It took a couple of rounds of discussion, but in the end the Sundre Golf Course was selected from a list of nine courses within Mountain View County as the venue for the annual Central Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties Zone Golf Tournament this summer.The choice of Sundre was put forward by Reeve Paddy Munro and carried unanimously at last Wednesday's council meeting, with Olds Highlands Golf Course chosen as an alternative venue if the Sundre course is not available for the event.With MVC hosting this year's tournament, the list of potential golf courses provided by administration included: Coyote Creek, Forest Heights, Water Valley, Tooth of the Dog Pound, Olds Highlands, Silver Willow, Carstairs, Didsbury and Sundre.The short-listing process began with Div. 7 Coun. Al Kemmere pointing out that three of the listed courses are community owned and of those, only one is situated in the county proper ñ ìand that's Olds,î Kemmere said.ìIt sounds like I'm making a pitch for my own division, but I would like to see it held at the Olds Highlands Golf Course.îWhile other courses might not be community owned, Munro countered, they are community businesses. The difference, Kemmere said, is similar to the difference between a co-operative and a private business. ìEvery one of these are great courses,î he added.Interim CAO Tony Martens cautioned that, given the distance some of the participants will have to drive, holding the event west of Sundre would add another 30 or 40 minutes to their travel time. Adequate banquet facilities are also essential, Martens said.If the county wants to offer the visitors ìsomething different,î Div. 1 Coun. Kevin Good said, ìI'd say Water Valley or Sundre. The topographics would make it unique to what these people have locally.îAfter narrowing the list down to Sundre, Carstairs, Olds and Water Valley, council approved the reeve's motion to go with Sundre and Olds as an alternate.ìThose two would be good because they have accommodationsî in the vicinity, Div. 2 Coun. Patricia McKean said.Asked how many people were expected to take part, executive administrative assistant Gail Eyers said last year's CAAMDC tournament in Lacombe County, held in July, drew about 60 but attendance was lower than past years, when the event was held in June.ìThey were hoping for 80 or 90 people,î Eyers said.Martens said he would aim for the latter half of June for this year's tournament.Mountain View was asked last year if it would host the 2011 tournament and council agreed to put the county's name forward.The costs and source of funding are to be determined.
