Durham Region 2023 Ontario Parasport Games get Sport Tourism Canada legacy award, region says
Sport Tourism Canada has given the Durham Region 2023 Ontario Parasport Games a 2024 PRESTIGE Award for Legacy of the Year, Durham Region said in a news release issued in Whitby.
Durham Region says the award and the Games’ legacy funding matter locally because the event’s legacy fund is expected to support adaptive sport and other initiatives in the community.
According to Durham Region, the Games produced a $145,579 legacy fund that will be distributed through several initiatives, including $112,000 to the Durham Community Foundation’s Durham Region Adaptive Sport and Recreation Legacy Fund.
Sport Tourism Canada describes the Legacy of the Year award as recognizing “outstanding achievements or contributions” that advanced sustainable and environmental stewardship within a Canadian sport event in 2023 and left a demonstrable legacy to the community.
The Games were held Feb. 3 to 5, 2023, and included competition in 11 parasports along with four demonstration sports, Durham Region said.
Durham Region also reported an economic impact of $702,853 from the event. The region said the initial budgeted legacy-fund target was $60,230.
Durham Region said it announced plans for the 2023 Games Legacy Fund in February of this year. The legacy fund is slated to be distributed as follows:
- Durham Community Foundation’s Durham Region Adaptive Sport and Recreation Legacy Fund: $112,000
- Adaptive Sport Festival: $30,000
- Community Tree and Shrub Planting: $3,529
Those listed allocations add up to $145,529, $50 less than the $145,579 total legacy-fund figure Durham Region reported.
Durham Region’s release also noted that North American Indigenous Games 2023 received a 2024 PRESTIGE Award for Legacy of the Year.
Sport Tourism Canada announced nine 2024 PRESTIGE Award recipients on March 15 during the 2024 Sport Events Congress in Winnipeg, Manitoba, according to the Durham Region release.