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Tourism Burnaby launches new Sport Burnaby brand

Hey there, sports fans, Tourism Burnaby has something for you.

Hey there, sports fans, Tourism Burnaby has something for you.

While the city has long been known for its athletic events, from ringette tournaments to Clan basketball championships, Tourism Burnaby is now working with organizations to make holding events in the city easier to manage.

The initiative comes with its own brand – Sport Burnaby – which has its own web page on Tourism Burnaby’s new website. While the organization has worked towards drawing championships and other sports events – and the crowds that come with them – the cohesive initiative needed its own identity, according to Jennifer Scott, manager of Sport Burnaby.

“The Tourism Burnaby brand had taken us to a certain point,” she said. “But we wanted a new emphasis, that with the Sport Burnaby brand, showed the expertise, the area of focus, the sport hosting history, and the resources that are available to sport groups that are looking to Burnaby as a host community.”

Finding a venue, hotel, bus transportation, and making all the connections necessary for holding a major event can be daunting for organizers, Scott pointed out.

“So we work as a one-stop shop to try to alleviate those concerns or smooth out those bumps, or connect them with whatever resources they need in the community,” she said.

Sport Burnaby works with other sports organizations in the community as well, such as Fortius Sport and Health, city facilities and Simon Fraser University.

Fortius recently hosted the Western nationals for rhythmic gymnastics, according to Scott.

“When we have events there, we work in partnership with them,” she said.

Upcoming city events include the Pacific Soccer coaching conference and expo next week, the B.C. Rugby provincial championships at the end of June, and the Cascadia Master’s rowing championships in July.

SFU has been involved in the Sport Burnaby initiative, particularly when it comes to attracting Great Northwest Athletics Conference events to the city, according to Milton Richards, director of athletics and recreation at SFU. SFU is the only Canadian member of the college athletic conference.

“We have a lot of out of town guests coming to town, especially with athletics,” said Richards, who represents SFU at the Burnaby Board of Trade and Tourism Burnaby. Next fall, SFU is going to host the GNAC women’s soccer conference championship, he added.

“Sport Burnaby is really helping us put the bid together,” he said.

Last year, GNAC held their commissioners’ conference at the Hilton Metrotown in Burnaby. Tourism Burnaby was very involved in putting the bid in for the conference, as well as setting it up, according to GNAC commissioner Dave Haglund.

“Tourism Burnaby has welcomed the GNAC with open arms,” he said. “We really appreciated all their efforts in helping us land that CCA meeting last year.”

Burnaby is a good location for GNAC events as it is an easy road trip for many of its members, he added.

“Burnaby and Vancouver is obviously a world class metropolitan area,” Haglund said. “It’s convenient to many of our institutions.”

SFU may end up hosting other GNAC championships in the future, he added.

“Certainly, Simon Fraser Burnaby would be on our radar for other possible host opportunities in sports like basketball, softball, cross country, those types of things,” he said.