Yellowknife (Nov 08/04) - Four years of debate and controversy have finally yielded to the implementation of the NWT's Sport and Recreation Council.

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) Michael McLeod tabled plans to go ahead with implementation of the new council during the last session of the Legislative Assembly.

"I am extremely pleased to be moving forward with an approach that will result in better co-ordination of programs and services," McLeod said at the time of the announcement.

The council has met with heavy resistance from partners like Sport North, who were not convinced of its benefits.

Ian Legaree, sport, recreation and youth director with MACA, said the most recent consultation was able to assuage much of that contention.

"There is still some dissent," admitted Legaree.

However, responses by the department to nine recommendations submitted by the five NWT sport partners have prompted the more vocal components to come to the table.

The partners are the Aboriginal Sport Circle of the Western Arctic, Beaufort Delta Sahtu Recreation Association, Mackenzie Recreation Association, Sport North and NWT Recreation and Parks Association.

"We've decided we're just going to wait and see and represent the interests of our members," said Doug Rentmeister, executive director with Sport North.

"Obviously, there is a political will to go forward, so we're going to bite the bullet."

MACA maintains that the new council will have long-lasting benefits to Northern sports and recreation.

Ideally, Legaree said, the new council will eliminate program and administration redundancies within the sport delivery system, subsequently freeing more money for program delivery and enhancing athlete and coach development.

"There are a number of areas where I think duplication is going on," said Legaree.

One example is each of the five organizations is conducting its own coach training programs.

"I think we should have one organization doing coaching training," he said.

The plan is also to bring all the partners together into one central office, which is hoped to free up some of the $450,000 the five partners spend annually on administration.

That money will be added to the $2.5 million that is currently being spent on program delivery between them.

A solid objective hasn't been determined, but Legaree said ideally in the short term he would like to see a 10 per cent cost recovery.

Overall, the new system should allow the sport partners to focus on developing athletes and creating an atmosphere that promotes life-long activity.

Legaree dismissed concerns that combining recreation and sport objectives will be a detriment to developing elite athletics.

"If you have thousands of hockey players, your chance of developing stronger, more elite athletes is better than if you have 200. It will benefit grassroots and elite sports," he said.

The new council, Legaree said, will also give a voice to many of the smaller NWT communities which have expressed concerns that they have not been involved enough in the system.

It's something Theresa Ross, past president with the NWT Parks and Recreation Association, is excited about.

"It will help strengthen our community recreation system so the average person can be involved in recreation," she said.

"This will help us to work together. We used to, but we kind of got pulled apart," she said.

The government is not coming to the table empty-handed. MACA's regional staff will be available to assist volunteers with the administerial aspects of program delivery and co-ordination, Legare said.

Essentially, the staff can be used as go-betweens for sources or assist in the development of major projects.

"Most volunteers I know love being on the court or on the ice. It's the backroom stuff that they burn out on," said Legaree.