It’s still more than two years away, but pre-planning is about to start for the 2026 BC Winter Games, being jointly hosted by Trail and Rossland.
Rossland recreation manager Kristi Calder recently appeared before councils in both cities seeking representation on a nominations committee that will meet this fall and into early winter. With help from staff of the provincial games organization, they’ll put together a board of directors.
“Typically communities start focusing about 24 months out, but because we’re two communities, there are some extra steps,” she said. “We’re starting a little early to make sure we have enough time to get those nominations committee people in place.”
It will be up to the board of directors to focus on the operation of the games, she said. While the establishment of the board is a standard process done with the help of BC Winter Games staff, each host community can tailor it to their needs, she added.
Trail previously hosted the BC Winter Games in 1982 and 2006. Trail and Castlegar also teamed up to host the BC Summer Games in 1996.
Calder said they hope to draw on some of the experience that remains in the region from those earlier games and also noted “both communities are sports-hosting communities in and of themselves. Trail and Rossland with their facilities, both city-owned and private, host a number of sporting events each year.”
Still, Calder said this is “definitely a big event” that will draw many people to the region. She hopes to have the councils chatting about it in November. Mayor Andy Morel and councillor Lisa Kwiatkowski will be the Rossland representatives, while the Trail reps have yet to be named.
