November 05, 2018 – While Calgary is preparing for a vote to decide on whether to submit a bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, the two ski jumps at Canada Olympic Park (COP), part of its 1988 Olympic legacy, are slated to be decommissioned and dismantled.

Winsport, the organization the manages COP, announced that it is going head with plans to close the hills, and that is not sitting well with the locals as well as winter sport organizations across North America, who continue to use the facility.

The jumps were built in 1986 and used in the 1988 Winter Olympics when Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards and many others soared off the 70-metre jump, and there is still a contingent of youth participants who rely on the unique facility.

Three years ago, a similar issue arose but a sponsor was found at the last minute that provided funding to keep the facility operating from 2015-2018. But, after the Canadian national ski jumping championships were held in October, Winsport closed down the jumps, leaving the 65 kids from the Altius Nordic Ski Club out of luck.

If Calgary ends up hosting a future Winter Olympics, there is talk of holding the ski jumping and Nordic combined competitions in Whistler, British Columbia, a whopping 10-hour drive to the west. And, that’s not sitting too well with some.

According to a local media report, the facility is still widely used especially in the summer, for youth development programs. A representative of Ski Jumping Canada described the closure as frustrating.

Winsport contends that the facility’s useful life is over and that to be used in serious competitions, let alone a future Olympic Games would require a complete rebuild.

Vice-chairman Todd Stretch told Global News that the smaller jumps are important to the development of young athletes and that the pending closure is “frustrating.”

WinSport did not layout a timeline for dismantling the jumps, but did say a 90-metre tower would continue to be used for its zipline operation.

Speaking of Eddie the Eagle, the British ski jumper famous for finishing dead last at the 1988 Olympic Games, but doing so with considerable style and fanfare, was back in Calgary this week to drum up support for an Olympic bid heading into the plebiscite on Nov. 13.

The colourful former competitor couldn’t help wading into the ski jump issue, and was quoted by Global News as saying, “Why build more ski jumps when you’ve already got one? The most important thing is having the Olympics and doing well with it. I think it will bring a lot of excitement to Calgary, and it will put Calgary back on the map again and hopefully it will be even bigger and better than 1988.”

Global News report here.

CBC News report here.