By Galen Simmons
When it comes to hosting large sporting events, St. Marys put itself on the map recently when it successfully hosted the Ontario Summer Games triathlon Aug. 2 and 3.
As the summer games were hosted in London this year, organizers approached the town late last year seeking a suitable location for the swimming portion of the triathlon. The St. Marys swimming quarry, as it turned out, fit the bill and 60 young athletes, their families and fans converged on the Stonetown for the two-day event that included swimming in the quarry, biking on town roads and running on the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum grounds.
“I think that it went very well,” said St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee. “We heard compliments from the organizers that they enjoyed working with our staff and said that the town was very accommodating. There were comments on social media about spectators enjoying the race and the town. One visitor remarked how friendly the people were and how beautiful the town was. We are hopeful that visitors will return to the town in the future.”
Strathdee said the town is constantly looking for opportunities to showcase St. Marys and encourage future tourism, two things he believes this event did very well. Working with organizations like Tourism London and the City of London not only provided a unique chance to show people from across the province what St. Marys has to offer, but Strathdee said it has also opened doors to future sports-tourism events like the triathlon.
“These types of events create awareness and showcase what St. Marys has to offer,” added St. Marys corporate services director André Morin. “The economic benefits pre- and post-event are just as important as the actual event. We have noted many visitors prior to the event, and we are noting many social-media posts on various tourism or Ontario travel social media groups talking about how great St. Marys is to visit in relation to this event. The pride of the community really shines through with these types of events.”
Hosting the triathlon was an all-out effort that involved numerous town departments and organizations including the community services, public works and corporate communications departments, the Stratford Police Service and the local business community to ensure its success.
“Overall, this event was a huge success and did showcase our community,” St. Marys community services director Stephanie Ische said. “Sue Hyatt from the BIA (St. Marys Downtown Business Association) had a map at the quarry where people could mark where they were from and the map demonstrated people had travelled from all over, not just Ontario.
“We heard multiple times over the course of the weekend people saying they wanted to come back and spend a weekend here in our community. It was wonderful to see the number of community members that volunteered to help make the event run smoothly. It was also nice to see just how many came out to cheer on the athletes.”
Ische added the event did not seem to affect the normal attendance at the swimming quarry over the long weekend which, despite rain, saw 2,411 people come to enjoy the amenities.
The triathlon also required the closure of two downtown roads between 7 a.m. and noon to facilitate the cycling portion of the race, its setup and takedown. Both Queen Street East from Charles Street South to Thomas Street and Water Street South from Queen Street East to the entrance of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame were closed with the help of police, public works and volunteers on the Friday and Saturday mornings.
While traffic was delayed, vehicles were able to move through the town with only minor inconveniences.
“It was an opportunity to test public works’ operational response capabilities,” said town director of public works Jed Kelly. “It tested our traffic-control implementations and tear downs, internal-communications system as well as our interdepartmental and external communications without being in an emergency situation.”
While the event did go smoothly, Strathdee said town staff and council may look at alternative routes to improve traffic flow for future events like this one. Following concerns by the BIA board of directors about road closures affecting normal weekend business, Strathdee also said the town would strive to engage the public as soon as possible in the future to understand concerns and start the conversation around how an event like the triathlon can benefit everyone.
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