Oak Bay is on a roll these days, after the Victoria Golf Club and Royal Victoria Yacht Club just recently became recipients of the 2017 Club of the Year Award.
The award is presented to a club affiliated with the Canadian Society of Club Managers that has shown significant innovation, leadership and social responsibility in club management profession.
“It’s pretty impressive that we have two of the top clubs in Canada recognized within Oak Bay,” said Oak Bay District Coun. Kevin Murdoch, adding he was surprised but also pleased of the winning results.
Clubs are highly marked on community involvement and environmental responsibility, both of which have strived to follow.
For one, VGC’s staff can now view the golf course using near infrared, ultra-violet and thermal imaging cameras, which sounds like something out of Star Trek, but the technology helps pin-point irrigation needs, potential disease outbreak, and monitor the course’s water consumption. In the last year, the club also saved more than 24.7 tons of CO2, which is the equivalent to keeping 45 cars off the road for one full year.
Founded in 1893, the Victoria Golf Club is the oldest 18-hole golf course in Canada on its original location, and second oldest in North America. For nearly 125 years, the club has been a symbol in the Oak Bay and Victoria communities, giving back through charitable events, such as its VGC Links to Change Charity Tournament, and many others like it.
“We take pride in our history, but we strive to embrace the present and prepare for the future,” said VGC general manager Scott Kolb. “Our emphasis on family-oriented programs and offerings here at VGC have, and continue to be, the primary focus for our Club.”
Similarly, the RVYC made its own community contributions when one of its members was recently awarded a certificate of appreciation from Parks Canada for more than 1,000 hours of volunteer work in the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. In the last two years, the RVYC has also removed three boats from the bay that were rotting and polluting the surrounding water and beaches, and deployed spill response equipment and staff to contain oil spills from public boats in Cadboro Bay.
It’s been a lot of hard work, but for RVYC general manager Simon Gatrell, it was worth it.
“It’s not an easy award to get, there are lots of components to it, so we’re very proud to get it,” he said.
When it comes to how the Oak Bay community feels about it, at this point the results speak for themselves, Murdoch noted.
“Speaks to the demands of the community who want top-notch quality and services, and now they’re being recognized for that, so kudos to them.”