The numbers. They are growing. And more are still expected — and hoped for — says Rene Schaub, the chief organizer of the September 2-7 World Archery 3D Championships being hosted in Lac La Biche County.
As of last week, there are currently 147 athletes registered from 13 countries — with some teams bringing as many as 20 members The world-class archers who have already qualified will arrive from countries including Norway, Spain, Austria, Uruguay and Slovenia. More than 500 more athletes are expected to be added to the list in the coming weeks as national qualifying championships are held in all corners of the globe.
"The furthest country so far to send a team is New Zealand," said Schaub during the most recent planning meeting for the championships held last Thursday. "They officially have until June 4 to register, but there could be last-minute entries into mid-August. By late June we'll have a good idea of what countries will be coming here."
And as the number of athletes grows, Schaub and the organizing committee are also hoping their list of community volunteers grows along with them.
"Right now we have just 36 volunteers registered so far," said Schaub admitting that there are still many area residents who don't know the magnitude of the big event. "We need around 200."
Volunteer sign up is available on the World 3D Championship website http://www.2019worldarchery3dchampionships.ca
Greeters and Trappers
Already, a group from the Lac La Biche Heritage Society has signed on to greet athletes and team members arriving for the week of world-level competition who will be taking up practically all of the 500 available hotel rooms in the Lac La Biche region.
Members of the Alberta Trappers Association have have already signed on to provide overnight security on the outdoor 3D target areas.
Other volunteers may be needed to offer their homes as billets to athletes, other volunteers or team members looking for additional places to stay.
Bringing the world to your doorstep
One area Schaub and the group hope to see volunteers helping is with the transportation of the visitors. The plan is to have a fleet of passenger buses available each day of the tournament to shuttle athletes to various areas of the community, including shopping trips, recreation outings and cultural sight-seeing.
It is that kind of economic and tourism potential that organizers hope will draw community members from all corners of the community. Schaub said the athletes and any of their guest won't simply be staying at their hotels or spending all of their time in the newly constructed archery building at the Lakeland Archers outdoor range or the athletes village at the Bold Center. They will be encouraged to visit the stores and unique highlights of the region.
"There will be movement around the community," said Schaub, so we'd like to see our community getting involved with sponsoring, supporting, and showing just how welcoming we are."
Historically, the world championship events have been held in communities with 10 to 20-times the population base, but Schaub is confident the planning committee and local supporters can meet the challenge.
Financially, the event is in good shape, with the recent awarding of a $125,000 grant from Alberta Culture and Tourism.
"We were quite surprised and honoured to get that $125,000," said Schaub, adding that there are a number of sponsorship opportunities still available for local and regional support as well. "You can buy anything from a $200 target up to a major sponsorship.
The sponsorship opportunities are also available on the event's local website.
As the fundraising numbers increase, however, so does another category of numbers.
"Our first budget was at $200,000. Now we are up at $420,000 to put this on," said Schaub.
One important number that isn't increasing is the countdown to the start of the event. As of this Tuesday, there will be just 118 days until the Lac La Biche community welcomes the largest single event in its history.
Big meeting May 15
With many moving parts to the event a community-wide public meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 15 at the old curling rink (the indoor range for the Lakeland Archers) in Lac La Biche. The meeting will get underway at 6 pm. Organizers hope to see a big turnout from community members ready to offer support.
