Stephen Vance, Staff
The Meaford Coyotes running club says that they are at risk of losing their primary training facility – located at the running track at the Georgian Bay Community School (GBCS) – once a new combined elementary and high school facility is built.
The club says that they participated in a meeting on October 13 with representatives from the municipality as well as the Bluewater District School Board.
“Discussions were directed around the new JK-Grade 12 school build scheduled within the next couple of years and potentially setting up a community partnership with the BWDSB and the Municipality to improve the athletic facilities,” said club coach Kevin Hooper in an email sent to media and club members and supporters. “After inquiring about what athletic facilities would be provided in the new build, it was outlined that there could be up to three gymnasiums, but there was no 100 percent guarantee of an athletic track. The best case scenario for an athletic field would be a small, four-lane, cinder 400m track that would soon be over-run with weeds and have no permanent lines to map out the different lanes.”
Hooper said that if the new school build were to go over budget, then the track would be one of the first expenses to go.
“This proposal is downsized from the present six-lane, paved 440 yard track the Coyotes presently train on, but the size of the Coyote team is outgrowing this track and are already overcrowded on it. The school board’s plans for the GBCS athletic field on Aiken St. would be to sell it off, potentially to contractors, who would develop it into real estate properties and the Coyotes would have no place to train,” suggested Hooper.
The Bluewater District School Board told The Independent that it is still too early to know what will and won’t be included with the construction of a new school.
“To say that there is ‘no 100 percent guarantee of an athletic track’ is a bit premature,” BWDSB Communications Officer Jamie Pettit told The Independent. “As it stands, Bluewater District School Board has not yet confirmed a site or started a design for the new school build. There is a great deal of work required when it comes to arriving at design decisions. We will undertake this build within the Ministry funding that is available and are confident that the end result will be an amazing school that meets our students’ needs.”
As for the future of the athletic field property, the school board says that they have not determined its future use, and the suggestion that it will be sold is incorrect.
“This is simply incorrect. The future of this property has not been determined and is dependent on many variables to be looked at once the school is no longer in use. Ontario Regulation 444/98 outlines the process for a school board’s options in disposing of surplus property should a board decide to go that route. The only decision on this property at this time is to continue using it for the next few years to accommodate Grades 4 – 12 students in the Meaford area. It also continues to be available for community use,” Pettit told The Independent.
Hooper says that the club currently has more than 65 members. He also said that they have been able to use the athletic field at the school at no cost, though they do pay a reduced rate to rent the field for their annual cross-country race, which attracts nearly 400 competitors each year for the one-day event.
When asked if there is a possibility the club could purchase the land after a fundraising drive, Hooper said that the property would likely be too expensive for the club to purchase.
“We would love to buy it, but don’t think we could afford it, based on what the Municipality told me it could sell for. If it remains, we would like to propose a deal with the school board and the municipality to begin a fundraising project,” Hooper told The Independnet.
Currently the Meaford Coyotes conduct 90 percent of their training at the GBCS athletic field, as well as on a section of the Georgian Trail when there is no snow on the track.
“This location is ideal for the athletes as it gives them diversity for various types of training, and the results of the Coyotes over the last six years have proven this. Since the program began in August 2010, we have had runners win National Junior Cross Country Championships and compete for Canada on the international scale, win Ontario Championships for track as well as cross country, have had several OFSAA and Ontario Championship medal winners, and many of our high school runners have been nationally ranked for their age,” Hooper explained.
One local Grade six runner, Kara Tichbourne, is presently ranked number one in Canada on the track this year for her age and in the top three in North America.
“We have several other strong runners coming up through the ranks as well who will be national level runners in a few short years. Locally our runners excel in their school meets and road races,” said Hooper.
The club recently hosted their 6th annual Coyote Cross Country Race on the Craft Show Weekend at the GBCS athletic field, where they had 374 school kids throughout Grey-Bruce from Grades 1-8 register for the event, which they host free of charge.
“Unfortunately with the GBCS athletic field someday being sold by the school board, there are no other locations in town to host the event. Also, all of our high school runners who have graduated from the program have gone on to compete at the ‘varsity’ level for their university with scholarship support and preferred admission to their university. In a very short six years, the Coyotes have become a force to be dealt with on a provincial level as well as nationally. The future of the Coyotes is very promising!” suggested Hooper.
Hooper said that the team began with only a handful of runners, and has grown to over 65 members, the vast majority of them ranging in age from Grades 1 through 12, with a few ‘masters’ runners. The club attracts runners from Meaford, Thornbury, Heathcote, Markdale, Flesherton, Port Elgin, Wiarton, Sauble Beach, Owen Sound, Collingwood, Dundalk, and Coldwater.
Coach Hooper said that he recently spoke with family relatives of the late Mr. William Croft. William Croft was a taxi driver in the 1930s who donated the 6.5 acre athletic field on the corner of Aiken Street and St. Vincent Street to the Bluewater District School Board to support health and fitness for our youth.
“The nephew of Mr. Croft and the nephew’s daughter are encouraged by the work of the Coyotes and want the field to continue to be used as was originally intended,” said Hooper. “Our Coyote volunteer coaching staff support these young runners on a year-round basis to promote health, fitness, and a competitive spirit in a positive, encouraging, and uplifting environment. Every other sports team in Meaford has a place to call home and the Coyotes are at serious risk of losing their home. The Meaford Coyotes Track Club is pleading with the BWDSB, the Municipality of Meaford and its citizens to keep the William Croft Athletic Field on Aiken Street as it was originally intended. The Coyotes could then begin a fund-raising campaign to upgrade the track area to meet the growing needs of the team so they can continue to produce high level track athletes for decades to come.”
