Sports & Recreation(Archives)
Regional Recreation Corporation of Wood Buffalo Top Ten of 2014
2014 was an incredibly action-packed year for the RRC and ONE Team, the group of dedicated professionals committed to delivering excellence in sport, recreation and event experiences across the Wood Buffalo region – and what amazing experiences they were this year! This top 10 list covers just some of the events that added up to one great year of making a difference in our region:
10. The transition from MacDonald Island Park Corporation to the RRC truly began on January 1, 2014 when Mi Team became ONE Team, with the bold vision to make a difference in our region every day. ONE Team started the new year enthusiastic, energetic and with a new regional mandate.
9. Photographer Tim Van Horn rolled into the region with the bold ambition to capture the images of 2,000 residents for a photomosaic project to be featured at the Anzac Recreation Centre presented by Nexen Energy and Shell Place at MacDonald Island Park. An astonishing 2,180 photographic images were captured for the Wood Buffalo Mosaic Project, with community residents of every demographic becoming part of Wood Buffalo history.
8. From the country sounds of Tim Hicks to the thumping rock of The Sheepdogs, the RRC welcomed a number of musical performers to the region in 2014, providing fans of all genres a chance to dance.
7. On June 13, a crowd gathered on a sunny day at the best patio in town at the Fox Den Lounge to celebrate the official one-year countdown to the Northern Kickoff presented by Shell – and the official opening of Shell Place in 2015.
6. Over 104 teams, 600 players and some fierce street hockey competition hit the streets in June as the annual Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On! returned for another record-breaking and wildly successful year.
5. In February the rededication of the mini ice surface at the Suncor Community Leisure Centre honoured the memory of a Wood Buffalo legend. With his family in attendance, Terry Conroy was memorialized at the Terry Conroy Mini Ice as community members gathered to remember a man who helped to build the foundation of ice sports in the Wood Buffalo region.
4. Years in the making, the Miskanaw Golf Club celebrated the completion of their redevelopment in September. With the stunning Hole 16 as the centrepiece, the newly redeveloped golf course ended the season on a strong note and ready to welcome golf enthusiasts in the spring of 2015.
3. World class curling made a stop in Fort McMurray in March when Grand Slam of Curling the National presented by Syncrude took centre stage at the Suncor Community Leisure Centre. Eighteen of the best men’s curling teams in the world, including gold medalist Team Jacobs hot off their Olympic win, enthralled curling fans young and old and showcased the region to the country through the national television broadcast.
2. After 30 community engagement sessions and thousands of online survey responses from residents, the groundbreaking in September for the Northside Twin Arena Project signalled the beginning of a new era of recreation facilities on the north side of Fort McMurray.
1. A moment of pride for all involved, the grand opening of the Anzac Recreation Centre presented by Nexen Energy was the pinnacle of an exciting year. Bringing youth clinics and professional sport to Anzac and area residents through partnerships with the Edmonton Eskimos Football Club and FC Edmonton, the new recreation centre in Anzac was the beginning of the realization of the vision to take the RRC regional. And after all, who could forget Trooper, a concert that attracted fans of all ages and rocked Anzac late into the night? Trooper was there for a good time, not a long time, but the Anzac Recreation Centre presented by Nexen Energy was there to stay, and open for business.
