Excitement is building for the 2023 Ontario Winter Games taking place in Renfrew County.
The games are set for Feb. 2 to 5 and 9 to 12 at various locations within the county, including Madawaska Valley District High School, where weightlifting will take place on Feb. 10.
Renfrew County Warden and Chair of the Games, Peter Emon, is thrilled the games are nearing after they were postponed last year.
He had to make the tough call, as COVID cases were rising at the time. But he says, the games are poised to go ahead in February and will generate millions of dollars in economic spin off for the county.
“The games have, for the most part, never been held outside of Central or Southern Ontario,” he says. “We wanted to bring it into our County. We are comfortable with holding it in our community. We know we have the talent to hold the event. We know we have the talent to welcome the 5,000 or 6,000 spectators that are going to be joining us.”
Emon says the Games will require about 1,000 volunteers and he encourages those interested to visit www.renfrewcounty2023.ca to sign up.
This week, Games organizers announced the mascot for the event. It’s a porcupine named Pachi. Its red quills represent “inspiration.” Its green quills represent “opportunity.” And the blue, “community.”
The Games are expected to bring more than 3,000 athletes to the county and they’ll compete in 24 different sports.