Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Huntsville Sports Facility Needs

During the last municipal election, the Huntsville Sports Community expressed the need for a number of additional sports facilities in our Town. This is an opportunity for those groups and organizations to have their voices heard by Council as well as the community.
Councillor George Young is the author of this post.

12 comments:

Mayor Claude Doughty said...

A vision for the town is that a plan should involve the possibility of acquiring the Hidden Valley Highlands ski area. The club is presently semi private, serving a Toronto Based membership. The Town could make it a profitable location and with an intelligent marketing plan that can be very successful.



The need for a locally based and run facility would be very advantageous to Huntsville not only for a focused promotion of winter activities but also the development of a competitive mountain biking location. The facilities could be better utilized and open door for the community and beyond.



In the big picture this town acquired facility could be similar to Winter Park Colorado ski area owned by the city of Denver. If the town wants to go event marketing this is a perfect example of a facility that can be expropriated by the Town of Huntsville. Presently Hidden Valley is very much a Toronto club and my feelings are it is becoming very much a candidate for a private club excluding the local community.



Brian H

Mayor Claude Doughty said...

Although the following comment says I said it, in fact it was an email I received and pasted into this comment space. It is in fact from Brian H.

Anonymous said...

The Town of Huntsville Parks and Recreation Committee has recently developed it's vision for the coming years. The source of this vision comes from staff, committee members and information and requests from the users of the Parks and Recreation Department. We is now needed are the suggestions, comments, and critiques of the general population. Please take the time to review the document and provide us with your input.

Mike Greaves
Chair Huntsville Parks and Recreation

Anonymous said...

My name is Jocelyn R. and I am a grade 8 student from Huntsville and for the last two years in the month of June there has been Girls field Lacrosse. It is a fun and very athletic sport. A lacrosse parent has been running it for us and we all have a blast!!!!! The problem is we can only ever get it for the month of June because soccer has been taking up all the time through the summer. We need more help because this parent has a family too. We want it to go on longer so we have more fun playing more than one sport throughout the summer. For some people this is the only sport they like or are allowed to do. Maybe if we can get more parent volunteers or have a specific time throughout the summer that would be great. We would be more athletic through the summer and it would be fun. It would be great if we could have a designated time throughout the summer. I hope we can and thank-you for your time.

Anonymous said...

Hello their Mr. Mayor, I have a question for you. When are you planning to open the skate park?¿?¿? Please answer soon.

Anonymous said...

Hello my name is Sarah L. and I attend Huntsville Public School.
I think we should have a community center for the youth because it would help with all the problems on the street. It would also give kids something to do when there’s nothing to do on those days off and weekends. As a 13 year old teenager I think it’s a great idea. Thank you for your time, Sarah L. POB.

Unknown said...

I know its been said before in other posts, but in order for Soccer in Huntsville to grow we need more fields and better indoor facilities.

From what I've been told, there are more individuals playing soccer than any other sport in Huntsville. I 90% sure the Huntsville Soccer Club has turned people away due to lack of field space. I know the HSC is trying to grow the Adult program and is starting an Adult competitive team which will represent Huntsville at tournaments. From what I've heard the youth All-star program is growing quickly.

As a soccer player, I've noticed the field quality over the years hasn't been great. The "D&E" field at McCulley was so poor last year that I was injured just running on it. I also coached a U6 team last year, everyone single parent on my team commented on how poor the field was. However, I believe that some work has been done on the field since.

Lastly, we really need better indoor facilities. Having a proper sized indoor field would allow the competitive teams to train all year. With better facilities, the HSC could expand its indoor program.

In response to Mike Greaves's message about soliciting feedback. Where can I find your Vision?

Thank you for your time,

Dave C., P1H

Anonymous said...

Hi my name is Jade and I’m a grade 7 student in Huntsville.


I read the comments that other people made on this subject and I would have to agree with all off them, but I would also want to put in mind that we really need more ice space for people that like to play hockey or like skating. I would think that they would like more availability of open times because there are a lot of people that like to skate and they always have to wait for a turn on the ice. If we had a ice rink outside then people wouldn’t have to wait for a turn they could go when ever they want. Also it would make it free so the kids that are young could just go and play on the ice when they want without having to play for like 5 min. Most little kids don’t play on ice for 2 hours they just like to play for only 5 min to 10 min and also it should be free because lots of people just like to hang out and skate with there friends and family. I would like to ask you to have an outdoor rink that’s free for the town of Huntsville.


Thank you for reading

Unknown said...

Hello. My name is Steve Potts and I am a member of the Huntsville Soccer Club executive. I know there have many requests for improvements to the fields and the creation of new fields. I don't want to restate those requests.

I would like to speak to need for a multi-use sports building built in amongst the fields. For the past number of years Huntsville has been unable to host clinics for soccer referees or have a climate controlled headquarters for various field related tournaments. With respect to clinics, we have had to travel to Bracebridge and use their facilities for the courses as the requirements are for classrooms and fields at the same location. I believe this is just one more reason out of many that would make use of multi-purpose sports building. Thank you.

Steve Potts P1H

Anonymous said...

I am a high school student, soon to leave this town behind. I have been influenced by many in my highschool career, hearing the stories of travelling for ice time, the injuries on the fields and many more. I personally have gone to many sports conferences. At one of the conferences they asked me what my "big project" was that I was going to bring back to my community. My reply was, " My community is very driven by sport and I feel like there is not much need for more sport, although the availability for diasbled children is low, I feel that the biggest concern is space." My project idea was mostly for highschool students. But it kills me to hear all these students and people complaining about not having enough space to take part in sport, although right beside the highschool we have a tennis court that could be turned into something available easily, there is also a beach volleyball court that could be used. I know from research that there are community members that would be willing to put forth some time and materials to improve these areas. Things like this break my heart. It is a growing problem in our community because sport is important to us, and that is fantastic, but to keep it this way, our community has to be willing to support us and follow through with ideas put forth. Thanks for you time.

Anonymous said...

Hello My name is Nicholas Zimmer, I will be moving back to Huntsville with my soon to be wife in June 2008. During my absence from the community I grew up in, I fell in love with a game called Ultimate Frisbee. Which consists of a football size field where 14 players (4 men and 3 women per side) score points by catching the frisbee in the opposing teams end zone similar to football. I have been playing this game regularly for the past 5 years in Toronto and other Countries where it is extrememly popular. I am at the beginning stages of starting an Ultimate league and will be looking for the communities/Town support in June when I return. I will be starting out slowly hoping to have one or two games per week during the Summer months from 7 till 9 pm or Sunday afternoons if the interest is there. I am assuming field time is a hot commodity in the Summer months in Huntsville and would hope the town could provide an adequate area to help begin a fast growing sport.

In the future I would like to gain enough interest to continue with an indoor league for the winter months if a facility is available (preferably turf). Ultimate frisbee is also now recognised by OFSAA and within five years I hope to spread interest within the High School Community to form a touring team to compete against other community high schools. Though for now Ultimate can be a great competitive game played with Men and women of any age for the enjoyment of getting outside for some fresh air and exercise.

After reading the article in the Forester I thought this would be a good chance to get my idea out in the open and appreciate any advice or comments. Please contact me at nazimmer@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget a new curling facility that would not only cater to the seniors of our town but to others as well. Mayor Doughty, you indicated your interest in a
Seniors' component in the River Mill project. Given the proximity to the Hockey Arena it would be wonderful to further develop this complex and include a curling element that would be highly visible and accessible to all ages (young and old) of our community.
Fred T.,L6S