Posted by Sudbury Northern Life Reporter Sabrina Byrnes 
The City of Greater Sudbury has partnered with various communities in the Muskoka region to host events in the 2010 Ontario Winter Games, which are scheduled to take place March 4-7, 2010.
A flag presentation was held Friday morning to mark the one-year countdown to the event. Sudbury will also be hosting the 2010 Ontario Summer Games in August of that year.
"It's amazing we're going to be hosting this with Muskoka. We're going to be having four events here, so that's amazing in itself," said Deputy Mayor Ron Dupuis.
The Ontario Winter Games will have most of its events in Muskoka. Four events, bowling, diving, speed skating and squash, will be held in Sudbury.
"It's very important to our community any time we can host events such as this. It means a lot to our local economy, it means a lot to our community because it raises our profile and we can share all of what we have with so many other people," said the deputy mayor.
"There's going to be a lot of people coming into our great community, so it gives us an opportunity to shine and to show people what real winters are like," he said, chuckling.
Myke Malone, general manager of the Ontario Winter Games, said Sudbury was chosen to host the four events because of its close proximity to Muskoka, but also because of because of the great venues available.
The fact that Sudbury is hosting the 2010 Summer Games also made Sudbury a great candidate for a host city.
"It was a perfect fit for a partnerhip between the two communties, and the infrastructure is here. The diving platform is the first thing we were looking for, and the Ben Avery complex is a first rate facilty," said Malone.
He also noted that Countryside Arena was perfect venue to host the speed skating event.
"It's a great springboard platform for them to get ready for the Summer Games," Malone added.
The Ontario Winter Games will cater to 3,300 athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers, with 382 athletes embarking on Sudbury for the four featured events.
Laurentian University's Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool will be host to the diving competitions, Plaza Bowl will be the host venue for bowing, the Howard Armstrong Recreation Centre will host the squash event and Countryside Arena will be the venue for speedskating. The Radisson Hotel will be the location for the Athletes Village.
"Muskoka and its partner communities will benefit greatly from the Ontario Winter Games," said Scott Aitchison, games chair, in a release.
"(They will benefit) not only in 2010, but before and after the games, shining a positive light on our region and its citizens, demonstrating what we can achieve and leaving a legacy of dedication to both sport and tourism."A
