Kinsmen Water Park back in national spotlight

For the second time this year, the Kinsmen Water Park is part of a national contest.

Aviva Canada, an insurance company, provides money to needy communities each year through a nation-wide contest. Any group or community from across the country, with a good idea, can enter.

A Prince Albert committee felt it would be a great idea to enter the water slides.

“We saw it advertised on TV and we looked into it,” said Lance Alexander with the Prince Albert Kinsmen Club. “It’s (the water park) is a big part of our city, and our name is on it, so we want to do whatever we can to get ’em back up and running,” said Alexander.

There are three rounds of voting in the qualifying rounds. The Kinsmen Water is in the second round, which is currently under way. Voting will wrap up on Nov. 3. Forty projects will move on to the next round of voting.

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“You sign in through a Facebook page and you can vote. You can vote once a day up til the deadline,” said Alexander.

The contest is run annually by Aviva, the second-largest insurer in the country.

“Normally, our engagement with the public is either when they purchase policies from us through a broker or if they unfortunately experience a loss. We saw this as a way to positively engage with communities across the country,” said Glenn Cooper, senior public relations manager with Aviva.

The grand prize for the contest is $100,000. All communities that make the semi-final round will receive at least $5,000.

“The community fund has evolved over the years, In the beginning the limits were much higher but from the feedback we’ve heard, people would like more winner with less amounts,” said Cooper.

The semi-final round will run Dec. 1-10. At that point, the field will be narrowed down to 40. A panel of judges will be in charge of the final round.

Cooper said it is very important that people vote once a day, and spread the word through their communities to do the same.

“We realize it’s no easy feat, you’ve got to get a lot of people behind you on this,” said Cooper.

The cost to fix the water slides is projected to be $260,000.

The City of Prince Albert has already committed $60,000 and the city did receive $25,000 through the Kraft Celebration Tour contest.

Cooper said there will more than likely be more than one winner in their contest. Last year, there were nine winners.

Information about the contest can be found here.

nmaxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell