A running track, a ski jump training facility, a parkour obstacle system, a shooting range, turf fields -these were just some of the suggestions put forward by community groups vying for $750,000 in Olympic legacy money.
The application process is complete, and 18 sports community enthusiasts and groups have come forward to make the case that they would best spend some or all of the money, which the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) granted to the District of Squamish for sports-related initiatives.
And an onerous and detailed nine-page application form released July 8 didn't deter the bids from being filed by the Sept. 30 closing deadline.
However in a community where athletes of every sport seem to congregate, deciding what type of facility deserves the funding could prove to be a difficult decision, said Mayor Greg Gardner.
"I am sure it will be difficult for council to decide how it will be spent, but it's a good problem for our community to have," he said.
The 18 proposals will be made public once they are presented to council at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Oct. 26.
A staff report will list the proponents, projects, criteria, costs and timeline, allowing council to discuss an evaluation process before moving forward.
Proposals also included amenities for climbing, mountain biking, a wave pool, a community weight room, a BMX track and even the new sport of parkour, which sees athletes nimbly hop and bounce off obstacles as tall as one-storey buildings.
One parkour enthusiast reacted to the notion with enthusiasm on The Chief's website.
"There is nowhere in Squamish to practice it [parkour] without getting threatened to have the police called," he stated in the online comments.
However certain suggestions were met with resistance.
"For the love of God, no more bike trails. It's bad enough you can't hike through the local forests without some screaming maniac plowing you down," stated another online comment.
The Callaghan Winter Sports Club has long suggested building a Nordic sport training facility, and club president, Denise Imbeau, said it would be particularly important if women's ski jumping is included in the next Olympics since Canadian Olympians could then come from one of two training grounds - Squamish and Callaghan Valley or Calgary.
"In all of Canada there's one other location where you can ski jump [Calgary] so every Olympic hopeful we have in Canada comes from Calgary. And it's not because they're smarter, better, faster it's because they have a facility," said Imbeau.
Also expressing interest is the Squamish Soccer Association (SSA), which is hoping for a multi-purpose sports complex that would transform all weather fields between Hendricksons fields and Brennan Park to a full track with two turf fields for soccer and football, a warm-up area, bleachers and change rooms.
SSA member Tanya Babuin said since the association took over the Soccerfest tournament, organizers have been putting all fundraised profits towards building such a facility.
She said turf is necessary in a climate like Squamish where rain often makes the fields unusable. Poor fields have led to soccer teams paying high rates to use Quest University's fields.
"Smaller communities than us, like Powell River, are getting turf fields," she said. "We're really behind the times."
The SSA tried to incorporate as many uses as possible to make the proposal appealing to the average Squamish resident, said Babuin.
"Football has never really had a permanent home in Squamish and there's no running track in Squamish. We had them incorporate a running track so we could actually have track and field meets here and actually host B.C. Summer Games here because we would have the right facilities with a competitive and long lasting track."
The football field was designed to accommodate both high school and CFL standard games. And a future phase also includes fields for shot put, javelin, discus, hammer throw and a long jump pit.
The $750,000 would be enough to start the project but the entire project will cost $2.9 million.
The SSA has enough money saved to cover the cost of a warm-up area and Babuin said the group will go ahead with the proposal regardless of legacy money.
"That legacy fund money would make the project that much more tangible, but no matter what we will push and push because the community needs this," she said.
Gardner said council decide to partially fund a project or fund multiple projects.
"There are no constraints on how we use the money in that sense."
