Estevan prepares for Summer Games in wake of flash flood

Organizers are scrambling to get the venues ready for the Saskatchewan Summer Games in Estevan after the community was hit by flash flooding.

Estevan was drenched by 125 mm or five inches of rain on Sunday, July 10, two weeks before the provincial games are set to start.

Despite the heavy rain, games manager Nicole Clow said the athletic fields are drying out and all the facilities should be good to go by the time the games open on Monday, July 25.

 “It was a lot of water and most of the venues at least had water on them if they weren’t really submerged, but the water is dissipated, so that’s good and we’ll get those ready,” Clow said.

Affinity Place – the arena where the Estevan Bruins junior hockey team plays – sustained some damage from the flood. It also happens to be the location of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Summer Games as well as the basketball courts.

Clow credits the city crews for working very hard to drain the water from the arena and replacing parts in the electrical room. She said organizers had to push back the delivery of the basketball floor, but they were installing it as of Thursday afternoon.

“It’s just a matter of working and just making sure that the rest of the facility is cleaned up and in as good a shape as it can be and I’m confident it will be, the city has done a really good job with all of that,” Clow said.

The outdoor fields are drying out but still fairly soggy so the drawback is that athletes have to stay off them for now. While the grass may be a bit longer than usual, Clow is also sure they will be ready for the games.

She noted that the golf course was completely flooded and had to cancel a tournament this week, but it also reopened on Thursday.

“We’re confident that it will be good and that the fields and everything will be up to good condition as long as we get some sunny weather,” Clow commented.

The Saskatchewan Summer Games starts on July 25 and will showcase 1800 young athletes from across the province participating in 13 different sports.