Still with a range of both winter and summer activities, Canada Olympic Park is now operated by
Winsport, which owns and operates Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, the Bill Warren Training Centre at the Canmore Nordic Centre in Canmore Alberta, and the Beckie Scott High Performance Training Centre on Haig Glacier Alberta.
Formerly known as the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA), WinSport was founded in 1956 to bid on behalf of Calgary to host an Olympic Winter Games. CODA successfully won the bid from the International Olympic Committee on Sept. 30, 1981, for Calgary to become the host city for the XV Olympic Winter Games in 1988.
Following the Olympics in 1988 and benefitting from endowment funds left for the Games’ legacy, CODA has evolved into a new vision with the transition to WinSport. Through WinSport, the legacy of the 1988 Games is being maintained through allowing people of all ages to discover, develop and excel at sport.
From Winsport
Essentially all of the original facilities from the '88 Olympics remain, now bolstered by the addition of still more recreational facilities and summer activities, making it a year round facility. Scare yourself witless with a ride down the bobsleigh, piloted by a professional driver, for just $74.99 per person. ZIP down
North America’s Fastest Zipline. Take the Leap off the 8 storey Free Fall bungee tower. Putt like a Pro on the Mini Golf Course. Ride up the Scenic Chairlift and take in the stunning view of both the city skyline to the east and the Rocky Mountains to the west. Go Mountain Biking on miles of trails. Ride the Skyline Luge, a summertime luge track built for the amateur, even for kids, to sail down the hill. OR, if you just miss winter, go skating at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport. In the winter, ski and snowboard, skate, slide down the hill in the tube park, play hockey or shinny.
The Place:
In the centre of the park, at the bottom of the ski hill, is the Frank King Day Lodge, named for the man celebrated as "
the driving force behind the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary". A legacy of the 1988 Winter Olympics and still in use today, it has a large dining area, a full service kitchen, coffee bar, food court, lounge, medical facility, guest services, information counter, ride pass sales, washrooms, change rooms, showers, day lockers, retail store, rental & tech shop and probably more. Originally built to serve Olympic athletes, this is an extremely well appointed day lodge.
The Person:
[
Frank King passed away in May of this year at the age of 81. The following are excerpts from his obituary in the Calgary Herald.]
Frank King
Celebrated not only as the driving force behind the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, but also as a man of great character, kindness and competitive passion, Frank King died Wednesday. He was 81. Friends and family confirmed King died of a sudden heart attack around 2 p.m. after a training session at the Glencoe Club. A lifetime runner, he was preparing for a world seniors track-and-field event in Utah this summer. He had planned to compete in several races, including the 100-metre, 200-metre, 400-metre, 800-metre and 1,500-metre running events.
King attended the University of Alberta where he received a chemical engineering degree and met the love of his life, Jeanette. They would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary later this year.
Friends and colleagues remember King as a man of great character, whose kindness and interpersonal skills were key to Calgary’s success in attaining the Olympic Winter Games for 1988.
A longtime member of the Booster Club, King co-founded the Calgary Olympic Bid Committee starting in 1978. King was instrumental in winning the bid for Calgary in Baden Baden, Germany, in 1981, along with Bill Pratt, former mayor Ralph Klein and bid vice-chair Bob Niven. He then helped form OCO ’88, the Olympic Organizing Committee, and CODA, the Calgary Olympic Development Association, which built a legacy of facilities and funding still viable today.
He was the first to incorporate thousands of community volunteers in the Games, allowing for huge cost savings and an unprecedented feeling of community that has been replicated at every Games since.
The Calgary Tower not only became famous for its Olympic flame, and a cross-country torch relay, but the tower still lights its flame to this day to mark significant community events.
Warren said King also suggested the demonstration sports of curling and short-track speed skating, and was the first to allow disabled athletes to compete alongside an Olympic event.
[Dave} Oviatt quoted from King’s book, It’s How You Play the Game, saying King said it best in his own words: “The inspiration of the Calgary Olympics will endure long after the Olympic flame has been extinguished. Canadians of all ages will use and enjoy superb Olympic facilities for years into the future. The Olympics will be more than an immediate benefit. The Games will provide a heritage for our children.”
From the Calgary Herald