Council walks back support for 2027 gymnastics bid over Flyers scheduling impact

After scheduling conflicts with the local GOHL team Leamington council reconsidered their decision to support a local gymnastics competition's use of the arena.

Leamington council has reversed a decision that would have allowed the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre to be used in a bid to host the 2027 Ontario Gymnastics Championships.

The decision was made Tuesday night following widespread pushback over concerns the move would affect the Leamington Flyers’ ice time.

Hosting the championships would have required the ice to be removed from the Highbury Canco Arena on March 24, 2027, for several weeks, potentially conflicting with the OJHL playoffs if the Flyers were still in action.

Mayor Hilda MacDonald defended council’s initial decision to support Rose City Gymnastics’ bid to host the event.

“It wasn’t just benefiting our residents, it was benefiting the whole community,” MacDonald said.

“If you have 5,000 people staying in hotels and eating food in restaurants, this was a tough decision. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don’t get it right.”

The Flyers can draw nearly 2,000 fans per game, depending on ticket sales.

While accepting responsibility for the decision, MacDonald said the Flyers organization also needs to improve communication.

“I agree, we took a lot of heat for this and also, I’m going to put a little bit back on the Flyers,” she said. “They’ve not been a cooperative organization to work with in the last number of years since they changed ownership.”

Coun. Heather Latam said council had not received a response from the hockey team at the time of its initial decision.

She thanked residents who shared their concerns constructively but criticized others for resorting to insults.

“It’s unfortunate that we have come to a time and a place where keyboard warriors take a cause and run with it and feel emboldened to insult and criticize,” Latam said.

The decision is expected to end any chance of Windsor-Essex hosting the 2027 championships, according to Diana Giorgi, president of Rose City Gymnastics.

Giorgi said the decision was “very disappointing,” but not unexpected.

“Once they granted us the process to move forward, we took everybody else off the table,” she said. “We let everybody else know. So we’re no longer going to their meetings or going to council to do a presentation.”

Giorgi said the loss of the bid could cost the gymnastics club between $20,000 and $30,000 in revenue that would have gone directly to the children involved.

She added that discussions with other potential host facilities ended after Leamington’s initial vote.

“Those hosts have moved on,” Giorgi said.

During council’s debate, several members apologized to Rose City Gymnastics and encouraged the club to consider Leamington for future opportunities.

“I never give up on anybody,” Giorgi said. “I would go for it again if the flooring was all in place.”

Rose City Gymnastics said it was never its intention to displace the Flyers, adding its goal was to bring world-class gymnastics to Leamington.