Hi everyone, I have just started this article even though I have two in the works as this is of utmost priority for me and should be for all of you as well!  I apologize if I offend anyone's political views as this is not meant to be a political piece. 

"high school athletes whose competitions are cancelled due to government cutbacks can get their exercise by walking, dancing and "playing in parks."

       As both a sport, and strength and conditioning coach I am disgusted with Dr. Margaret MacDiarmids action of cutting funding to BC School Sports. I appreciate her negating the countless hours coaches have VOLUNTEERED over the years, trying to give our youth opportunities to excel in something outside of school hours. What bothers me most is that she is actually a real doctor! As a family Doctor and Politician her campaign has been to target homelessness, health care and education. Her nonchalant attitude towards approximately 100, 000 BC kids that will be affected by these cuts makes me sick. I'll use myself as an example: I grew up on the North Shore and played 3 sports at Carson Graham and was lucky enough to earn a full scholarship for football to the University of Utah (scholarship was valued at approximately $35, 000 U.S. per year). Without sport, I may have been like many of our youth that fall by the wayside and lean towards violence, drug and alcohol abuse etc. Not because I had bad or neglecting parents, but because that is what kids did before computer porn, video games and text messaging. You can scoff all you want, but my high school sports accounted for upwards of 10-15 hours per week of after school activity. Dr. Margarets suggestion of playing in parks, dancing and walking probably would not have worked well for me (unfortunately I wasn't and still am not the greatest dancer-I can do the running man, but for those of you that watch ‘So you think you can dance' know that this is a move that only lasts for a few seconds and at 16 I really wasn't into playgrounds). I had many friends and team mates that did not have the luxury of going home to a loving home (I still coach kids that do not have this luxury). What will they do? Go home and spend that 10-15 hours in a negative environment? Common sense tells me that being surrounded by good people can have a positive effect on one's life, just as being around bad or negligent people will have a negative effect on people. Vancouver Police "Report of neighbourhood crime" shows the highest assault rates occur in the Grandview Woodlands, Mount Pleasant and Strathcona area (Urban Vancouver, 2009). The closest public high schools to these neighbourhoods are Britannia and Sir Charles Tupper. These schools are not known for their athletic strength and have not made it to a provincial final in the past 10 years (BC Sports, 2009). This may be due to socioeconomic status of those in the area, and/or low participation in the athletics program. The trend shows that crime rates are higher in a specific area in which we do not see high schools excelling at athletics. It is possible that kids in this area aren't even taking part in athletics and finding other things to do with all their spare time. Here comes some harshness:The BC government has pulled its $130, 000 grant that goes toward BC school sports to put on the provincial championships, but has awarded BC schools $500, 000 to show school spirit for the Olympics ($500 000 for a 2 week event)! Now I am in support of the Olympics, but this is ridiculous! You can fund 4 more years of sport in BC, but instead we are choosing to tell the kids to go home and watch the Olympics on TV. I have to be honest, I don't have a particular stand with or against BC School Sports, but taking away from these kids is a travesty and we need to do something about it! Won't someone please think of the children!

     Without trying to make a political stand against the good doctor and her Liberal party, I will try to share some of my opinion and facts about what is happening now and what the future holds for our youth. From what I have read, Dr. Margaret's political platform was to put money into homelessness, health care and education; maybe she should have thought about the following:
   • Kids that are not involved in extracurricular activities (sport, drama, music) are off the streets for approximately 10 hours per week. This is important to think about; even if it sounds like a long shot. If we have 100, 000 extra kids that are no longer playing sport-where will they go? The streets? Maybe? I'm not going to say that this cut will affect this large number, but it is potentially the start of something that will take years and a lot of money to fix.
   • Have we not heard over and over that exercise can improve health in all populations? If our kids are involved in physical activity on a regular basis, can this not help to decrease our spending in the future for our health care? In the U.S. ," Among children and adolescents, annual hospital costs related to obesity were $127 million during 1997-1999 up from $35 million during 1979-1981." (National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2005). I know the figure is pointing to our neighbours to the South, but we can definitely learn something from their startling figures.
   • Health Canada estimates that for each $1 invested in physical activity, there is a long term savings of $11 in health care costs (Donnelly and Coakley, 2002). By viewing the trends from Stats Canada, it is evident that there has been a decrease in the involvement of 11 to 14 year olds in sport. From 1992 to 2005; there was a 10% decrease in participation in boys and a 4% decrease in participation in girls. Boys were also seen to decrease in the amount of sports they participated in. This is the most recent data collected by Stats Canada. This decrease in sports negatively correlates with the increase in obesity in the past 25 years (Shields,2005). I am not saying that there is a cause and effect relationship, I am only noting the similarities in these trends.
   • The Surgeon Generals' guidelines recommend that all populations do at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days, preferably every day. Physical education is not mandatory in the senior grades so we can knock that out as a potential for kids to get the daily recommended requirement. As per the Doctors recommendation of playing in parks and dancing around, when was the last time you have seen a play ground or pool packed with kids? The unfortunate fact is kids need to be supervised if they are to come close to these requirements. I have seen the current physical education curriculum, and even when supervised, the majority of kids are still not putting the effort forth to get close to their 30 minutes a day (see my past article on how to stop making kids fat).
     The fact is, you don't need to be a rocket surgeon to figure out that kids need supervision and there is a tremendous value in what these teachers and community coaches do for our youth. There is presently numerous studies and scientific evidence that supports what I am saying, but I am more concerned about giving kids an opportunity to excel in life outside of the current school curriculum than what the fact ssay (even if they are in support of us). We need to act now, the trends we are following seem to increase every year and waiting for the bureaucratic process to kick in is not going to work! The value of sport is much higher than just its physical benefits. For those that don't believe me-here come some ranting style points right from my mouth... to my keyboard and then onto you, if you haven't stopped reading yet:
   • One of the first things I was taught as a University level athlete was to make a point of mentioning that I was a member of a team when applying for a job. Part of the success of the company I work for comes from the fact that we operate as a "team".
   • Socialization in sport, is almost as important for these kids as the physical aspect. Our youth spend more time in front of some sort of screen than they do interacting with people face to face.
   • Fat people and crime cost the government a lot more money than the $130, 000 they have cut from these kids in the long run.
   • Parents have been telling their kids to go and play outside since the invention of the radio (no fact, just a guess). Kids have resisted because technology is more fun to most than sweating.
   • I don't know of a statistic here, but my 3-year scholarship was worth more than one year of the governments cut backs. How many other kids may lose the opportunity to gain the life experience of going to college or university because they can't afford it? I know of at least 7 kids that received some sort of scholarship from Carson Graham alone last year to go onto a post secondary institution.
   • If you have never seen the environment of a BC High School Sporting Provincial Championship, you are missing out! Ask Gordon Campbell, he looked like he was enjoying the B.C. boys basketball final last year. It is an electric environment and gives the kids an opportunity to showcase the culmination of a season's worth of work.
   • To be realistic, I imagine that some of the major sports (football, basketball, rugby and wrestling) will probably survive without this money through private funding, but most other sports will fall by the wayside. As a high school aged athlete, the ultimate goal is to have fun and soak up the experience, but as a coach the ultimate goal is to make it to the provincial tournaments so your efforts throughout the season have some meaning.
   • What do you think the difference in viewership and bandwagon jumping is for collegiate and pro sport leading up to the playoffs versus regular season is? I don't know the answer, but I can take an educated guess. Athletes feel the same as fans when it comes to playoff time. It is the pay off for all the hard work leading up to it. For fans, it is a time for their livers to kick into overdrive for a few more weeks of mid week drinking (kidding).
   • I can think of a few people that should or would be pissed off about the $500, 000 that goes toward the Olympic Spirit rather than supporters of giving the $130, 000 back to BC School Sports. How about the Olympians that train their ass off for their country for a measly $18, 000 per year. How about the 600 senior citizens that live in the Fraser Valley that have had their funding cut to get them to and from doctors appointments? The point is, don't tell us we have no money and then waste half a million on 2 weeks for "spirit".

My final thoughts:

     I don't want to get into politics here. I want people to understand that kids need to have an opportunity and outlet during the time between school ending and their parents getting home from work. We don't need studies to support this, we need common sense. In the grand scheme of things, 130, 000 is a minimal figure($1.30 per kid involved). There has to be a way that this can be recouped whether it goes toward BC School Sports or a similar governing body. After school programs have become an identifiable characteristic for schools across the country, whether the programs enhance the arts, athletics or academics. Please forward this to anyone that may be interested in helping the cause of getting kids involved in afterschool activities. Contact your MLA's and plead with them not to give themselves a raise for another year or two so we can help the youth of today out.
Yours in Strength,
Joe
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.