An inflatable obstacle course is coming to the Orillia Recreation Centre thanks to the success of the 2020 Ontario Winter Games the city hosted.
Council committee voted Monday in favour of putting $72,000 from the games’ Legacy Fund toward the purchase of the Wibit course, which will be custom made for the rec centre pool.
The city will also establish the Orillia Wibit Games.
“It’s a great marketing tool. It will certainly drive a lot of people to our rec centre,” said Coun. Rob Kloostra.
He asked if promotional material would be included in the cost.
Marcia Russell, the city’s manager of recreation services, said the Wibit will be branded with the city’s logo and will reference the Ontario Winter Games legacy.
Coun. David Campbell asked how much time it would take to set up and take down the course.
Christine Wareing, general manager of the 2020 games, noted it would take about two hours to set up and an hour and half to take down.
The cost piqued Coun. Ralph Cipolla’s curiosity after he saw a Wibit course online being sold for about $12,000. Wareing noted the one Cipolla was looking at consisted of about four pieces, while the one the city will get is much bigger, has been custom designed for the rec centre and includes branding.
While there is an inflatable obstacle course at Tudhope Park’s Moose Beach, it can only be accessed during the warmer months.
Having something similar available to people all year “is pretty logical, especially during the times when we want to encourage people to be more active,” said Coun. Mason Ainsworth.
Coun. Ted Emond was concerned about the obstacle course taking up pool space in the new facility.
“We’ve designed this facility to provide a service to our community. This was not contemplated. It strikes me as something that will consume time and energy that we weren’t thinking of,” he said. “I’m cautious about it, but I’ll also certainly support the recommendation.”
Russell said residents and user groups will be notified well in advance about when the Wibit will be in use. Also, Wareing noted the course can be set up in smaller pieces at certain times and said there’s a plan to have “Wibit Sundays,” when the course will be installed for an entire day.
Wareing referred to the 2020 games as an “enormous success.” It generated a $6.1-million economic impact for Ontario, $4.4 million of which benefited Orillia directly.
“This legacy is a representation of the successes of this group of volunteers and the games sponsors,” she said.
The games committee wanted to use the Legacy Fund money for a project that would be especially popular with seven- to 15-year-olds. The 3,500 athletes who participated in the 2020 games were between 12 and 18 years old.
In the staff recommendation, the Wibit was described as “an innovative product which promotes social interaction, balance, co-ordination, and motor skill development for people of all ages, fitness levels, and cultures.”
“These inflatables help families get active and help kids fall in love with water. In addition, the inflatable Wibit will allow for competitions between schools (elementary, secondary and post-secondary) and will allow for a unique training venue for sport teams along with some fun for the community.”
The obstacle course will not be purchased until the city has received its final payment from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries.
