Windsor's sports tourism officer Samantha Magalas outlines her plan

Windsor's new sports tourism officer was the guest speaker Wednesday at an event organized by Leadership Advancement for Women in Sport.

Samantha Magalas has been on the job for one month. She's says it's been very busy so far and she's hit the ground running.

The former university athlete comes to Windsor from Ontario University Athletics, the governing body that oversees university athletics in Ontario. She has coached and played on the women's national baseball team and was the first woman in Canadian history to play for a men's university baseball team.

CBC's Aadel Haleem spoke with Magalas prior to the LAWS event.

One of the first issues she's tasked with is bridging the communication gap between the City of Windsor and OFSAA.

What's your reaction to the concerns that are being raised?

Yeah, I think we need to make sure we are communicating as well as possible and I think that's part of my role. I'm looking forward to working wth OFSAA. I actually spoke with their assistant director [Wednesday], who was quite happy with the event here in Windsor and looking forward to coming back next year to host again. So, things like that, making sure the lines of communication are clear and open will only add to the level of service that we are able to provide and we are very supportive of OFSAA events. We love having them here and we want to continue to work with the organizers.

We do have more OFFSAA events coming this year and next. You've been in office for just a month now and you, so what is your plan to bridge the gap between those organizers and city staff?

We love having the events here. They fill up our hotels, they fill up our restaurants, it's great for the city, it's great for sport tourism. So for us, making sure the lines of communication are clear and that's part of my position. To be that key person to make sure that event organizers, whether it's OFSAA or local events, have someone to go to for assistance.

The event we're at right now is focused on women in sport. What efforts do you plan to make to give a boost to our female athletes?

Well, this community is already thriving when it comes to women in sport and you look at the support for it tonight and the people here as well, it's absolutely fantastic. It's a credit to the media as well, and I should say that. The media here in Windsor is very big supporters of women in sport and it's such a great thing to see coming from outside of the city. So we definitely want to make sure that we are working with all the local groups and working to promote women in sport as well as sport in general here in the city.

How will the city use Detroit and pro sports in its sports tourism plan?

Certainly sport tourism utilizes professional sport as one of the avenues of bringing both spectators and participants into the city. I'm looking forward to meeting with Detroit Tourism and that is a meeting I have coming up so I can't comment directly on how we plan to work with them but I know they have been very welcoming and looking forward to meeting with them in the next couple of weeks.

What do you say to people that suggest sports tourism isn't sustainable?

I think that sports tourism has been happening for a very long time. It's definitely something that other cities are capitalizing on and they've seen the benefits of it. It's a huge industry across not only the country but across the world. People travel to both play sports, participate in special events, come to watch special events and professional sports. We need to make sure we are a part of that and we've got great facility assets here in Windsor. We've got a great opportunity to continue doing some of the things that we've been doing. We set the bar in instances, such as the International Children's Games. People strive to put that event on to the level that we did and those are things that we want to continue to do. Not only are we going to assist with economic development in that way, but we're also working on branding our city and showcasing the good things that Windsor has to offer.

What role does Essex County play in Windsor's sports tourism plan?

Again, I need to be meeting with various people. I'm working closely with Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, the DMO here in the area. They represent all the counties across the board so I need to make sure I'm continuing to work with them and I've been here a month so I'm still figuring out exactly how everybody is going to be able to work with everybody. They've already got a good relationship and we're going to continue with that and we want to make sure we're doing what's best for all parties.