Update: BCAA confirms Torquay Elementary, along with Lillooet Recreation Centre, has won $100,000 for a new playground in the organization's Play Here contest.
Original story: The voting has closed on a province-wide contest to win a new playground and a Saanich school believes it’s taking home the prize.
The contest closed at midnight on Wednesday.
According to the principal of Torquay Elementary, the school had more than 132,000 votes.
“The amount of people that have come out and supported and voted as many times as they could in all the possible ways, it really, really paid off for us in the end,” Cindy Harte told CTV News.
Nothing is official just yet, the BCAA will make a formal announcement with the winner of the $100,000 prize on July 11, when the votes are all verified.
“Of course we’re cautiously optimistic that it will be us being that we were ahead at 12 o’clock midnight,” Harte said.”
In December 2015, the school had its playground torn down after it was deemed unsafe.
“We want it accessible, we want it used by the community, we want it used of course by our students during the school hours,” Harte added. “But it needs some thought to go into it so it’s a good fit for everyone.”
Harte said one of the things the students are all hoping for is a zipline.
“The kids really like the idea of swings of some sort, sandboxes, places for kids to get in and use their imagination and play,” Harte said.
