Oragnizers of the 2008 Ontario Winter Games are calling the event a critical success, but whether it was a financial success remains to be seen.

More than 2,500 athletes in 25 sports competed in the event, which took place in Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Clearview Township, Town of the Blue Mountains, Meaford and Owen Sound.

Jill Miller, general manager of the event, said the event received rave reviews from sports officials with some calling it the "best ever."

"We're getting multiple e-mails from provincial sports organizations," she said.

Miller said the financial impacts of the event won't be known for some time, but she estimates there were about 2,000 tickets sold.

She says this number is likely lower than estimated. She said low attendance to the Saturday events were part of the reason for the lower than expected numbers.

"The attendance on Saturday was due to the weather," she said. "The weather didn't co-operate with us."

Assistant manager Michelle Federer said sports such as judo, gymnastics and weightlifting were met with a great response, as was boxing, which returned to the games after a four-term hiatus.

Federer said the women's hockey final at the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena and the ringette events at the Stayner Arena were also well attended.

"Sports like ringette sold out all three days," she said.

The 2008 games marked the second time that Collingwood was the host community and Federer said they improved in a lot of areas. She credits Sinton Transportation for being a good partner.

"Transportation was fantastic this year," she said.

Miller said the final numbers are still being counted and wouldn't say whether the event covered its costs.