So Penticton is a hockey town? I think it’s pretty safe to say any Canadian community is unless they don’t have their own rink.
An argument could be made that Penticton is a soccer town based on the number of kids and adults registered.
Does that mean hockey should dominate facility usage here?
The lacrosse community stepped up and showed its support at Monday’s city council meeting when their use of Memorial Arena in the spring was being threatened. City council voted 6-1 in favour of removing the ice from Memorial Arena and keeping it in McLaren. The vote going in their favour might have had a bit to do with the lacrosse supporters packing the meeting. Of course, city council wasn’t as quick to backtrack from the revolt over the Trio Marine project. Kudos to council for showing they care about more than one sport. It could be easy to be swayed by green bills, or in the case of Canadian dollars, coloured flexible plastic.
When I wrote the story Lacrosse on the city council agenda in our paper last week, there were a couple of things that got me thinking during a conversation with Spectra regional manager Dean Clarke. He said what they are seeing is other groups liking the facilities with great inexpensive accommodations. He said they are building a reputation for that. Great, but should local groups get snubbed out of facilities because of that demand from outsiders who throw money at the powers that be? Clarke also mentioned that the money is going back to the city, to pay back debts on the building. Should money generated from Memorial Arena, which has been around long enough the cost of building has already been paid, be used to pay down the debt on the South Okanagan Events Centre? Some might say that is a smart way to pay it down. Or should it be used to further benefit Memorial Arena?
The decision council made saves the South Okanagan Flames junior B lacrosse team from going to plan B of trying to have a successful season in the Thompson Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League at the Summerland Arena. Flames governor April Thompson is certain that would not be good for their future. Minor lacrosse also won’t get shafted. They have already been faced with having to play some of their home games and hold practices in Summerland.
Something else is at stake beyond money — giving kids a chance to play a sport that isn’t hockey. When I spoke with lacrosse parent Sharlene Deverill-Franklin, she said lacrosse is the only sport her son loves to play. Most people say it’s good for kids to play more than one sport. Brent Sutter, owner, GM and coach of the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels has been quoted in stories stating that many hockey players aren’t as good of athletes anymore because they don’t play multiple sports. Even Wayne Gretzky said once the hockey season is over, kids should play other sports.
Since I started covering sports for the Western News in 2008, there have been more than a handful of kids who have accomplished big things in the sport. A few who come to mind are Kiana Casavant, who helped Team B.C. win its first junior female national lacrosse championship, while Cairo Rogers, Finn Halladay and Connor Ramage, to name a few, have represented Penticton on provincial teams. There is also Jean-Luc Chetner and Isaiah Kozak playing at the university level.
If the community and those in power of facilities make decisions solely based on money, fewer kids will be able to follow the footsteps of those I mentioned. It could also result in Penticton losing families. That may sound extreme, but families have moved to other cities to provide their kids better sporting opportunities. It’s impossible for kids to get better at a sport if the opportunities don’t exist.
Emanuel Sequeira is the sports editor for the Penticton Western News.