Ron Henderson – questions
1. When did you start at the Nordic Centre, and what was your role?
I was the first employee hired in July 1986. I was originally hired as the Operations supervisor. Construction of the facility was still taking place. I was tasked with commissioning all of the buildings, snowmaking system, grooming / maintenance equipment, Biathlon Range and Trails. I was tasked with hiring approximately 25 operations staff, which included snowmakers and groomers and purchasing equipment /furnishings to operate the Centre.
The winter of 1986/87 we held Olympic test Events, which were World Cups in Cross Country, Biathlon and Nordic Combined. In the Olympic year 1987/88 we were under contract to OCO 88 to provide snowmaking, grooming, building and service maintenance, equipment maintenance and on-site snowmobile and snow cat transportation. I coordinated and supervised a Park staff of approximately 60 and many OCO contractors and volunteers.
The incredible snowmaking challenge leading up to the Olympics should not be forgotten.
In the summer of 1988 I was appointed the Site Manager by Ed Marshall Managing Director for Kananaskis Country. I did both jobs from that date on.
2. In the years immediately following the Olympics, how was the CNC promoted and how much use was made of the facility for high level competitions, both winter and summer?
Immediately after the Olympics there were World Cups in Biathlon, Nordic Combined and Cross-Country, through to the early 90’s. The volunteer core was still strong immediately following the games so many National and North American Events were held very successfully. The ski trails were still considered by many as extremely challenging.
We began to promote the facility to public skiing. Started building easier more family friendly trails for skiing and opened up to Mountain biking in the summer
We worked closely with the Foothills and Canmore ski clubs as well as Biathlon Alberta and Cross-Country Canada in meeting their development/training needs and competitions.
Promotions were done quietly at first, utilizing media interest to the Olympic facility and legacy which we used to encourage public use both summer and winter. We joined the Canada West Ski Areas Association and Cross Country Ski Areas Association to partner and leverage with other ski areas in marketing the sport. We added Trail Sports and new food services and kept the same grooming and track-setting standards we had during the Olympics, which grew a loyal and ever increasing clientele. After all it was the only facility like this in North America, which had snowmaking on Nordic trails.
On a graph, the estimated numbers of visitors to the CNC showed a steady increase (some years greater than others) year over year, from 1989 thru 2004.
3. What are the highlights in your mind of the events which took place between 1989 and 2005, when the upgrade was completed?
There were many! The World Masters, where you found competitors on course during competition, stopping to chat with volunteers and officials, in a more relaxed style of competition.
The Canadian Winter Special Olympics, where the true sprit of individual achievement and competition was remarkable and everyone won a medal!
The Biathlon World Cups which saw Myriam Bedard win Gold and inspire a whole new generation of female and male Biathletes.
The three years of World-Cup Mountain Bike races which was the result of the Centre being a pioneer facility in the early years of the sport.
The many years of the International Sled Dog Classic Event, which drew many spectators to the Centre and provided a lot of exposure to both the CNC and Canmore.
The first 24 hours of Adrenalin team Mountain Bike Race.
The many Alberta Cup races in Cross-Country and Biathlon, which fostered the development of such great athletes as Sarah Reiner, Chandra Crawford and Becky Scott.
4. Was the idea of building a jump at the CNC ever seriously considered, or was it discarded when the jumps were built at COP?
There was never any real talk of building the jumps at the CNC. Some discussion followed the Olympics when it was obvious wind was a problem at COP… If CODA had taken over the operation of the CNC, perhaps a small practice jump may have been built. There was more discussion around the idea that they should have been built in Bragg Creek and that the CNC should have been built at Mt. Shark. We did have an agreement and constructed a small natural Luge course, post Olympics. Unfortunately this only lasted a few years as the organization went through several changes and could not continue.
5. How did the summer use of the facility evolve over the years?
The pre-Olympic management plan for the CNC contained only a couple of pages on the projected post-Olympic use of the facility, not much to go on. We experimented with everything from car rallies to music festivals, but it was mountain biking which proved to fit best.
Of course hiking and cross- country running were the obvious use for the ski trails. The walking and hiking did not compete with more popular trails in the area that had better vistas and destinations to offer so therefore not so popular. Cross-country running did fit with the Centre and we hosted two or three events every year.
The addition of the Bill Warren Training Centre also added to the summer use, by providing a base for summer dry land training in Biathlon and Cross-Country (Haig Glacier)
In the summer of 1988, I was approached by “Peddlers” bike shop in Calgary with the idea of hosting the Western Canadian Mountain Bike Championship event in the summer of 1989. Mountain Biking had only been around for a couple of years, mainly in California and not many knew of the sport. I allowed the organizers to flag some single track trail through the forest, weaving in and out along the ski trails to stage that first Event. I think we had 35 to 50 competitors that first year. As we all know the sport exploded in the next few years and we continued to host many competitions at the CNC and became known for some of the best single track trails in North America. The World Cup Mountain Bike races and the annual 24 hours of Adrenalin were the height for the sport at the CNC.
We added the Disc golf course and an Orienteering course to the CNC, both provide additional summer use by others who would not normally visit the CNC.
6. Did you always have adequate staffing or were there lean times with only a minimal staff to keep the operation running?
We were fortunate to retain all of the key staff which were there for the Olympics. We had a very experienced grooming staff and snowmakers which new our system well. The Centre relied on volunteers extensively just as it did during the Olympics. The small staff and volunteers worked well together having done many events and the Olympics as a team. There were certainly very difficult times (years), but somehow through the spirit of the people involved we carried on and had success’s in spite of the challenges. The ski clubs too were going through changes and I think these were the years where we built the foundation of loyalty with our clients and the people, who would eventual make the reinvestment happen.
There were challenging years were the budget did not allow us to hire as many seasonal (summer and winter) staff as we would like, but prioritizing the work and calling on the dedication of the core staff we managed. The facilities were showing their age and lack of replacement capital by the time the refurbishment happened.
7. What kind of operational and financial challenges did you face in the early years?
The early 90’s saw a lot of Government cut-backs and our budgets were no exception. At one point we were asked to privatize the operation of the Centre. We advertised the opportunity and I led a review panel which did make a recommendation for a private operator eventually, which the Alberta Government decided not to pursue.
Our clients kept telling us that they would not be opposed to paying a reasonable fee to use the Centre, if the money was put back into the operation and the standards we had established maintained. Finally in 1996 after years of requesting, the Alberta Government finally agreed to allow a skiing fee to be charged. The fee was small, but did allow us to make revenue. We gradually charged for space and services rendered and that added to the skiing fees, were able to increase revenue covering 50 to 60 % of the operating costs. The fees were built on the basis that children should ski as close to free as possible and not for profits (including sport groups) should be discounted as much as possible. We did not want the Centre to become too exclusive.
8. Tell us about the refurbishment in 2004/2005 –
• how did the idea first evolve?
The need for refurbishment of the CNC facilities was discussed for several years prior to the announcement at various levels of Government and with stakeholders. There was a huge ground swell of support from a wide range of the Centre’s clients which had been lobbying their elected officials for up-grades to the facilities. I think a lot of people were surprised by how significant the Centre had become to such a large and varied group of people over the years. It was finally a document put together by the World Cup Society, and presented to the Alberta Government which started the process and lead to approval to proceed. Part of the submission from the World Cup Society indicated the potential to host several years of Cross-Country World Cup Events at the CNC, should the improvements be made The CNC was no longer able to host International competitions as a result completion changes to courses and facilities. There were also needed upgrades to the snowmaking system to better cover the competitive trails and meet early season World Cup dates which would be awarded the Site in the future.
• how long did it take from planning to completion?
The work started on the Business Case document which was required to get the approval for funding. The Business Case outlined the scope of the refurbishment, estimated costs, and benefits to Sport, Canmore and the Province of Alberta. The first meeting was in late 2003, with substantial completion of construction achieved in 2006. The first year of construction was 2004/05 with a Cross Country World Cup scheduled for December of the 2005. Several key stakeholders such as FIS and IBU, National and Provincial sport association, local clubs, CODA and summer sport associations were consulted on their requirements for the respective sports. Tourism spin offs from hosting events were factored into the benefits. Interesting was the fact that for the first time that I am aware of, there was a direct link made in the Business Case to the Health Benefits from such a facility to the Province.
• What was the overall cost?
The original cost estimate placed the refurbishment at 16 million. There were several compromises made along the way, several unforeseen construction challenges, and a number of changes to the drawings which all contributed to the costs increasing. The finial cost was approximately 24 million.
• Did you have labour problems or other challenges to overcome?
One of the biggest challenges we had was keeping the Site open during the construction. We had commitments to our public for training, recreation, etc. which were important. Obviously we had significant closures and some temporary facilities, but we always had something open for public use.
There were some major delays in the construction schedule which caused significant operational challenges. The retro fit of the old maintenance shop which has the snowmaking control office and compressed air equipment was not completed until February of 2006. The new maintenance garage which housed the grooming equipment and mechanical services was also not completed in time for the start of the winter operation in the fall of 2005. The snowmaking pumps and new compressors were behind schedule and not available for pre-testing or commissioning. This meant that the snowmaking operation started with a number of problems with new equipment and no time for staff training. The crews had to work from the team room buildings and run the system in a manual mode reading gages and checking equipment in several different buildings. Contractors responsible were on site constantly trying to assist staff with the problems. The CNC staff worked several weeks straight in efforts to meet the requirements of the World Cup in December. We trucked in snow from other areas of Kananaskis to fill in places like the new wax test area, etc. The new waxing room building which contained a new state of the art air ventilation system also was behind and had significant design and start-up problems
• How did the original vision compare with what was actually built?
Of course, the ask and design at the start of the project was large in scope and cost. As in any project this size there was a lot of give and take through the project. The difference between the Olympic construction and design and the refurbishment was that we had 20 years of operational experience at the site and gained considerable expertise in Nordic operations. I found it very frustrating dealing with consultants, design engineers and sport organization that did not want to recognize this experience, and persisted in their demands for sport specifics which were not necessary to hosting events and very costly. We constantly had to fight and claw to have items which benefited the Public enhanced operations and would make revenue in the future, to be equally considered with the nice to haves for sport.
In the end I think the vision was largely accomplished. We did not have the entire snowmaking coverage that we had started with, we dropped thinks like a tunnel for spectator access (Cross Country),the total number of team rooms, the size of the day lodge and some of its finishing’s. We also downsized operational equipment requests and sport equipment request. Being on site through the construction period allowed us to flag numerous field changes which I think benefited the final outcome considerably.
Reference: Dave Rees and Jean Bristow