse League. This facility is accessible and includes Braillesignage, and is located on public transit routes. Some of theother user-friendly features include an ATM, wi-fi Internetaccess, banquet tables, PA system, air-conditioning andautomatic external defibrillators on site.

KIWANIS FIELD240 St. Paul Street West, St. Catharines, Ontario

Located at the Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre Kiwanis Field is the City

of St. Catharines’ first artificial turf field. It is large enough to accommodate regulation

Canadian Football League games, FIFA soccer games and field lacrosse.

The artificial turf extends the playing season, giving teams the ability to host matches from

mid-April through to mid-November. It also means fewer game cancellations because of

inclement weather while the extension of the season enables more people to participate in

field sports.

This accessible facility has four change rooms with showers and washrooms that can be

converted to two football change rooms. The field is fully lit with computer-programmed

lighting to accommodate night games. It is available for use during practice and official

matches.

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GEORGE TAYLOR FIELDAT COMMUNITY PARK

4 Seymour Street, St. Catharines, Ontario Community Park is a stadium in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Toronto Blue Jays Minor League affiliates (Short-Season ‘A’ Level) The St. Catharines Blue Jays from 1986-1994, and the St. Catharines Stompers from 1995 to 1999. Both teams were in the New York-Penn League. The ballpark has a capacity to hold 2,000 spectators. This lit diamond has field dimensions of 300 feet down the left and right field lines and 400 feet to straight away centre. It is equipped with two change rooms, coaches rooms,

umpire room, laundry room, press box, and concession stand.

WELLAND SPORTS STADIUM

90 Quaker Road, Welland, Ontario The Welland Sports Stadium was built for baseball in 1989 and was home to the Welland Pirates, Short Season ‘A’ Level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates who played in the New-York Penn league from 1989-1994. The stadium features a main concourse area that is covered and overlooks the playing field. The seating area, including two lawn sections, can hold approximately 2,500 spectators. This lit diamond has field dimensions of 330 feet down the left and right field lines and 400 feet to straight away centre. This stadium is equipped with two change rooms, coaches rooms, umpire room, a spacious press box, and a concession stand.

ROYAL CANADIANHENLEY ROWING COURSE

72 Henley Island Drive, Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines, Ontario The Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course is a rowing facility that was built in 1903, to stage the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. The event has been held ever since on this course. In 1970, the course hosted the World Rowing Championships. By the end of the twentieth century the facility was renovated extensively to stage the 1999 World Rowing Championships.

The venue is slated to host the rowing competitions at the 2015 Pan American Games. To stage the games the venue will again be renovated, with upgrades scheduled to be completed by 2014. The facility is considered by FISA (International Rowing Federation) an “A” class venue.

NIAGARAGOLF COURSES

Niagara is home to 48 golf courses, creating the greatest single concentration of golf facilities in one region, anywhere in Canada. There are so many different courses to choose from. Whether you are a recreational golfer or a pro, there is simply a course for everyone. Niagara offers championship golf courses and one of the longest playing seasons in North America. The region has become a top choice for golfers who demand excellent courses along with a variety of challenges. You will find ample opportunities to enjoy and perfect your game here.

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Niagara Accessible Sport CommitteeThe Niagara Accessible Sport Committee (NASC) is a proud partner of the Niagara Sport Commission and strives to promote and enhance the opportunities of accessible sport within the Niagara Region. The NASC was formed in 2011 through a partnership with ParaSport Ontario and we currently provide promotional and communication support to a number of accessible sport programs in our community. Through our dedicated volunteers we are able to act as a resource place for persons with disabilities that want to get involved with accessible sports. We realize that people with disabilities require adaptive programs to engage in sport. As such, we work with our partners to provide increased visibility, a stronger unified voice and collaborative programming opportunities within Niagara.

The Niagara Sport Commission hosted the 1st Annual Niagara Sport Industry Congress on March 22 and 23 at the Four Points by Sheraton St. Catharines, Niagara Suites. Over 200 High School, College, and University students with an interest in pursuing a career in Sport Management attended the two-day event.

Dan Berlin, Co-Host of TSN Radio Program “Inside the Lines” was the Master of Ceremonies for the congress and shared several entertaining stories from his experiences in sports, and engaged the students and guests in panel discussions. Ian Troop, Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Pan/Parapan American Games Organizing Committee was the first keynote speaker on Friday morning giving an overview of TO 2015 along with a review of his career path that took him around the world and back to Toronto. Tom Wright,

1st Annual Niagara Sport Industry Congress - A Big Success!

Director of Operations for UFC Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, followed Troop in the keynote speakers line-up. He outlined the key points to what makes the UFC successful, as well as painting a picture of what the UFC wants to accomplish in the future in regards to growth and market share. Saturday morning started with Brent Barootes from The Partnership Group talking to students about the Sponsorship of Sport and outlining the current trends in the industry.

There were several other executives and industry leaders from Collegiate, Regional, Provincial, and National Sports Organizations in attendance offering their expertise and advice during panel and networking sessions. “We are very pleased with the results of the 1st Annual Niagara Sport Industry Congress” stated Bram Cotton, Executive Director of the Niagara Sport Commission. “This event was created to provide professional development opportunities in the Niagara Region or students and industry. We look forward to building upon this event by reviewing the students’ feedback for 2014.”

Event Name Athletes/ Participants Date MunicipalityCintronSportsfest Niagara 1000 January 25-27 RegionalNiagara Sport Industry Congress 200 March 23-24 St. CatharinesNiagara Brazilian Jujitsu Open 500 March 24 St. CatharinesOntario Basketball U12 Championship 1000 April 5-7 RegionalOntario Basketball U17 Championships 750 May 24-26 RegionalSport Niagara Awards Breakfast 200 June 6 St. CatharinesCanoe Niagara 1200 August 1-4 WellandRoyal Canadian Henley Regatta 3500 August 4-11 St. CatharinesGranfondo Niagara (Cycling) 4000 September 14 Regional11Global Niagara Falls (Triathlon) 250 September 15 Welland, Niagara FallsNiagara 7’s Rugby Festival 200 November Niagara Falls

2013 Event Calendar

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