Relief, excitement, hope.
Those are some of the emotions you could use to describe what Prince George resident Mike Peterson is feeling at this moment.
He runs Northern ICE Sports, which opened the city's first private ice-training facility in the Prince George Golf and Curling Club (PGGCC) last month and got its first taste of a true young athletes' development today (Feb. 5).
Together with the PGGCC and OVERHang, it hosted a Pro-D Day multi-sport camp for kids to showcase and build skills in hockey, curling, snowshoeing and rock climbing.
"I was a little nervous to begin with especially with COVID-19 and all," said Peterson in an interview with PrinceGeorgeMatters about the private ice start-up, who's also been an avid curler with the PGGCC since 1997.
"We've been deep cleaning since we've opened, made sure we don't exceed the number of people in the facility, wearing masks when we can't physically distance and that way, we can ensure a safe environment for the kids. We'll continue to follow the guidelines and orders by Dr. Bonnie Henry."
Kids were divided into four separate groups and, following safety guidelines, were able to enjoy the facilities.
Once the spring and summer months rolled around, Peterson is hopeful a similar multi-sport camp can run once again with other groups.
"We've got the tennis club, pickleball; we've been talking with Prince George minor soccer too. There's so much that we can do that benefits the kids while staying safe. It's important to me to see these things through."
Peterson also has plans to expand the zamboni side of the rink into a 'goaltenders-only' training space once Northern ICE Sports has gone through its first few seasons.
The facility is also going to be named after former Prince George Spruce Kings captain Chad Staley, who died suddenly last March.
One of Staley's passions, when he played in the northern capital, was going out into the community and help with camps for kids, wanting to 'help the little guys' as stated by the AscenTech Group of Companies who partnered with Northern ICE Sports in the naming process.
"We're honoured and humbled to display his name on the facility and the credit really goes to the Pattie family, his billets at the time. Doing this in conjunction with the Chad Staley Memorial Athletic Foundation, created of course in his honour, and the AscenTech Group has been amazing."
The naming is also a great honour to the Spruce Kings organization itself and are grateful for Northern ICE Sports' heart-felt tribute.
"We're thrilled that Northern ICE has stepped up and done this in conjunction with AscenTech," said team General Manager Mike Hawes.
"That's just going to carry on Chad's legacy on for years to come and Chad's deserving of that. He was such a great young man and, you know, epitomized what it meant to be a Spruce King. He was everything you could ask for and more in a player on our team and, as our captain, he cared about his game and how he was perceived, but he cared about people [too]."
For more information on Northern ICE Sports, you're encouraged to visit its Facebook page or company website.
