Although the slo-motion scramble golf cart has been stored away for the winter, there are many great memories to tide the sport tourism [un] golfers over the winter months!
A sold-out crowd of 160+ attended the 3rd edition of the CTSA’s Sport Tourism FORE-um and [un] GOLF presented by IHG in November at Ottawa’s Infinity Convention Centre. Participants came from across the industry and included sport organizations, event rights holders, destinations and industry suppliers. The two-part event combines thoughtful and engaging dialogue on trending topics in sport tourism, followed by a faux ‘golf’ tournament that encourages networking and friendly competition. In between the two events, the latest addition to the roster was a Pre-Golf Happy Hour sponsored by Edmonton Events featuring drinks served by a ‘mystery bartender’.
The afternoon round-table session provoked thoughtful discussion and dialogue on 14 different topics, ranging from hosting unorthodox sport events, to improving sport tourism services to gambling and match manipulation in sport. Course Marshall, Greg Amiel, kept everyone ‘moving’ through the course – and onto the next roundtable discussion in a timely manner. Many of the participants found the sessions to be sound learning opportunities. Feedback included such comments as: I sat in on areas that was I unfamiliar with to learn some challenges/suggestions from other un-golfers; and It was very interesting to learn from others and things they’re doing that can be reapplied and used in our business. To read more about the discussions from the round tables, summaries are available on the CSTA website.
With many National Sport Organizations in the group, the [un] GOLF course was a highly competitive field. ‘Golfers’ were encouraged to earn points at gamified and sponsored ‘holes’. A popular activity involved reaching back into childhood and creating a golf-themed scene from either Play-Do or Lego blocks. Another hole offered a flexibility test that proved to be very challenging. Can you bend at the waist, keep your legs straight – and put your palms on the floor? Only a few of the [un] Golfers managed to do it!
And of course, earning points on your scorecard for sampling gelato is just decadent! At last count, the mango was leading in the best flavour poll, just edging ahead of lime.
When all the points were tabulated, the winning team received a prize package worth over $1,000 each! Fair play was rewarded, as it was the group from the Centre for Ethics in Sport, the ‘Men in Black’, who had the top score and took home the coveted tournament trophy.
And judged by the other teams as the “Best-Dressed” was Tourisme Laval who appropriately named their team the “Light Brights!”
The support and involvement of the many sponsors was integral to the success of the event. Volunteers were also a key element, assisting with the set-up of the indoor golf course, taking notes at the round tables, and ensuring the ‘golfers’ followed all the ‘rules’ of the various activations.
To get the full feel of the event, scroll through the entire online photo gallery or search on social media using the #golfvibes hashtag.
Stay tuned for more information about the 2020 edition of this popular sport tourism event by following along @CSTAEvents on Twitter.
