NB Sport Spots is down - Google Pages finally closed by Google

I built the NB Sport Spots website with Google Page Creator. I have known for quite a while that Google was closing Google Page Creator. Google is trying to move all of the Google Page Creator users to the new Google Sites. Unfortunately Google Sites does not support the custom JavaScript that I use to display the maps. I am not sure when I'll have the time to develop a new website to host NB Sport Spots. In the meantime you can download all of my data in a KML file. KML files can be displayed on Google Earth or Google Maps:

Google Earth KML file.

NB Sport Spots updates

I recently reviewed all of the external websites that I link to from NB Sport Spots. Some links change and some websites just disappear. I updated and corrected as many links as I could. I used the Dead-Links website to validate all of the URLs. The only information I collect for each facility is:

• the name of the facility
  
• its location (latitude and longitude)
• its street address
• and a website
  

My only goal with NB Sport Spots is to help you find a sport facility. In case you need more information (like a phone number or hours of operation) I try to find a website for each sport facility. Many facilities don't have a dedicated website but I try to find the best link available.

Please help me keep the links up to date. If you notice a broken link or if you find a better link please contact me.

NB Sport Spots Hit Count

The website traffic has been picking up lately. It looks like most of the traffic has been directed toward the Ice Arena listings. That makes sense because the ice arenas were the original data set and the only data set for the first year or two. It also makes sense because it is the season for Ice Arenas. I am hoping that some of the ice arena visitors will turn into Golf Course visitors when the weather turns warmer. But while it is still freezing cold in New Brunswick don't forget about the Curling Rink listings and Ski Hill listings. The graph to the right shows the website traffic for the last 12 weeks. Click on the graph for a larger view.

When to drive and when to stay

Winter driving conditions have placed many of us in the very same situation as the coach of the Bathurst High Phantoms Men's basketball team. Sometimes staying off the road and finding accomodations for the night is the best choice.

I will be taking my sons to several out-of-town tournaments over the next few months. The fateful accident in Bathurst will be heavy on my mind as I am planning our travel. Here is a new link to help you make the best winter driving decisions:

http://nbsportspots.googlepages.com/home26

Golf Atlantic Expo Moves to Moncton, New Brunswick, ~ April 11 - 13, 2008 ~

Here are some excerpts from the press release for the Golf Atlantic Expo:

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The Atlantic Chapter of the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada in partnership with the Dundee SportsDome will host Golf Atlantic Expo in Moncton at the dome from April 11^th - 13^th, 2008.

Golf Atlantic Expo, originally known as the Halifax Golf & Travel Show, is Atlantic Canada’s only consumer golf show, and for the past (5) years has been held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Based on the strong golf market in Moncton and the very positive discussions with the owners of the SportsDome, management of Golf Atlantic Expo are very excited to bring this event to Moncton in 2008. “We have been looking for a permanent home for the show in a market that really supports the golf industry and being a former Monctonian, I am confident that we have made the right decision” stated David McCafferty, Regional Director – NGCOA Canada - Atlantic Chapter.

"I am thrilled to partner with the NGCOA Canada – Atlantic Chapter to put on this exciting event. Our facility with our indoor golf range is a natural fit for a golf show. I am bouncing with excitement as we plan to roll out our innovative and never-done-before experiences for golfers such as: project a thirty-plus foot LIVE broadcast of the Masters Golf Tournament against the Dome, Big Break Tournament, Snag Golf for kids, clubhouse & beverage area to relax, and much more", stated Jules Leger, President and Founder of the Dundee SportsDome.

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Click here for a map to the Dundee SportsDome. The Dundee SportsDome is adjacent to the Tim Horton 4Ice Centre.

GPS Waypoint Files Available for Download

Do you have a GPS? Now you can load all of the sport facilities from NB Sport Spots into your GPS. All you have to do is download the GPX files and then use a program like EasyGPS to send the GPX file to your GPS. You will need a cable to connect your GPS to your computer.

Get me to the Game on Time

The following story was written by Brad Janes and photogrphed by Karen Ruet. It appeared in the Lifestyles section of the Telegraph Journal on Monday, October 17, 2005. The new website for ice arena maps is http://nbsportspots.googlepages.com/

Website helps NBers find arena locations around the province

By Brad Janes

Special to the Telegraph-Journal

It's dark.

The rain has turned to snow. The windshield wipers aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing.

You're late and you're lost.

Making matters worse, the starting goaltender, a defenceman and a right-winger are in the vehicle with you. You can feel their eyes on your neck, the sense of frustration settling in.

Time's ticking and there isn't a gas station or pedestrian in site to try and find the Stanley Agrena. Or the Forum in Bouctouche. Or the geographically challenging Hilton Belyea Arena in West Saint John.

Hey, Bernie Connors has been there.

The Halifax native has been living in New Maryland for the past few years (actually since 1995) and is still learning the lay of the land when it comes to finding ice arenas in New Brunswick.

"I don't have the experience of (growing up in NB and) playing in many of the arenas in some of New Brunswick's communities," said Mr. Connors.

"Sometimes it's easy enough to find the community, but it's not so easy to find the arena. I was in Stanley last year and we went back and forth more than a few times (looking for the arena). Turns out it's a couple of buildings behind homes on the main drag, but it took some time to find it."

This prompted Mr. Connors to take some affirmative action.

Surely he wasn't the only person befuddled with finding arenas for a hockey game, figure skating competition, ringette, speed skating event or something else involving ice under thin blades.

The manager of GISD (it's "GIS" - Geographic Information System) with the Department of Environment and Local Government for the province, Mr. Connors started fiddling with his computer late last winter and created a Bible of ice arenas for the province.

Logging on to http://ca.geocities.com/berniejconnors/NBRinks/Rinksmain.htm could change your arena trekking life. (Update - new URL is http://nbsportspots.googlepages.com/)

As a minor hockey parent, Mr. Connors has lugged 11-year-old James to atom and peewee games and Liam has just entered the atom stage as a nine-year-old.

There will be many more trips this winter. He feels better knowing there shouldn't be a whole lot of problems finding the next mystery arena in some foreign-to-him community.

"I had been organizing a Yahoo! group for my son's teams and was in charge of distributing schedules and changes to games," said Mr. Connors. "I started putting links to Map Quest on our Web site to help other parents and then asked myself why I was only doing it one at a time. I thought there couldn't be that many arenas in the province so why not set up a Web site that shows all of them?"

He has some 85 arenas entered from the Ade Theriault Arena in Baie Ste-Anne to the Carleton Civic Centre in Woodstock. And numerous ones in between.

Of course Mr. Connors is quick to point out he's not prepared to take responsibility to all arena locations.

That comes in the form of his disclaimer on the Web page, meaning if it's 10:30 at night, you're in Shippagan and can't find the arena, don't bother him with a phone call.

With a humorous tone he won't take responsibility because you missed the right turn at the dentist's office when you should've turned left at the lawyer's office.

"You have to remember I haven't visited all of these arenas myself," he said with a chuckle. "I've probably been in 10 to 12 per cent of them. You may get lost if you follow my directions so I don't want anyone complaining if you find an abandoned arena in some community."

Tell you the truth, the feedback he's received has been pretty good.

It's a volunteer effort on Mr. Connors' behalf, mainly because he knows as his sons' progress along the hockey system trail, he's going to be visiting more and more provincial arenas.

"The words I've received back have been pretty good and I've been pleased with some of the comments," he said.

"The data is all pretty complete now. Last year I was still getting street addresses, but I've got all the arena names now. A few may be missing their civic numbers, but I'm pretty sure all the coordinates are accurate."

He has also been asked if he would be interested in branching out to offer similar services for soccer pitches, baseball and softball diamonds. Curling rinks. The sporting list is almost endless.

A Web site called arenamaps.com has been trying to cover all hockey arenas in Canada and the United States and could branch out into other athletic venues, but that particular site isn't up to date and doesn't cover all of the New Brunswick arenas.

"It would be great to do something like this for other provinces and other sports because I know it can be just as difficult to find a soccer field or a basketball court," Mr. Connors said.

"Some suggested I should talk to people about doing this for baseball, but right now I don't have any plans for that."

Through all of his research, where is it Mr. Connors would like to visit the most?

"I noticed an arena in Cocagne called the Marina Arena and that caught my attention," he said. "When you zoom on it, you can clearly see there's a marina adjacent to the arena. That's one I'd like to see for myself."

Chances are he will sooner rather than later.

So if indeed you are traveling to an arena you've never heard of and the all the obstacles that await you in unfamiliar territory appears daunting, you may want a printed version of Mr. Connors' directions in your glove compartment.

Or at least in the hands of the starting goaltender in the back seat.

Maps for New Brunswick Sport Facilities

The New Brunswick Sport Spots website is a fantastic source for maps of New Brunswick sport facilities. Currently NB Sport Spots has maps for all of the:

• Ice Arenas
• Curling Rinks
• Ski Hills, and
  
• Golf Courses
  

This image is a sample of the Ice Arena map. Every map includes an address for each sport facility and a link to get driving directions to the facility.