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Fort Smith a finalist in national contest Town facing off against Whitehorse for $25,000 and visit by TSN
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 5, 2013
THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Fort Smith has been named one of the finalists in a cross-Canada contest that could net it a significant amount of money and put it in the spotlight on national television.
Sid Bailey, a director of photography with TSN in Calgary, was in Fort Smith on Canada Day to obtain some footage of the community for the Kraft Celebration Tour. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
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If it gets enough support in an online vote, the money will help the town respond to a May 13 fire that has closed Centennial Arena after causing an estimated $1.6 million in damages.
Fort Smith is among 20 communities still standing in a contest called the Kraft Celebration Tour, which is featured on The Sports Network (TSN). In the beginning, there were 629 nominations. Communities nominate a community project, and 10 winning communities will each receive $25,000. Also, from Aug. 16 to 25, two TSN hosts and a crew will visit each of the winning communities for a live SportsCentre broadcast.
The finalists were announced on June 30, and Pam Walsh was happy to find out on the Internet that her nomination of Fort Smith had made it that far.
"I was so excited," said the teacher. "I said, 'Oh my God, we're one of the 20.' And then they called me about a half-hour later and that's how I knew it was my nomination."
The contest pits two regional communities against each other in a runoff to be decided by the Internet voting.
The 20 communities are grouped up in a series of 10 pairs. Fort Smith is matched up against Whitehorse in this first year that the contest has ventured into the North. The winner will be decided in a 24-hour online vote beginning at 10 a.m. on July 8. People can vote as many times as they wish.
On July 1, Sid Bailey, a director of photography with TSN in Calgary, was in Fort Smith to capture the "flavour" of the town for vignettes to promote the community in the contest.
"It's highlighting the town and its energy," he said.
Bailey filmed a crowd of residents chanting "Vote Fort Smith" and captured scenes of Canada Day celebrations. Afterward, he was taken around town for the scenic sights and a look at the arena.
Mayor Brad Brake said a "phenomenal" amount of community pride and spirit was on display for the visitor from TSN.
While the money and the publicity would be good from winning the contest, Brake said, "The big thing coming out of this is community unity."
Walsh said she had an intuition that Fort Smith had a good chance to become a finalist in the contest.
"It's pretty devastating that we had the fire in our community," she said. "It's not like we can go half an hour down the road and access another arena. The arena here is a real focal point for our community."
Walsh said hundreds of people – children and adults – used the arena on a regular basis in the winter for hockey, skating, figure skating and speedskating, and for more activities at other times of the year, such as a large dance in August for the South Slave Friendship Festival and the Fort Smith Trade Show in the spring.
"There's not a lot of places in Fort Smith where you can hold those kind of large events," she said.
Walsh is hopeful about Fort Smith's chances of winning the faceoff with Whitehorse.
"Let's face it, I think our story is pretty compelling," she said, adding that is not to take anything away from Whitehorse.
The Yukon Curling Association is hoping to win the money for a half-dozen clubs – five in the Yukon and one in northwestern British Columbia.
"But I do hope people will listen to our story and recognize that there's a real need here," Walsh said.
She said the community is looking at the option of an outdoor rink for next winter and perhaps longer, but there is still hope the arena ice surface may be usable while repairs are ongoing elsewhere in the building. The $25,000 prize would help purchase portable units for dressing rooms.
Walsh said she heard about the contest from Linda Thompson, a skating coach who occasionally visits from Ontario.
"Basically, when we had the fire at the arena, Skate Canada reps contacted her and said, 'Did you hear about the fire? You should get that community to nominate themselves for the Kraft Celebration Tour,'" Walsh said, adding Thompson sent contest information to her.
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