Skip to content

New start date set for Games

An extra day has been added to the Whitehorse 2007 Canada Winter Games.The festivities now begin on February 23rd, one day earlier than previously…
060906-piers-games

An extra day has been added to the Whitehorse 2007 Canada Winter Games.

The festivities now begin on February 23rd, one day earlier than previously scheduled.

This means there will be 15 days of competition instead of 14, and the opening ceremonies will be held on a Friday rather than Saturday.

“This additional day will give everyone an opportunity to acclimatize themselves to the time zone changes, and most athletes will now have about two days to get ready for competition,” Games host society president Piers McDonald told a news conference on Thursday.

The one-day extension eliminates the need to build an additional ice rink on the riverfront as originally planned, said McDonald.

This will save the organizers about $1 million, which will go towards covering the costs associated with changing the schedule, said Games general manger Chris Morissey.

An extra day of housing athletes and officials is budgeted at $200,000 to $250,000.

The sport schedule will change slightly, affecting hockey, ringette, squash and badminton.

The games still close March 10th.