Sackville High being spruced up to welcome Canada Games athletes

Sackville High School makes its mark next February when it hosts archery and target shooting for the 2011 Canada Winter Games.

The facility is one of two HRM schools selected as a Canada Games sports venue. Citadel High School in Halifax is hosting wheelchair basketball and the table tennis competitions.

"For shooting and archery they need the distance, and we have it. The Sackville High gym is basically three gyms in one," said Sackville High teacher David Strickland, venue lead for the site.

"We also have room enough for the spectators behind it."

The school was selected as a Canada Games sports venue one year ago. Strickland said the volunteer committee is comprised of about 20 people from across HRM, most of them target shooting or archery enthusiasts. They've been meeting regularly for about eight months.

The school's getting a fresh look this summer in preparation for its upcoming role. In the next week or two, a visible sign will be erected in front of the school announcing its status as a Canada Games venue.

"We're upgrading the lighting system and maybe the sound system. We've asked for a built-in (sound system) and are hoping that happens," Strickland said.

"There's also going to be some nice fresh painting. I expect most of the work will be done over the summer."

Although target shooting and archery are typically not sports that bring in large crowds, Strickland said the committee hopes the venue will attract local people to the school to cheer for the athletes.

"It will be really nice for Sackville to host this, and we're hoping to get a large number of spectators at the school to take in these events," Strickland said.

"For a 30 year old building it's in pretty good shape. We're excited to be doing this."

The target shooting competition gets underway at Sackville High during the first week of the Canada Games, while the archery competition takes over the Sackville gym during the second week of the games.

In addition to Sackville and Citadel high schools, other sports venue for the upcoming games include: the Canada Games Centre; Cole Harbour Place; the Dartmouth Sportsplex; Halifax Common; Halifax Forum; Halifax Metro Centre; Mayflower Curling Club; Saint Mary's University; Ski Martock; Ski Wentworth; and the St. Margaret's Centre in Tantallon.

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