Tag: Sports

Update on Memorial Arena Re-Purposing

John Draper

The Cobourg Community Centre opened in 2011 with two ice pads and made the Jack Heenan and Memorial Arenas on Furnace Street redundant.  The newer Jack Heenan Arena was taken over by the West Northumberland Curling Club and in 2019 the Memorial Arena was shut down. I believe it was Cobourg’s first publicly owned Arena. It’s now 70 years old – it was opened in January 1950 but a fire in 1953 closed it until it was rebuilt in 1954. In 2019, staff thought that the Cultural Plan might suggest uses but that didn’t happen so eventually an Ad Hoc Committee was formed to suggest what might happen to it.  (By-Law 021-2021 was passed 20 September 2021). See links below… Read complete articleUpdate on Memorial Arena Re-Purposing

Outdoor Rink gets New Rules

John Draper

With the Provincial lockdown in force starting Boxing day, at a special meeting today Council voted to implement new rules for the Outdoor Rink.  Staff presented three options: 1) continue with no change, 2) add new rules or 3) close the Rink.  The new rules will mean registering in advance for one of 8 daily one hour time slots which will allow only 10 at a time.  The area will be fenced and skaters will be screened and expected to wear a mask and keep 2 meters away from each other.  Any spectators (e.g. parents of small children) will be counted as part of the 10 even if not skating. Fencing and registering is needed because with the previous system,… Read complete articleOutdoor Rink gets New Rules

Cobourg Community Centre to Re-open in Phases

John Draper

The CCC will re-open gradually and in phases starting August 31. Protocols have been cleared with the Health Unit and physical distancing will be required.  Conditions for Phase 1 are clear (see below) but later phases are still a little vague and subject to change.  Dean Hustwick, Director of Community Services says that “it will look a little different inside the building” and “the gradual reopening of our community centre will see more programs and services being restored when it is safe to do so.” Dates and some rules are spelled out below but before you visit you should: Register for a program or book your facility rental by calling (905)-372-7371. Complete our online COVID-19 Pre-Screening Form on the day… Read complete articleCobourg Community Centre to Re-open in Phases

Second Year for Cobourg Sport’s Hall of Fame

John Draper

The second eight inductees of the Cobourg and District Sport’s Hall of Fame were announced on Sunday, March 1st  to an audience of about 80 people. The ceremony was held in the Grand Hall of the Cobourg Community Centre CC with MC Joel Scott introducing the board and other speakers; Joel then read out short bios of all the honoured athletes (see below). The display cases were also doubled and as well there were some new exhibits in the existing cases. Other speakers included board president Ross Quigley, Mayor John Henderson and Alderville First Nations Chief Dave Mowat. There are now 19 different sports recognized and 98 organizations represented.  About 1000 memorabilia are available with just some of them housed… Read complete articleSecond Year for Cobourg Sport’s Hall of Fame

Rogers Hometown Hockey Draws Big Crowd

John Draper

After a snow sprinkle on Saturday morning, the weather was perfect for a mid winter’s day in Cobourg for the Roger’s Hometown Hockey event.  It was held in the Marina parking lot – re-christened the Cobourg West Harbour for the occasion.  Unless you were a hockey fan, it was not clear what exactly the event was – just that it would appeal to Hockey fans, it was free and would be a family event.  It also had a couple of food vendors (a Pizza Truck and a Sobey’s tent with hot dogs) but I’d guess this would not be enough for many so hopefully downtown restaurants were busy.  During most of the time, the area appeared moderately busy with a… Read complete articleRogers Hometown Hockey Draws Big Crowd

Rogers Hometown Hockey comes to Cobourg

John Draper

If you are a hockey fan, you probably already know that Rogers Hometown Hockey will be coming to Cobourg on January 4 and 5.  According to announcements from the Town, it will stage outdoor entertainment and Hockey events at the Marina Parking Lot on Third Street next to the Marina/Yacht club buildings – they’ve called this space “the West Harbour” but they don’t mean in the water. The event is one of 25 events across Canada and finishes on the 5th with “a live outdoor viewing party of an NHL broadcast from the Sportsnet Mobile Studio” – for Cobourg, this will be a game between the Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild. I understand that the Mobile Studio is a tractor-trailer sized… Read complete articleRogers Hometown Hockey comes to Cobourg

YMCA Pool – Part 2

John Draper

In addition to the information provided in the agenda for the Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting tonight, more info was made available at the actual meeting.  Some of it was a surprise to Councillors and caused quite a discussion – so I am providing an unusual follow up to yesterday’s post.  Leslie Murray led the YMCA delegation but Mark Galonski from the YMCA board was helping.  As noted in the addendum to yesterday’s article, the Y is not planning to merge with the CCC since the joint YMCA/ Town committee decided against that.  In their presentation Leslie and Mark said that they wanted Town support in the form of $500,000 spread over 5 years starting in 2021 – but… Read complete articleYMCA Pool – Part 2

Dragon Boat Festival 2019

John Draper

Cobourg’s West Harbour was alive today with the Annual Dragon Boat festival – a fund-raiser for the United Way.  It started at 8:00 am and ran until 4:00 pm. Now in its 20th year –  there were 13 teams, 5 competitive and the others simply participating.  One of the teams (of course) is the Survivor Thrivers but there are other local teams such as Rotary as well as visitors from Ottawa and Belleville.  Visiting teams usually stay overnight and enjoy their weekend in Cobourg.  Races start at the East Pier and about 1 minute and 15 seconds later they finish at the West headland.  Weather is not always good but today was sunny and hot – unusual for September 21. … Read complete articleDragon Boat Festival 2019

Call for Nominations to Sports Hall of Fame

John Draper

In May 2016, Ross Quigley formed a committee and in 2017 they founded the Cobourg and District Sports Hall of Fame which is dedicated to documenting the history of local sports, preserving local sports memorabilia and honouring those local athletes and builders who have excelled in sports. Nominations were called for the first inductees in August 2018 and inductees were named in March 2019 at a ceremony – see links below.  Paul Currelly, Layton Dodge, Fred Dufton, Don Ito, Marty Kernaghan, Frank Mazza, Bill O’Neil and Steve Smith were then officially inducted at a gala event in June, 2019.  The “Great Hall” of the Cobourg Community Centre houses the memorabilia – some of it is inspected by a mother and… Read complete articleCall for Nominations to Sports Hall of Fame

Staff Propose Closing Memorial Arena

John Draper

Ever since the Cobourg Community Centre opened in 2011 with two ice pads, there has been a question of what to do with the Jack Heenan Arena and the Memorial Arena.  In late 2011 the West Northumberland Curling Club took over the newer Jack Heenan Arena but the aging Memorial Arena was still being used each winter (well, Labour Day to March 5). But now the cost of necessary repairs and upgrades look to put an end to its life as an Arena. The building could still be used for something else and an Ad Hoc committee and a Public meeting are recommended to help with a decision. There are still some users but staff believe they can be accommodated… Read complete articleStaff Propose Closing Memorial Arena

A Busy Day in Victoria Park and on the Beach

John Draper

Probably not a record, but a lot was happening on Sunday.  On a perfect summer day, Cobourg’s Victoria Park was host to the 25th Anniversary Lakeside Antique and Classic Car Show organized by the Great Pine Ridge Region of the Antique and Classic Car Club of Canada.  There were around 200 cars ranging in vintage from the early 1900’s to the 1990’s.  On the beach, as well as regular beach goers and sun-lovers, there was competitive beach volleyball staged by the Ontario Volleyball Association.  Despite the large number of competitors and onlookers, there was plenty of room for others.  The high lake water levels were not a problem although some may have stayed away fearing a problem.  The third event… Read complete articleA Busy Day in Victoria Park and on the Beach