The federal government has stepped in to pick up most of the tab for the new gymnastics and climbing gym to be built in Whistle Bend, coming up with more than $31.5 million for the project.

“When we build sports and recreation infrastructure, we’re building wellness and well-being, and we’re helping to keep our children, youth and adults healthy,” Yukon MP Brendan Hanley said Thursday, in announcing the funding.

The Yukon government will chip in about $2.5 million as well, providing approximately $34.2 million overall for the build.

The new facility will be more than 3,000 square metres and have space for the Polarettes Gymnastics Club along with a climbing gym run by the Climb Yukon Association. That will include a 14.5-metre wall for rope climbing.

Hanley made the announcement at the current Polarettes facility in Riverdale alongside Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn.

Initially, this project was expected to be fully paid for by the Yukon government.

However, the expected cost of the facility has risen over the past year from an estimate of between $19 million and $22 million announced by Mostyn in April 2022, to the current price of more than $34 million.

Mostyn said the project’s scope had not changed, but the impacts of everything from the war in Ukraine to the COVID-19 pandemic to labour shortages and supply-chain issues have driven up costs.

“It’s a common refrain, we’re seeing this across the country, the cost of infrastructure, of building facilities like this – building roads, building bridges, building schools – everything is going up dramatically,” Mostyn said.

This is why he said the federal government is stepping in to help with projects like this one, providing a new home for the Polarettes and Climb Yukon.

The Polarettes have outgrown their current facility and now have a waitlist of 456 children to join their classes.

They currently have 36 coaches on their roster and more than 1,400 kids in their parkour and gymnastics classes. In their school partnership program, they have taught 3,700 children during the past school year.

“It’s safe to say we are limited only by our lack of space,” said Polarettes’ director Kimberly Jones.

“For many years, the Polarettes Gymnastics Club struggled to meet the growing demand for gymnastics and parkour programming in its existing facility,” club president Dale Kozmen added in a statement.

“The features of the new facility will allow us to meet that demand for decades to come. The support of the Governments of Yukon and Canada for this project has been exceptional.

“All Yukoners will be able to take pride in this fantastic new facility.”

Climbers in the Yukon have also long sought a facility like this for indoor and competitive climbing, according to Climb Yukon’s Joti Overduin.

This is especially needed in a place that can be as dark and cold as it is in Whitehorse during the winter.

These facilities can be beneficial to the health and wellness of the community, she said.

“Climbing is not just for the climbing community, it’s not just for climbers,” she said.

“It’s really exponentially growing as a recreational activity, growing as a wellness activity.”

The new climbing wall will include a bouldering section along with a rope-climbing section, and both will meet standards for competitive climbing.

“Climb Yukon is absolutely cele-brating this, as will climbers and many others,” association president Sara Bradley said in the statement.

“Climbing has grown exponentially worldwide, both as a sport but also even more so as an indoor recreational activity – the Yukon being no exception.

“Our organization has long outgrown the small volunteer-run bouldering wall at Porter Creek high school, and really looks forward to being able to expand indoor climbing access and programming for Yukoners once the facility is built.

“And how perfect that we will become neighbours with Polarettes and Gymnastics Yukon; it couldn’t be more complementary,” Bradley added.

No definite timeline was given for construction. Mostyn said the contract has already been awarded, and these types of projects generally take about 18 months to two years.

“We want this thing built as soon as possible,” he said.

Both Mostyn and Hanley expressed their gratitude for this investment in Whitehorse by the federal government.

“Modern, safe, and exciting recreational facilities are a way our government can encourage active living and competitive sport opportunities,” Mostyn said in a statement announcing 
the investment.

“The benefits of this new facility will be felt by generations of Yukoners, and we thank the Government of Canada for its Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program that’s supporting our vibrant and growing sport and recreation community.”