Once again, rain pelted down on the outdoor ice oval at Exhibition Park, site of the Canada Winter Games long track speed skating events.
It didn't help that it was 5 C by Thursday at noon. Rain persisted the rest of the day and the wet stuff is expected to continue today with a 60 per cent chance of rain and a high of 7 C.
The good news is all of the other outdoor venues for the Games -- Otway Nordic Centre, Tabor Mountain Ski Resort, Purden Mountain Ski Resort -- have plenty of snow and there's colder weather on the way, with double-digit below-zero lows and single-digit highs expected by Monday.
2015 Canada Winter Games CEO Stu Ballantyne is not too worried about the outdoor venues. While warm weather might force postponement of some events, the most weather-dependent competitions are scheduled for the first week of the Games, which gives organizers an additional week to work with if needed.
With an overnight low of -4 C predicted for the overnight hours Saturday morning there's a good chance the 400-metre oval will be ready for the first long track races starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Built and maintained by volunteers from the Outdoor Ice Oval Society, the unrefrigerated ice oval is covered by a layer of of ice three inches thick.
If that ice gets too soft to race on the oval, the timing of the races could be pushed back so it happens earlier in the morning when it's colder. In the worst-case scenario, long track speed skating would be moved to the Pomeroy Sport Centre indoor oval in Fort St. John.
"The contingency plan is in place so that if we have to go to Fort St. John we have that option, but I think we owe it to the Outdoor Ice Oval Society here in Prince George and to the athletes for their experience here to keep them here," said Ballantyne. "It's a last resort and it's nice to have that insurance policy but we want to keep the Games here."
Ballantyne said the host committee has already booked flights for the speed skaters and coaches if they are forced to move to Fort St. John.
"We'll make that decision at the last possible moment and Fort St. John has been really good about that and we've already worked a plan with them and the Pomeroy Group to make that happen," he said. "We have seven days to get the four days of (long track) competition in and we'll do everything in our power, shifting times and shifting days and then if we have to go we'll go."
The biggest concern at Tabor, site of the snowboard cross, ski slopestyle and freestyle skiing events is the moguls course, which requires heaps of snow. But last week's big dumps left the ski hills in great shape and there is plenty of snow. Purden will host alpine skiing and snowboard parallel slalom during the first week of the Games, while Otway has biathlon the first week and cross-country skiing in Week 2.
"I think people will be pleasantly surprised at the level of delivery of these venues and the quality of the venues which was there long before the Canada Games got here," said Ballantyne.
Otway, Purden and Tabor will be open for business during the Games. The Games events take up only a small portion of the terrain at each facility and that will allow plenty of options for recreational skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers.
The Caledonia Nordic Ski Club which operates the Otway trails recommends people park their vehicles adjacent to the dog trails on the east side of the facility to avoid congestion near the biathlon range and Rotary Lodge. There are also two new parking lots west of the lodge that will be open for recreational users.
Games spectators at Otway will be charged $10 per event or $20 per day, which is valid for all sports except the hockey semifinals and medal round competitions. Caledonia club members can purchase week-long Games passes for $30 each ($10 for kids 6-19).
Biathlon begins Sunday at 10 a.m. with the individual races.
