Waterloo Region Connected - Sports and Recreation

Kitchener Panthers

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 17:42:33 +0000

Does anyone here have any connection or is a regular attendee of the Kitchener Panthers?

It was mentioned in the General Sports thread that they were sold to the couple who owns the KW Titans, and there are significant changes planned at the stadium and on the roster.

I'm curious if concessions or anything else will be improved. I'm disappointed to see on the website that they seem not to be continuing children's discounts (only a couple of years ago it was two bucks for an elementary student), and it looks now like the regular tickets will be more expensive than other intercounty teams. I wonder what if any improvements will be made along with that.

Laurel Creek Rehabilitation

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 03:59:43 +0000

There's some pretty major work being done to Laurel Creek between Erb and Bridgeport. There's a small dam installed just north of Erb, and the water is all being sent through pipes to around Bridgeport. All the trees on the east bank have been removed and the creek bed has been dug up.

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Kitchener Rangers

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:58:36 +0000

Kitchener Rangers

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McLennan Park skatebowl permanently closed

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 20:35:16 +0000

Skatebowl in Kitchener’s McLennan Park to be permanently closed
https://www.therecord.com/news-story/884...ly-closed/

It appears that Mt Trashmore isn't quite a stable as expected ...

Cycle Waterloo

Sun, 08 Apr 2018 23:12:23 +0000

Today was the inaugural race in Cycle Waterloo's stable of races, the Steaming Nostril. This was my first year racing it, and it lived up to its name, with cool temperatures highlighted by a northwest wind, but temperatures close enough to the freezing point to make a mess and make some of the off-road sectors very challenging.

The race is a true gravel grinder, 65 km with most of it over gravel roads, with a few small sections of pavement and three significant off-road sectors: the Mill Race Trail from Three Bridges Road into St. Jacobs, 8 km of the Rail Trail from Posey Line to Chalmers Forest Road and "The Hardest Kilometre" (really the hardest 2 km this year) through the farm just north of Durst Rd. and Hawkesville Rd. The rail trail was a tough slog due to muddy conditions and some rutting on the trail. There were a lot of crashes in this sector, and even for those who made it through unscathed, it took a big bite out of their energy.

The hardest kilometre was particularly rough, and right near the end of the race when willpower is waining. This tractor trail through the field was a thick sticky mess of mud that gummed up the forks and seat/chainstays of the bike and eventually made it impossible to move at all. This meant most riders ended up having to shoulder their bikes through the worst sections. There is a relatively easy section of single-track (except for that fact that racers are exhausted at this point), and then finally racers encounter people handing out shots of maple syrup before facing a steep hill up the embankment of the Conestoga River. Fortunately spectators were out cheering us on and giving us a hand up the steepest bits before we hopped back on the bike, thankful that the end of the race was in sight.

Spectating this race isn't particularly easy, and the weather isn't terrible great to be standing around outside, but there are some fantastic opportunities for some great photographs!

Cycle Waterloo has several other races coming up that are more spectator-friendly and hopefully some on here might find their interest piqued. The next one will be the KW Classic road race on June 3, which is also the provincial championships this year. It normally runs over a loop through Hawkesville, which means that spectators have many opportunities to see racers go by.

Probably the most spectator-friendly events are the KW Twilight Grand Prix in Victoria Park on July 27, and the Fieldstone Criterium in downtown Galt on July 28 - the Region's Speed Weekend. Criteriums are run over short loops around 1-2 km long. They last about 1 hr and are therefore very fast with speeds in excess of 50kph. Prime laps are interspersed throughout the race for riders to race for smaller prizes and encourage aggressive and exciting racing. It's a great way to spend an evening in the summer in downtown Kitchener or Cambridge, so hopefully some of you will come out and support the events.

As for me, I was thrilled with the race, although I crashed near the end of the rail trail and lost the group I had been with. I look worse for wear, but the smile doesn't lie!

FRW Dickson Natural Area

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 15:15:10 +0000

According to the Grand River Conservation Authority page:

https://www.grandriver.ca/en/who-we-are/...tions.aspx

The FRW Dickson Natural Area was closed until March 2018. It's been closed for a long time - the last couple of times we've been by the parking lot is blocked off.

Has anyone gone recently to confirm it's re-opened?

This is a little hidden gem of a place... especially if you like Chickadees.

RBJ Schlegel Park

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 07:29:14 +0000

I just lost the initial post I was working on so this will be a quick version.

Large Park in the southwest area of Kitchener (Fischer-Hallman and Huron Rd).

Master plan :
https://www.google.ca/url?q=https://www....abv9gpNqmg

Jamal Murray

Fri, 24 Jun 2016 04:16:33 +0000

With the 7th pick in the 2016 NBA draft, the Denver Nuggets select Jamal Murray from Kitchener Canada, and the University of Kentucky.

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/video/nuggets-grab...ick~897813

2021 Canada Summer Games

Wed, 25 May 2016 09:57:05 +0000

Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph have officially submitted a bid to host the 2021 Canada Summer Games.

http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/mobile/kitch...-1.2915049

Silver Lake

Sun, 17 Apr 2016 19:56:00 +0000

What has happened to Silver lake? I have been going to Waterloo park for a few years now and this puddle isn't what it used to be. I have looked at historic photos of a floating platform that kids used to jump off of into the water. Today, jumping into the lake would likely cause serious injury if not death.

The Canada Goose population, as out of control as it is, seems to use this lake exclusively as a toilet. It is pretty gross. The water level always seems to be very low.

What has caused this? Have we diverted the source somehow? The city website reports 2 centuries ago, 8 - 10k tons of ice were taken from this lake yearly. I can't imagine that volume today.

I took a picture last night of a relatively high water level in the lake and I still see it is very low as far as lakes go.

The Aud

Sat, 23 Jan 2016 06:28:15 +0000

This thread is really about thoughts on the Aud and the critical mistake Kitchener has done by not having The Aud in the downtown core. We talk about bringing people downtown, this would have been a major key in doing so. Just look at our rival London, what a great environment it is to have their arena downtown.

Hot spa in Waterloo region?

Sun, 29 Nov 2015 03:57:06 +0000

Hello,

Good to see a local forum for WR!

Does anyone know where I can find (water park with) hot spa? The one in Waterloo Swimplex is good but I wish the water temperature could be 10 degree higher.

David

How bout them Blue Jays

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:29:43 +0000

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Fun for Young and Old (and those in-between)

Sun, 26 Jul 2015 14:39:04 +0000

This thread will provide a place to discuss Waterloo Region venues and/or recurring events that answer questions like "What will I do on my day off?"/"I wonder if the kids would find this interesting?"/"Would Mom enjoy this?". Although there may be overlap with the Culture and other Recreation threads, the idea is to generate a single spot to check out fun and interesting places to visit and things to do in the Region (or nearby).

Suggested format - Provide a brief description of the venue/recurring event and include the website, if there is one. To whom would this appeal (pre-schoolers? teens? solo? a date? seniors?)? Perhaps add a photo if you have one.

Fastest Game On Ice

Wed, 17 Jun 2015 22:37:09 +0000

Back in the day, ringette was a girls opportunity to play ice sports while the boys played hockey. Girls hockey chipped away at the enrollment of ringette players, but after 53 years of existence, Kitchener Ringette Association is still going strong! The last few years ringette associations have seen an increase in enrollment, and the sport is open to both boys and girls!

To try and build awareness of the sport and our local association, we have opened up a limited number of spots for kids to play at ZERO cost.

From Twitter:
Want to play Ringette 4 FREE this season? Go to http://goo.gl/PtK2B5 for info! #KWAwesome #NoStringsAttached #kitchener #FastestGameOnIce

If you have kids who would like to give it a try, you have nothing to lose!

(Yes, I have kids who play... and I volunteer on the board... so I'm open to any questions, and if my post isn't allowed, I'll delete it)