Understanding Lethbridge's Sport Landscape Before the Lethbridge Sport Council

Mayors, Reeves, and Chiefs on behalf of the residents of the City of Lethbridge and 31 towns, villages, Indigenous communities, municipal districts, and counties of southern Alberta, welcomed Canada to the 1975 Canada Winter Games

The Lethbridge Sports Bid Committee was formed to assist local sport organizations’ bid for major sport competitions and develop the city’s bid for major provincial and national multi-sport competitions

Ad hoc committee consisted of Dr Gary Bowie, Mal Clewes, Carol Gemer, Jane Kremeniuk, Herman Maltz, Brent Seely, and Carol Thibert.

The sport community gave their approval, making it possible for the first AGM to be held on January 25, 1999, followed by City Council support at their February 22, 1999 meeting.

The Sports Bid Committee marketing plan identified the need to become an advocate for sport, to increase the awareness of sport opportunities in the community, and to establish a stronger link with sport organizations To do this, the Sports Bid Committee determined that it needed to create a sport council.

Lethbridge City Council recognized the importance of sport and identified the need for a civic sport policy.

A document, Working Together for Tomorrow, was prepared, identifying the desire to be “a healthy, attractive and economically viable city.”

Based on the understanding that recreation is an integral entity within the city and that the recreation delivery system has a significant relationship with sport development, the objective to define the role of the City in support of an active and healthy sport and recreation community was expanded and funded as a City Council initiative to develop a sport and recreation policy for the City of Lethbridge.

Extensive consultations with stakeholders confirmed the fact that a unified voice for sport was a major area of priority for the local sport community (Sport and Recreation Future Search Conference Summary of Proceedings, 2007).

Brian Bourassa led a strategic planning process that included information workshops, the Future Search Conference community consultation sessions, and consultation with an expert panel to identify future trends accumulating with the document In Pursuit of a Preferred Future.

Lethbridge City Council approved a municipal Sport & Recreation Policy recognizing that sport and recreation is an integral entity within Lethbridge. The Alberta Sport Development Centre Southwest was incorporated.