British Columbia School Sports

BC School Sports is an organisation dedicated to organising sport competition in the province of British Columbia, Canada.

Overview and History

BC School Sports was created in 1965, and was originally known as the British Columbia Federation of School Athletic Associations (BCFSAA). The group was founded by a group of teachers and administrators who were interested in creating an organisation that would assist in organising school sport functions. The first constitution of the group was adopted in 1966. The provincial government provided assistance to the group, and the organisation was able to open the doors of its first office in January 1970. The name changed from BCFSAA into British Columbia School Sports (BCSS or BC School Sports) in 1980-81.^[1]

Governing of the Group

The BCSS is self-governed by an assembly of the Member Schools. While the group is self-governed, they continue to accept input from several groups, including School Districts, the Ministry of Education, et al. The combined force of all the Member Schools is known as the Legislative Assembly. Together, they make decisions over BC School Sports' rules and regulation, policies of operation, fees, association advocacy programs, position statements, and membership programs and services.^[2]

Mission, Vision, and Values

Mission

BCSS fulfills its mission by promoting all students to take part in extracurricular activities, assisting schools in the development and delivery of its programs, and providing governance for inter-school competition.^[3]

Vision

The vision of BCSS is, "Students in British Columbia schools will benefit from participation in physical activity and sport."^[4]

Values

BCSS has three main values, it:

• Encourages participation in physical activity and interschool athletics to foster lifelong physical and emotional well-being
• Supports the equity of opportunity for students and coaches to participate in athletics
• Promotes quality interschool sports programs as a means of ensuring fair play and ethics^[5]

Leaders

Association Presidents

BCSS has 22 different Association Presidents, as well as a number of different members of the Board of Directors, the list following includes contact information.^[6] (All information for the to be mentioned Association Presidents comes from the reference to the left of this sentence).

Sports

BCSS commissions 20 different sports.^[7] All information for these sports can be found on the referred website to the left of this sentence. British Columbia School Sports commissions Aquatics, Badminton, Basketball Boys, Basketball Girls, Cross Country Running, Curling, Field Hockey, American Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Mountain Biking, Rugby Football, Skiing and Snowboarding, Soccer, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball Boys, Volleyball Girls, and Wrestling. All sports listed have Provincial Championships each year.

Recognition

BCSS offers several different awards to both students and coaches, and gives scholarships to students who are exceptional athletes.^[8]

Awards

Merit Award

The first award is the Merit Award. The award is a plaque that has been engraved with the recipient's name. A maximum of six people can be awarded it every year. To meet the criteria for the award, nominees must:

• Have been a coach and/or a sponsor, administrator, or official at a school level.
• Have been an administrator in at least one of the following: Executive of a Local Association, Executive of a Sport Commission, member of the Standing Committee, or member of the BCSS Board of Directors.
• Must not currently be part of the BC School Sports Board of Directors.

According to the BCSS website, the past recipients consists only of the 2011-2012 Carey-Lappa from Terry Fox Secondary. She was given the award posthumously.^[9]

Coach of the Month

In an attempt to recognise the hard work and dedication that teacher coaches put in, BCSS established the Coach of the Month Award, designed to recognise one male and one female coach every month. On the BC School Sports website, there are only four recipients listed at the point of this being written: Steve Epp, from Woodlands Secondary, received the award in December 2012; Debbi McKinnon, from R. E. Mountain Secondary, received the award in December 2012; Don Chang, from Killarney Secondary, received the award in January 2013; Robert Solmes, from Killarney Secondary, received the award in January 2013.^[10]

Coach of the Year

The purpose of the Coach of the Year award, according to the British Columbia School Sports website, is to, "honour one male and one female colleague who have made an outstanding contribution over an extended period of time to coaching athletic programs in the secondary schools of British Columbia." The award is a shared perpetual plaque that has the name of both honorees engraved upon it. The plaque is then placed in the British Columbia School Sports office. Each coach will receive a replica along with $500 in order to help them advance their coaching abilities. To be eligible to be nominated, a coach must meet the following criteria:

• Must have been actively involved in coaching high school athletics for a minimum of ten years.
• Consistently promotes the philosophy of fair play and sportsmanship.
• Must be, or have been, a teacher or school administrator.
• Must not currently be a member of the BCSS Board of Directors.

On the BCSS website, there are four recipients listed: Bob Saunders, from Dover Bay Secondary, received the award in the 2011-2012 school year; Sandy Drever, from Glenlyon Secondary School, was given the award in the 2011-2012 school year; Rob Solmes, from Killarney Secondary, received the award in the 2012-2013 school year; Debbi McKinnon, from R.E. Mountain Secondary, received the award in the 2012-2013 school year.

Outstanding School Award

Each school year, BCSS picks one school in the province to be given this award. The purpose of the award, according to the organisation's website, is to, "recognize a school whose special commitment to improving the lives of its students and staff through athletics, intramurals, leadership and public service has contributed significantly to the welfare of school athletics in its local community and within the province." The award is a large plaque with an engraving consistent with native markings, and is put on display in the BCSS office. The school that is awarded is given a royal blue and gold banner to show that they have won the award. In order to be eligible for the award, the candidate school must be in good standing with the BCSS group, along with additional criteria:^[11]

• Extent of Extent of extracurricular program;
• Quality and extent of intramural program;
• Staff involvement in coaching and sport administration;
• Participation in various BCSS programs;
• Awards earned, i.e. sportsmanship, individual or team excellence;
• Public service projects;
• Work done with special populations;
• Fund raising projects;
• Athletic program’s contribution to the school community;
• Special characteristics/activities unique to the school.

The past recipients of the award have been:

• Penticton Secondary (2002-2003)
• Ashcroft Secondary (2003-2004)
• St. Ann's Academy (Kamloops) (2004-2005)
• St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School (2005-2006)
• Duncan Christian (2006-2007)
• Okanagan Mission Secondary (2007-2008)
• Riverside Secondary (2008-2009)
• Immaculata Regional High School (2009-2010)
• Prince of Wales Secondary (2010-2011)
• Sa-Hali Secondary (2011-2012)
• Kelowna Secondary (2012-2013)

Honour Award

The Honour Award is a large certificate that is framed, with the recipient's name written on it. There is also a special Honour Award Pin. The recipient is further rewarded by receiving a Gold Card, which gives the honoree the ability to take themselves and a gust to any BC School Sports Provincial Championship. The person who receives this award also has their name engraved on a plaque, to be permanently displayed in the BCSS office. Only two people receive the award per year. To receive the award, nominees must meet the following criteria:^[12]

• Must have been involved as a coach/sponsor at the school level.
• Must have served administratively on at least two of the following: Executive of a Local Association, Executive of a Sport Commission or member of a Standing Committee.
• Must have served at least one full two year term as a member of the BCSS Board of Directors.
• Must be, or have been, a teacher or administrator.
• Must not currently be a member of the BCSS Board of Directors.

Scholarships

BCSS Dave Gifford Memorial Scholarship

Each year, BC School Sports picks one exceptional male student athlete and one exceptional female student athlete to receive a scholarship of $700. The scholarship is in memorial of Dave Gifford, a BCSS Director from 1988–90, he received the award in 1992. He died the same year. Students who receive the award must be athletically eligible, have competed in at least two BCSS sports in their grade 12 year, and have at least a 75% GPA in their 11 and 12 grade years. They must have also made a positive impact on their school and community.

BCSS Zone Scholarships

Each year, British Columbia School Sports picks one student from each of the seven zones to receive a scholarship of $500. The recipient must be athletically eligible and compete in one or more BCSS sports during their grade 12 year. A GPA of at least 75% is required in their grade 11 and 12 year. The zones are:^[13]

• Zone A: Kootenay Secondary Schools
• Zone B: Okanagan Valley Secondary Schools
• Zone C: North Central District Secondary
• Zone D: Northwest Zone Secondary Schools
• Zone E: Vancouver Island Secondary Schools
• Zone F: Lower Mainland Secondary Schools
• Zone G: Fraser Valley Secondary School

External links

• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/
• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/member-services/mission-vision-and-values
• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/member-services
• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/commissions
• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/events
• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/news
• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/resources
• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/coaching
• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/recognition
• http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/contact

References