Operational Highlights
Ski and Snowboard hill
The ski and snowboard hill was a hub of activity during the season, with 9,000 passholders. Mother Nature provided some great real snow, together with the cold temperatures required to make snow in time for our opening at the end of November. The holiday season was so successful that we were required to end daily ticket sales early in the day to ensure we weren’t over-capacity.
Winter Sporting Events
WinSport continued to be a key stop on the World Cup circuit in 2023, with the Snow Rodeo returning in freestyle skiing and snowboarding. The freeski event took place in late January in the halfpipe, while the world’s best snowboarders converged on the halfpipe and the slopestyle course in February. Both the XL slopestyle course and superpipe play a key role in developing our Canadian winter athletes who continue to have success on the world stage.
WinSport Event Centre
The 2022-23 fiscal year proved the versatility of the venue, with concerts, conferences, holiday parties, and major sporting events taking place in the conference space or the main arena space.
The Calgary Surge’s inaugural season in the Canadian Elite Basketball League featured 10 games at the WinSport Event Centre, where the team played to near sell-out crowds during the season. The Surge finished atop the CEBL’s Western Conference with a 12-8 record before losing to Scarborough in the final. The venue received high praise for its first full season as a basketball venue, with excitement already building for the 2024 season.
In the fall of 2022, WinSport became the official practice facility for the Calgary Wranglers, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Calgary Flames.
Canadian country star Dean Brody raised the roof in front of 3,000 fans, while the long-awaited sold-out For King & Country concert finally took place in May 2023 after it was rescheduled several times during the pandemic.
Several large corporate clients hosted holiday parties or team events at the WinSport Event Centre, while a major oil and gas company took over the park for a staff appreciation day.
The first edition of the Pan Continental Curling Championship took place from late October to early November 2022. The event, which is used to qualify teams for the World Curling Championship, was a tremendous success and was another exceptional example of how the complex can be used for large-scale curling events.
Summer Camps
Nearly 5,000 children aged 4 to 16 participated in WinSport’s camps in the summer of 2023, in programs including mountain biking, basketball, archery, multisport, wilderness camps, and skate and hockey camps.
Our camps not only teach new skills, they also teach resilience, inspire self-confidence, and help kids build relationships.
One major success story is Talan, a resilient 12-year-old with cerebral palsy affecting his right arm and leg. Battling the aftermath of bullying, Talan embarked on a transformative journey at WinSport, finding solace and support in our camps.
WinSport’s empathy and commitment to helping him navigate the challenges he faced due to the traumatic events he endured have been instrumental in Talan’s recovery journey. His time with the WinSport team has been a source of joy, new friendships, and genuine support. Thanks to his camp experience, Talan has taken his physical struggles and turned them into strengths and newfound confidence that he continues to use in his day-to-day life.
Performance Training Centre
The Performance Training Centre is seeing substantial growth in athlete development, specifically through our ongoing relationships with our sport partners.
Our membership group includes more than 450 athlete and lifestyle individuals, with team training now forming the majority of our user base. We support more than 1,000 athletes weekly during our peak months from September to March.
We are experiencing high levels of growth from National Sport School athletes, driven by the success and popularity of both customized individual and team training experiences and supporting their Athlete Development curriculum through their physical education classes.
In addition to proudly serving as the training hub for the SAIT Trojans, fostering a dedicated environment for their athletic development, our support extends beyond the traditional boundaries as we actively embrace continued expansion into a diverse array of sports, including football, soccer, volleyball, rugby, and everything in between.