Kelowna – the small city that offers the world.
Cradled within a glorious range of mountains, Kelowna is a sanctuary with pristine lakes, pine forests, abundant gardens, orchards and vineyards, sandy beaches, and superb amenities. Beautiful Okanagan Lake sustains diverse communities along a corridor known as the Okanagan Valley. As part of the Sonora Desert, the valley boasts a semi-arid climate with long warm summers and short mild winters.
Kelowna has population of 111,000 and serves as the Okanagan's transportation, business and service hub. Kelowna International Airport, the 10th busiest in Canada, offers daily non-stop flights to/from Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Seattle, USA. Accommodations range from luxurious lakeside resorts to affordable university dorms.
Kelowna has an endless supply of scenic parkland and sandy beaches that provide wonderful opportunities for cycling, hiking, swimming and walking. During the few months without golf, snow-capped mountains and pine-filled forests are a haven for skiers, boarders and snowmobilers.
Orchards and vineyards thrive within minutes of downtown and provide seasonal delights year round. Spring, summer and fall wine festivals offer hundreds of activities focused on wine making, tasting and touring. Kelowna’s downtown Cultural District features galleries, museums, theatres, artists’ studios, fine dining and unique shops.
Prospera Place, a 6,000-seat multi-purpose facility that’s home to the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, attracts major entertainers and events to the heart of the city. Capital News Centre and its new neighbour, the H²0 Adventure and Fitness Centre, promote an active lifestyle in south Kelowna while UBC’s Okanagan Campus does the same in the north.
A trip to Kelowna would not be complete without searching for Ogopogo, the legendary lake monster that reputedly resides in Okanagan Lake. To “see” Ogopogo, be sure to visit a statue of the creature near Kelowna's City Park.
Sport Kelowna is a community-based partnership committed to sport development. Through the partnership, which connects the City of Kelowna, PacificSport Okanagan and Tourism Kelowna, Sport Kelowna offers a wide variety of complimentary resources to sport planners. Those include:
- Accommodation Search Support
- Bid Development
- Event Business Planning and Budget Template*
- Event Funding (Sport Event Development Grant)
- Event Hosting Tool Kit
- Event Planning Template*
- International Events Database*
- Participant Welcome Packages
- Promotional Tools
- Site Inspections
- Sponsorship Proposal Samples
- Sport Tourism Economic Assessment Model (STEAM)*
* Offered through membership with Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance
Along with these resources, Sport Kelowna provides sport planners with timely information on facilities, grants and other resources within Kelowna’s sport community. Our extensive, supportive network works to your advantage.
Meetings and Training Camps
There is no better place than Kelowna if you plan to turn a tournament into an event, a meeting into an experience or a road trip into a team-building exercise. Kelowna’s large selection of venues provides for excellent training camp options. The city offers more than 6,500 square metres of space for sport meetings. It adds unrivalled access, accommodations, amenities, attractions and climate.
Kelowna's annual events:
Jack Brow Memorial Track and Field Championship
Kelowna Apple Triathlon (Canadian Olympic, Sprint Championships 2008-2011)
Kelowna International Major Midget Ice Hockey Tournament
Okanagan International Marathon
Ski2Sea Adventure Race
Sweetheart Ringette Tournament
Valley of Champions Minor Baseball Tournament
Canada Day Baseball Blast Men's Tournament
Center of Gravity
Western Canada High School Basketball Tournament
BC High School Boys Volleyball Championships
2010
Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship
Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) Women's Basketball Nationals
Canadian Masters Badminton Championships
Play On! Kelowna Street Hockey Tournament
Skate Canada BC/YT Sectional Championships (2011)
2009
BC Cross-Country Ski Championship
BC Peewee AAA Ice Hockey Championship
Canadian Wakeboard Festival
Elite Canada Gymnastics Championship
2008
BC Short Track Speed Skating Championship
BC Summer Games
Canadian Blind Sports Goalball Championship
World Arm Wrestling Championship
2007
Canadian Yachting Association Women’s National Keelboat Championship
Special Olympics BC Winter Games
Western Elite Volleyball Championship
World Sledge Hockey Challenge
2006
BC Senior Curling Championships
Canadian Yachting Association Multi-Hull Nationals
IHF World Junior Hockey Championship
Western Canadian Bantam Ice Hockey Championship
2005
International Federation for Disabled Sailing Multi-Hull World Championship
World Trapseat 16 Sailing Championship
BC Junior Badminton Championship
BC Wheelchair Basketball Championship
2004
Canadian Hockey League Memorial Cup
Indo-Pacific Gymnastics Championship
Skate Canada BC/YT Sectionals
Western Canadian Powerlifting Championship
Chad Douglas
Sport Event Development Manager
Sport Kelowna
(250) 861-1515 ext. 209
Send email
Visit the Kelowna destination page on HelloBC