World Luge championships slipping away from Calgary

CALGARY – It has been home to major competitions including the Winter Olympics, with athletes from around the world flocking to its icy surface. Now the sliding track at WinSport in Calgary could lose a world championship race.

Luge Canada has officially applied to move the 2021 World Championships from Calgary to Whistler B.C.

Executive director Tim Farstad says he’ll ask the international governing body of the sport to approve the change at its congress in June.

“We tried to get confirmation from WinSport that the track would be open in 2021. They sent us a letter saying that at this point they can’t confirm that it’d be open so at that point we decided that we wanted to try and move it to Whistler to keep the world championships in Canada.”

The Calgary track closed in March and a planned $25-million renovation to its refrigeration unit, with around $8 million in funding still required.

READ MORE: Bobsleigh and Luge community respond to closure of WinSport track

In a statement emailed to 660 NEWS, Dale Oviatt with WinSport says they’re still seeking that money but are hopeful they can find a solution to complete the repairs in time for the 2020/2021 season.

Farstad is hopeful that the track can be open by 2020 so that Calgary won’t lose out on other major competitions.

The 33-year-old facility was the sliding sports venue for the 1988 Winter Olympics. The Whistler track was the site of sliding sports for the 2010 Winter Games.

The track in Calgary has been the hub for Canadian luge athletes, and Farstad says losing it can have a profound effect on those athletes and the city itself.

“It’s not just high-performance sport; it’s young kids and older athletes being active. We always host major international events which bring in a lot of money to Calgary.”

WATCH: Last day for WinSport sliding track

WinSport, which oversees the track at Canada Olympic Park, said it was counting on a Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to generate more funding for the track.

Calgarians voted down the bid in a plebiscite last November.

 

With files from The Canadian Press and CityNews