Tourism London and the John Labatt Centre (JLC) were excited to host the first ever SynchroFest International with the support of Skate Canada at the JLC from December 28^th- 29^th, 2011. This competition is the first of its kind and was created as a holiday event where teams competed for $50,000 in prize money. The prize money was sponsored entirely by Freedom 55 Financial. The competition saw eight of the worlds top ranked synchronized figure skating teams from Russia, Finland, Canada, United States, and Japan. This was a great opportunity to bring more international events to London and increase the awareness of Synchronized skating.

The City of London was extremely pleased to host the 2011 World Sledge Hockey Challenge (WSHC) from April 18-23, 2011 at the Western Fair Sports Centre. The tournament brought the top four teams in the sport of sledge hockey (Canada, United States, Norway, and Japan) together to compete and to showcase the sport to London and to Canada. Local spectators were astounded by the high quality of play seen at this tournament. The 2011 WSHC was also a wonderful opportunity to grow the profile of sledge hockey within the community.

Overall, the Host Organizing Committee is very proud of how the event unfolded and wishes to thank everyone involved including team staff and players, Hockey Canada, TSN, our sponsors, and our local staff and volunteers for their contributions to the success of this tournament.

The City of London and Tourism London were very honoured and excited about the fact that the Canadian curling Association choose our city to host the 2011 Tim Horton’s Brier. This prestigious event took place March 5- 13, 2011 at the John Labatt Centre marking the 30^th time the province of Ontario has hosted the Brier since it began in 1927.

July 11^th-17^th, 2011 over 1,400 participants and 1,950 members and supporters converged on London and area for the 2010 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games. These games were a resounding success because of the support of the people of the City of London and surrounding area who volunteered, supported and encouraged the Special Olympic Athletes participating in the games.

Approximately 150 skaters competed at Senior and Junior levels at the John Labatt Centre and Western Fair Sports Centre January 11-17, 2010 during the BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships and 2010 BMO Skate Canadian Junior Nationals. This is the second time that London has successfully played host to the Championships- the first in 2005. London has everything needed to host successful large scale international events and this event was no exception.

Over 1100 active seniors aged 55 + converged on London this past August for their provincial competition. These 1100 athletes competed in 17 sports over a 3 day period ending with an awards banquet at the London Convention Centre. The competition was lively and the competitors enjoyed a great stay in our City.

December 2007 to January 2008 was an exciting time as the world of hockey converged on London and area. The World Under 17 Hockey Challenge was held in London and five surrounding communities making this past festive season a little special for these communities. The calibre of hockey was second to none with Team Ontario and Team USA playing for the Gold Medal. Ontario (6-0) became the first team to win all of its games at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge since 2001, when Team USA went 6-0 en route to the title in New Glasgow and Truro, NS. This was Ontario’s sixth WU17 title all-time, a record that includes winning the split championship in 1998. Friday night’s gold medal final set a new record for attendance at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The old record of 6,247 was set in 2004 in St. John’s, NL.

More than 400 skaters from 16 countries came to London, as well as more than 100 coaches, officials and support personnel as the world’s best synchronized skating teams took to the ice at John Labatt Centre for two days of competition to determine the 2007 world champions. Canada last held the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships in 2003 in Ottawa, where team Canada 1 captured the bronze medal. The number of entries for each country is determined by the previous year's championship results. Leaders in the sport include Finland, Sweden, U.S., Russia and Canada. Downtown London Ontario was hopping Saturday morning as many of the 6000 plus ticket holders made their way to the John Labatt Centre to watch the final practices before competition. Once the competition got underway in the afternoon, the crowd expressed their approval and support for all teams, regardless of their country of origin, by encouraging all skaters and applauding teams for the 'wow factor' in unique lifts and daring maneuvers. The ice was their stage, and all twenty-one teams put their long program out there for the world to enjoy. The in-venue commentator kept the audience engaged in synchro trivia, and big red beach balls were circulated throughout the building while the music during the floods contributed to the excitement. The crowd responded with triumphant cheering, working the 'bam bams' and dancing about in their country's colours. At times the support was deafening. First time teams to Worlds, Team Sweden 2 (Team Boomberang), Team Russia 2 (Tatarstan) and Team Japan more than appreciated the crowd's support. Team Japan was so excited after their great skate; they huddled at centre ice and came out waving to crowd. Their way of saying, "thanks for the support". What an emotional high for the Jingu Ice Messengers. There was no doubt going into the program, that Team Sweden 1 was the favourite to win the gold. This was reflected in the final scoring. To finish over 20 points higher than all the other teams was truly remarkable, and proved that this Swedish team was clearly the best in the world. The Swedish formula for success? Hard work, a coach (Andrea Dohany) that knows synchro and a true love of the sport as expressed by Swedish team member, Magdelena Sievertsson. "It is pure love," she reported at the press conference after the competition. Team USA 2, after scoring a 69.75 in the short program, was sitting comfortably in third. They launched themselves into their "Black Magic Woman" routine. "It was like a switch that had flipped, and it seemed to switch on for all of us," stated U.S. skater Ashley Diederich. This momentum won the first medal at Worlds for Team USA 2 (Miami University). Winning the bronze medal made history for Team Canada 1 (Nexxice). A first medal for this team that trains out of the Burlington Skating Centre & the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club. Denver Flintoff, skater from Team Canada 1 told reporters that the tremendous noise and support from the local crowd, "definitely had an impact on how we skated, and we put that energy into our program." Their "Edward Scissorhands" program seemed to calm the crowd into a quiet trance with fluid and graceful movements. Placing sixth overall was Team Canada II, Les Suprêmes. Les Suprêmes, who were seventh in the short program, skated a very strong free skate that brought the John Labatt Centre crowd to its feet. The team was sixth in the free skate to finish the event with a total score of 189.68, placing Canada II sixth overall. All in all this was an evening of outstanding synchronized skating abilities. This team discipline of figure skating truly is making its mark in the world. In a farewell comment by International Skating Union Representative Mr. Courtney Jones, OBE he congratulated Skate Canada and Canadian fans for an unforgettable event and is now wondering how to get all the supporters to Hungary for the 2008 World Synchronized Skating Championships.

The 2006 CN Canadian Women's Open Golf Championships held in London were a magnificent success. For more information check the website at www.londontourism.ca