Street Level

Several years ago, while working out of town covering a conference of homebuilders — who, it must be said, know how to party — I stayed in a hotel that was also home base for several hockey teams competing in some big tournament.

These kids were in their teens, all were chaperoned but boy, were those a couple of sleepless nights as these athletes basically turned the hotel into their own personal playhouse.

They ran up and down the hallways, picked fights with each other in the elevators and carried on poorly, much to the surprise of at least a couple of the parents, who apologized to some of us for their behaviour.

A few years later, I was attending a gathering of professionals when I met one of the organizers — as he was thrown through a wall of the hosting hotel, beer bottle in hand and plenty more behind him.

Everyone thought it was very funny. I couldn’t figure out how people who usually spend their days in offices following proper decorum could become wannabe Animal House frat-boys.

And fortunately, I missed the drunken brawl that ended a soccer tournament here in Kamloops a couple of years ago. Police were called; arrests were made.

Never been to a Mountie Stomp, either, so I didn’t get to watch the cops square off against each other after at least one of them had way too much to drink.

Missed the cop versus citizen fight at Cactus Jack’s Saloon, too.

Wasn’t living in the province when the Penticton Peachfest riot happened, either.

None of these incidents were expected by the organizers, none were predicted and each happened.

It’s the result of a simple law of nature: put plenty of people together in one spot, give them all something that links them, throw in the appropriate environmental influences and, odds are, the true nature of some will appear.

And so, yes, it’s possible that, should Kamloops city council do the smart thing and welcome the annual Wakefest this year, there might be some drunken spectators.

There might even be a fist fight or two. And yes, there will be litter on the ground, just as there is in Riverside Park after virtually every event it hosts.

We’ll need to have some extra policing on site, just like we do — well, for Blazers games at home.

Last year, this three-day event drew 34,000 people to Kelowna.

That’s a lot of economic spin-off. A lot of hotel rooms filled, restaurant meals eaten, cab rides taken, parking-lot fees paid and souvenirs bought.

It’s a lot of new visitors to Kamloops who might decide the city’s worth another trip or two.

It’s another notch in that Tournament Capital of Canada belt the majority of residents were so eager to wear. After all, the moniker isn’t Tournaments-that-can-promise-no-problems-at-all Capital of Canada, are we?

We spent all those millions of dollars fixing up and creating some pretty nice sports facilities.

We brag about the one sports venue true nature gave us — although it did, unfortunately, create that hornet’s nest of a north-south issue — but now, given the chance to take advantage of the river, the beaches that can hold those dozens and dozens and even more dozens of lawn chairs.

The organizers have promised to ensure this year’s event doesn’t bring with it the woes that forced Wakefest out of Kelowna. No doubt they’ll be required to pose a surety to cover the costs of any “hooliganism.”

Our local police will be all-too-aware of the potential for trouble Wakefest has, so we can expect increased diligence.

In fact, should Wakefest be brought to our river, the tension will be palpable among all the various stakeholders: city hall, police, the tourism sector, the athletes, the spectators, the organizers will know they’re in a spotlight.

And yes, that won’t matter to some. There will be trouble. There always is at large public events.

But those people who work in the Tournament Capital of Canada or live in the Tournament Capital of Canada have to realize that we want to bring tournaments to our city.

It’s how we define ourselves. Apparently, we figure we’re very good at hosting these sports events.

So let’s host Wakefest and prove to the naysayers that Kamloops knows how to throw a tournament.

dale@kamloopsthisweek.com

Posted by Dale at 11:32 a.m. Comments