Calgary 2026 Bid Hinges on Mayoral Election -- Monday Memo

(ATR) Voters head to the polls in Calgary today to elect the city’s next mayor.

Nine candidates are seeking to replace incumbent Mayor Naheed Nenshi in Monday’s election. The election could have major implications on the city’s efforts to bring the Winter Olympics back to Canada for the first time since Vancouver 2010.

The city is contemplating a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics but has put these efforts on hold pending the mayoral election.

The Calgary City Council voted in August to continue exploring the possibility of a bid. The panel is happy that there is more time to decide as it seeks more details about the rules changes. The Calgary Bid Exploration Committee’s initial report, released in July, showed a shortfall of US $1.92 billion.

The CBEC is now looking into finding potential funding opportunities that would prevent the city of Calgary from having to foot the bill.

Five of the mayoral candidates have publicly stated that they will support the bid only if it makes financial sense. Four others are opposed to a bid under any circumstances.

Incumbent Mayor Nenshi won the previous election in 2013 with 74 percent of support from voters. Polls in Calgary have varied greatly in the lead up to the election, with some indicating support for the incumbent candidate and others showing him far behind the competition.

Nenshi is competing with Jason Achtymichuk, Andre Chabot, Brent Chisholm, Emile Gabriel, Larry Heather, David Lapp, Curtis Olson, Bill Smith and Stan (the Man) Waciak.

Final PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Project Review

Past and present presidents of the International Paralympic Committee are in South Korea this week to meet with organizers of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics as well as local government officials.

Current IPC president Andrew Parsons will lead the IPC delegation during its final project review of preparations for next March’s Paralympics. He is joined by his predecessor Philip Craven to ensure a smooth transition in oversight from the IPC.

IPC spokesperson Craig Spence told Around the Rings that the lack of Paralympic ticket sales – now at 4.2 percent – will be one of the top priorities of the visit.

"The IPC has been repeatedly highlighting to the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee for a long period of time now the real need for them to increase engagement and awareness of next March’s Paralympic Winter Games," Spence said.

"We will be holding our final Project Review with the Organizing Committee ahead of the Games and the subject of ticket sales and engagement will certainly be high on the agenda."

An emphasis on ticket sales will be discussed with both organizers and local authorities.

"We are also working with the Organizing Committee on a group sales programme which should increase the number of ticket sales significantly," said Spence.

The visit began on Oct. 15 and will conclude on Oct. 18 following a meeting between Parsons and South Korean President Jae In Moon.

World Archery Heads to Mexico

World Archery will continue its efforts to grow the sport in the Americas by hosting the 2017 World Archery Championships in Mexico City this week.

The championships began on Oct. 15 in the Mexican capital despite devastating earthquakes that struck the city in September.

"On behalf of the global archery family, World Archery extends its deepest thoughts, sympathies and condolences to the people of Mexico following natural disasters that have resulted in the tragic loss of life and damage to buildings and infrastructure," said World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen.

The World Championships follow the 2015 Archery World Cup final also held in the capital, the country’s second time hosting the event.

"Athletes were at the centre of the decision to award these events to Mexico City," Dielen said. "Mexico’s archers have been asking for an international tournament in their country for some time, and they are one of the most internationally competitive teams right now."

The week-long tournament will conclude on Oct. 22.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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