British Columbia GOLFEXPO Goes Virtual
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Like so many other things in our lives, this year’s British Columbia GOLFEXPO will be a little different. Actually, a lot different.
The annual golf expo, which runs Feb. 26-28, will not require a drive to its regular location, the PNE Forum building in Vancouver. In fact, it won’t require any kind of drive at all. You can take in this year’s show from your couch.
The show has gone virtual, thanks to COVID-19 restrictions. Simply visit bcgolfexpo.ca and you’re there.
“It is absolutely going to be different this year,” says Jeff Ciecko of CK Golf Solutions, which is managing the social media and website aspects of the show for its owner, the National Golf Course Owners Association of Canada. “It is free to consumers this year, which is new. In the past it has been a ticketed event.”
Organizers have created a virtual show floor similar to one that golf show visitors were accustomed to seeing in person in past years.
“We have lots of great exhibitors, a great contesting platform that we are using where consumers can come in and enter a bunch of contests to win golf and other prizes,” Ciecko says.
“We are holding an online auction to raise funds for the NGCOA Canada’s junior golf initiatives like Take a Kid to the Course and other things like that. Then there is a golf deals section where some of the exhibitors have chosen to put up various golf deals and that is all being handled through the expo website. There’s tons of reasons to come and visit us.”
Although the show does not officially open until Feb. 26, consumers can sign up for early access.
Explore The GOLFEXPO Show Floor By Clicking On The Image Below.
“So they would get early access on the 25th with a pass code which we will email out and then the full Expo is available for free with no pass code from the 26th to the 28th,” Ciecko says.
“The advantage of signing up early is that on the 25th you will have access to the deals. Some of the courses have put limits on them. They only want to sell 25 or 30 of their passes or whatever they are doing so we are encouraging everybody to sign up early.” Ciecko says several hundred people have already signed up for early access.
“At the end of the day it is going to be a good experience for the user,” Ciecko says of this year’s virtual expo. “We know people are spending more and more time online during the pandemic so we think this is an opportunity for people who are couch-surfing on their iPads and iPhones, computers or whatever it might be, to go in, take a look around and see what golf in British Columbia is looking like in 2021.
“This gives golfers an opportunity to take a look at what is available in our province because we believe you are going to be traveling within your province this summer.”
The GOLFEXPO will also have a YouTube channel featuring several travel videos from various golf regions in the province. Online instruction and tips from PGA of BC members will also be available.
“In addition to the YouTube channel we have created a Spotify playlist so consumers can turn on some music while they search through the GOLFEXPO,” Ciecko says.