Jacob Va’ family continues to fight for him to play basketball with the Sir Alexander Mackenzie Secondary School (SAMSS) team as tournament opportunities dwindle down.
Archie Pootlas, Jacob’s grandfather, has formally submitted another letter to BC School Sports appealing the organization’s decision to not allow Jacob to play in games with the SAMSS team this season.
BC School Sports is the governing body made up of member schools, both public and private, which manages policies around participation in school sports.
The 17-year-old has not been allowed to play in tournaments against other high school teams and the team has only a small number of opportunities for competition each season due to the remoteness of the Bella Coola community. He has been able to practice and travel with the team, and has continued to help with fundraising efforts.
“It’s just been kind of hard, frustrating, watching my team play while I could be out there playing with them,” said Jacob.
Basketball is his main hobby, and he still plays the sport recreationally, as well as practicing with two local travelling teams heading to the All Native Basketball Tournaments in Prince Rupert and Terrace in the coming months.
“I like that basketball keeps me away from drugs and alcohol and stuff, especially in a small town,” he said. Jacob said he plays twice a day, most days of the week.
Pootlas contends Jacob should still be allowed to play with his team because he is only 17 years old and had not played basketball for some of his high school years, due to both Covid and other factors.
While BC School Sports does not comment on individual cases, the organization did clarify the rules and policies relevant to permitting a student to participate in a sixth year of school sports.
Beginning in Grade 8, all students are eligible to play school sports, whether they choose to or not.
Therefore, their five years of eligibility begin and end from Grade 8 to Grade 12. Only in exceptional circumstances will an appeal be granted for a sixth year of eligibility.
A school can appeal on behalf of a student who missed a year of sports eligibility due to injury or illness, which also resulted in missing most or all of their academic year in their Grade 11 or 12 year. Pootlas said Jacob had skipped a grade but then missed a lot of school in his first attempt at Grade 12, which is why he is still 17 as he works on finishing up his Grade 12.
The appeals are reviewed by a committee of volunteers athletic directors and principals who then weigh the case for providing an exception against the possible impacts on school sports as a whole in terms of fairness. This current school year, the organization has granted two exceptions to allow students to play a sixth year and last year they gave four students a sixth year of play.
The organization reported they have about 117,000 student athlete registrations each year, with about 80,000 different students (some students registering for more than one sport).
Pottlas feels the organization should provide the exception for Jacob, partly to recognize the importance of Indigenous participation in sports, citing the Residential School Truth and Reconciliation Sport Recommendations mention of supporting Indigenous participation in physical activity and sport.
BC School Sports indicated the organization does not track individual identifiers such as ethnicity, but does provide an opportunity to consider factors like this at the appeal level.
A representative of School District 49 has also confirmed the district is looking to continue to explore options with BC School Sports and confirmed the school had appealed on the student’s behalf.
Pootlas said BC School Sports had not responded to his appeal letter as of press time except to say they only hear appeals from schools, not individuals and he said he is asking for a legal opinion on the matter.
The SAMSS boys basketball team’s next tournament is scheduled for early February, with the season ending in late February or in March, depending on how well the team does at zones.
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