Fort Simpson parents challenge school’s approach to sports

Seventeen-year-old Gombee Jose has been volunteering as a coach for 20 students at Líídlįį Kúę Elementary School twice a week since September.

Jose, a student at Líídlįį Kúę High School, asked elementary principal Ben Adams to approve the annual Super Soccer tournament – taking place in Yellowknife next month – as an official school event on March 21. That approval has implications for the travel and funding required to reach the event.

After receiving no response from Adams, Jose says she approached the district education authority. Jose says she was told her request was denied on April 11, with one stated reason being that the principal had little involvement and “knew nothing about this tournament.”

“All we needed was a signature on the paper,” Jose told Cabin Radio.

“It’s kind-of frustrating how these kids have worked so hard and for them to just deny it like that.”

Jose said she had already spoken with the principal in September about starting tournament preparations early so students would have more time to train.

Since then, the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation has helped arrange a van to facilitate travel and some parents raised funds for the trip. Despite that, Jose said, the school did not agree to endorse the tournament.

That wasn’t the case last fall, she said, when the principal approved the Hay River Elks Outdoor Soccer Tournament as a school event and even purchased jerseys for the students.

“I love soccer. This is my sport … I’ve made so many friends from it and just getting to experience different places has been really amazing. That’s why I wanted to give the kids that same opportunity as well,” she said.

“It’s where everyone’s mind should be at: It’s for the kids. It’s very sad that it’s not all about the kids.”

Cabin Radio could not reach Adams prior to publication.

Dehcho Divisional Education Council superintendent Donna Miller Fry clarified that students are still participating in Super Soccer.

According to Fry, the sport was being played recreationally outside school. If participation in the tournament required it to be recognized as a school sport, she said, the school’s administration would have been more willing to find a way to support the request.

“Practices were not held at the school and the principal was not involved in planning,” she said, adding the students are still going to the tournament as a community-led excursion.

“You love to see student leadership, and you love to see kids active … but it didn’t have anything to do with the school. And so, the request was that it suddenly become a school sport.

“There’s a lot of things around school sports that you have to make sure of, and the school hadn’t had any opportunity to do that, so they were really resistant to it being called a ‘school sport’ when it hadn’t been a school sport.”

Fry said the NWT’s annual track and field championship, as an example, is a school sport – meaning administration can ensure “all students are included, that coaches are chosen according to policy, and that all information provided to parents, students and staff aligns with collective agreements and policies.”

The older students at Líídlįį Kúę High School are competing in Super Soccer as a school team as their coach is a member of the teaching staff. At the elementary level, Super Soccer was previously recognized as a school activity when the coach was also part of the staff.

Fry believes there should be a policy around what is considered a school sport, though it wasn’t immediately clear if there is one already.

“We would work very hard to make it a school sport going forward, make sure staff are involved and the principal is informed, and there’s input from the principal and the staff into how everything is done prior to going on a trip,” she said.

‘A lot of frustration’

In the meantime, some parents have expressed disappointment with the school’s approach.

Travis Hanna, who described himself as a Fort Simpson resident of 35 years, believes a trend is developing.

In the past year, Hanna said, school administration did not support track and field in Hay River or cross-country running in Fort Providence. Hanna said LKFN instead provided students with t-shirts and a banner as they attended those events as a community team.

“The school didn’t support us but the band did,” he said.

Hanna’s daughter is one of the students attending Super Soccer. He said parents have been frustrated about the decision and want the school to reverse it.

Hanna said he knows of families that have left town over a lack of access to education and sports.

Jose, the coach, “organized everything for this,” he said.

“She got the chopper rides, the combinations, the chaperones, permission forms for everyone to travel. She fundraised for gas money and it’s ridiculous that she was denied.

“It’s very disheartening. Events like this build school pride.”

Derek Squirrel said parents did not receive a response right away from the school and “waited without any communication.” Parents organized a meeting earlier this month to discuss options to make the trip happen.

Squirrel said he finds it odd that the school and district denied the request. He, too, worries that families may relocate out of Fort Simpson if barriers persist.

“There is a lot of frustration,” he said.

“There was no ask from the school at all, except one teacher and two assistants to help with chaperoning the kids.”