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The Antigonish area is renowned for its culture,
history, and strong, vibrant sports community.
Over 3,000 youth from the Antigonish area are
enrolled in minor and school sports every year.
Unfortunately, Antigonish does not have
significant facilities to maintain or expand our
current sports programs and there is little room
to develop new ones and host tournaments.
Integrating physical activity into a person’s
daily routine is essential no matter what age.
The Antigonish Town & County Recreation
Association is working to solve these problems.
This group is comprised of dedicated and
enthusiastic community members who are working
towards improving our recreational
infrastructure in the Town and
County of Antigonish.
The project consists of three phases.
Phase one includes an artificial turf
soccer/football field to be built this summer or
fall and a regulation size baseball field to be
completed in 2010 at Dr. J. H. Gillis Regional
High School.
Phase two includes an eight lane, 400
meter track built around the existing soccer
field behind the St. Andrew Junior School (SAJS)
and the Antigonish Education Centre.
Phase three entails a 1.6 km nature trail
that follows Brierly Brook around the Regional
that will be open year round to walkers,
runners, mothers and their strollers, cross
country skiers, and snow shoe enthusiasts, etc.
It is our goal to have all three phases
completed by 2011. This $3.3 million project
requires funding from the three levels of
government and the corporate and private sector
here in Antigonish.
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After a meeting with members of the local track
& field community, the Antigonish Sports and
Recreation Association have agreed to fund an
enhancement to Phase II of its community field
project. The proposed change, which will
add an additional $300,000 to the project,
includes a switch from the originally planned
8-Lane crusher dust track to a synthetic surface
track. The proposed synthetic surface is
an asphalt surface with the ability to add a
rubberized component in the future if so
desired. The upgrade to an asphalt surface
will substantially increase the amount of usage
of the facility, extend the lifespan of the
track and will considerably reduce the amount of
maintenance required to maintain it at
competitive levels. The track will also be
usable in almost any weather conditions.
The planning stage for Phase II of the project
continues with the architectural and engineering
stage slated to be completed by the end of
February and the call for tenders are planned
for March or early April. |
