Raid World Cup 2006 wins national award

Jacqueline Windh / 04.05.2007

The Canadian Sports Tourism Alliance has selected the Raid World Cup 2006, which took place in Québec’s wild and scenic Saguenay/Lac St-Jean region, for the Westjet CSTA New Sport Event of the Year Award.

“This event brought a lot of attention to Canada, and to Canada as a sports tourism destination” notes Leslie Anne Palamar, CSTA’s producer of awards.

This is the first year that CSTA awards have been given. Sports tourism is a $2 billion (CAD) industry in Canada, accounting for about 4% of the value of tourism to this country.

The Raid World Cup 2006 was organized by France-based Saga Events, working in conjunction with tourism organizations in Canada. Richard Brabant, one of the organizers from Tourism Lac St-Jean, nominated the event to CSTA.

Palamar, who only wishes that she could have actually been in Québec to witness the race, notes some of the reasons that the Raid World Cup received this award. “I cannot imagine the scale of this event, organizing 26 teams. As well, this event embodied many of the things we value about sporting events, such as inclusiveness, and showcasing the Saguenay/Lac St-Jean region where it took place. And it brought a lot of international media attention to the region as well.”

She also notes how efficiently volunteers were trained and used to support the event. In his application, Brabant indicated that 200 local volunteers, many coming from the local University of Chicoutimi’s Bachelor of PhysEd program and local sporting clubs, were trained in safety procedures and helped out for the week-long race.

Congratulations to Saga Events (presently working on the Mountain Games which will take place in France this July) and to all of the local organizers, from the regional, provincial and national level, who worked together to produce this truly world-class event.

For more information on the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance, please visit www. canadiansporttourism.com