Rick Hansen visited the Williams Lake Curling Club (WLCC) on June 29, 2023, to participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the formal opening of the club’s new elevator. The $60,785 accessibility project was kickstarted by an anonymous $5,000 donation, which encouraged the WLCC board to consider how to meaningfully invest in their facility in a way that would benefit recreation and economic opportunity in Williams Lake.
“For all these years, I’ve been so proud of this community and all the members of the community who continue to set goals and remove barriers,” said Rick Hansen, founder, Rick Hansen Foundation, during the opening ceremony. “I’m so excited to be here at the Williams Lake Curling Centre to congratulate the curling club on their leadership and being able to respond to the challenge of just one person who started something with just a baby step. That catalyzed excitement and more volunteers. And here you are three years later, achieving another goal and dream. Proving that anything is possible once you have the courage to try. I’m super honoured to be here to celebrate this significant milestone on a continuing journey here in Williams Lake.”
As work began on the elevator, the board also decided to pursue other strategic improvements to ensure accessibility throughout the facility, from the moment people enter through the door to making their time at the club comfortable with accessible washroom upgrades upstairs and downstairs.
“NDIT was instrumental in the Williams Lake Curling Center in achieving its goal in building the elevator,” said Mike Pedersen, president, WLCC. “This has enabled us to be more inclusive and open to our community of Williams Lake and provincially to all curlers.”
WLCC’s initiative and leadership have gained recognition locally and throughout the province. On March 21, the club was recognized with an accessibility award of merit from the City of Williams Lake. In June, WLCC received the Curling Centre of the Year award from Curl BC. WLCC’s commitment to improving accessibility is one of the reasons they were recognized, along with the work of their volunteers and community engagement.
Northern Development supported the elevator project with a $15,000 grant through the former Community Halls and Recreation Facilities funding program. Today, this project would be eligible through the Recreation Infrastructure funding program, which was introduced in September 2020. This program makes up to $300,000 available to projects that create new or improve existing recreation infrastructure.
