The Hart Highlands Ski Hill is a non-profit organization run by volunteers and has been in existence since 1968.
In 1971 the club formed a society known as The Hart Highlands Winter Club. The club resolved to provide the people of Prince George affordable winter recreation in the form of downhill skiing/snowboarding. It cost a family, regardless of the number of children, $270 to join the club then it is only $170 each year after that. Our members are the club's pool of volunteers, and all the work that is done by them is one reason we are able to keep the costs down. The grants from the province are another big factor in assisting us with keeping costs low.
The club has had the great fortune to have received bingo/gaming funds for many years. These funds were used to offset the operating costs of the hill, and that, along with our volunteer efforts, allowed us to keep our prices down so that the families of Prince George could enjoy some winter recreation at affordable rates.
The hill is not cheap to maintain. Currently, insurance for the year is over $20,000 and another $10,000 is needed to pay for hydro, gas, government fees, maintenance, etc. These are fixed costs that need to be covered regardless if the hill opens or not, or, as happened this year, our season is short. Although the club is a non-profit organization, it does hire approximately 30 people, mainly secondary and post-secondary students, to assist with running the ski lifts and providing products and services such as equipment rentals and the concession. This in itself costs the club over $40,000 a season. Over the years, as our fixed costs have gone up, our gaming grants have gone down.
In 2012, the Gaming Policy & Enforcement Branch made changes to how funding would be offered to groups and they put the club into the sports program. According to Gaming, the sports program is defined as: "Community - based youth and amateur sport programs that consist of organized, competitive physical activities. Sports groups are required to provide the number of registered participants in each program." We explained to Gaming that the ski hill did not fit in the sports program and that it is a facility. Sports programs are offered at the Hart Highlands Ski Hill by groups such as Nancy Green Skiing, Alpine Skiing, Free Style Skiing, Snow Board Club, and Adaptive Skiing. For people who do not wish to enter an "organized sports program", we provide a place for recreation skiing and snowboarding including lessons. The Grants Division said that they did not fund facilities, and that, if we could not show a program, we would not be eligible for gaming funds.
The Hart Highlands Ski Hill is not a sports program. The club does not provide sports programs meeting the definition provided by Gaming. We are a facility trying to provide a readily accessible place for sports programs, as well as a place for moms and dads to bring their children and enjoy the great winters we have in Prince George, as a family, at a rate that won't break the bank.
Every single day some health organization or government body is telling our young people, telling our old people, telling our families, to participate in more physical activity. Not all people want to join an organized competitive sport - some people just want to go out, have fun, be active, and enjoy some recreation. The Hart Highlands Ski Hill not only provides a place for organized programs to occur, as mentioned previously, but it is also a fantastic place for our young people and whole families to be active and doing something healthy. The club wants to keep the hill affordable for everyone so that they can be introduced to the great sports of skiing and snowboarding. The positive experiences at our hill will hopefully be shared with new people, and these experiences will in turn leave people wanting to challenge themselves and move on to our other, bigger and more exciting, local hills.
It is unfortunate that Gaming does not see the value in facilities such as the Hart Highlands Ski Hill. We, as a society, are trying to encourage people to be more active so that they will live a better, healthier life. One way to do this is to provide affordable recreation. The club is hoping to raise awareness so that we do not have to increase our prices due to rising costs and the potential loss of grant funding from Gaming. If this happens it could eliminate some people from using our great hill.
Mike Gareau, President
Hart Highlands Winter Club
