Students fighting to save Hoopla from cancellation
Frustrated teens plead with province, teachers to resolve contract dispute
Students across the province are reeling as the latest job action from Saskatchewan's teachers union has major extracurricular events like Hoopla on the brink of cancellation.
The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) announced Monday that a provincewide strike will occur on Wednesday as well as withdrawal of extracurriculars on Thursday and Friday.
Among the most high-profile events on the calendar: Hoopla (the provincial basketball championships) is scheduled to run Thursday through Saturday in Moose Jaw, while the Optimist Band Festival in Regina is set to run Monday through Wednesday. The job action, if kept in place, would impact the music festival and result in the cancellation of Hoopla.
Blaire Otsig, a member of Wynyard's senior girls basketball team, pleaded for the STF to hear her voice.
“Please explain why our years of hard work and commitment are being used as bargaining chips in a government dispute,” she wrote in a social media post.
Dozens of frustrated and desperate players and students took part in rallies in Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw on Monday — marching, chanting and carrying signs pleading for a resolution.
Days after battling each other in the Saskatoon high school basketball city finals, the Holy Cross and Walter Murray senior boys and girls squads teamed up and were joined by students from Asquith, Legacy Christian Academy and St. Brieux all with a common goal: to save their season. They rallied in Saskatoon outside the STF office and also Saskatchewan Party MLA Don Morgan's office.
Payton Wehner, a Grade 12 student from Asquith, said Hoopla is “more than just a tournament,” as it offers a chance to connect with scouts, coaches and fellow athletes.
Wehner started playing basketball when she was in Grade 5, and said she and other seniors were “upset” at learning they might lose the chance to cap their high school basketball days with a trip to the tournament. She said the short notice of Hoopla's potential cancellation made it even worse, noting her team won a regional championship just last weekend.
“It would have been nice to know that would have been our last game ever,” she said.
STF president Samantha Becotte on Monday said she is “truly sorry to them that we have come to this point. “No teacher is happy about these actions, but we cannot continue down this path of underfunding. We cannot continue to have years and years of cuts because there really is nothing left to cut.”
The STF has dug in its heels to get language and funding to address classroom size and complexity included in a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), but the province has yet to budge.
Premier Scott Moe on Monday said he was “disappointed” in the teachers' union “targeting ” Hoopla.
“It's their decision to make,” Moe said. “They can make a decision not to shut down and they can make a decision to come back to the bargaining table, and we respectfully would invite them to do so.”
Jeff Randall, a parent who coaches in Clavet, said he “supports teachers 100 per cent,” but doesn't think it is right to sacrifice a tournament his team worked hard for in the name of job action. “I just think that using the kids to do the bargaining is not a great way to go. It's just disappointing,” he said.
Darren Darbyshire, another parent who attended Monday's rally outside the STF office, said he questions whether the province is giving the teachers the tools they need to provide safe, quality education. However, he still wants to see all the kids who “worked their butts off” get the chance to take part in the tournament.
Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) executive director Dave Sandomirsky confirmed Monday in a statement that if sanctions are not lifted by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Hoopla will be cancelled.
“It will be extremely disappointing if the two sides cannot come to an arrangement,” Sandomirsky added, noting that with approximately 750 students, coaches, managers, and organizations involved with hosting the tournament, “the negative economic impact will be vast.”
The STF has been flooded with messaging from parents, students, community members and teachers pleading with the union to simply allow the completion of scheduled winter activities.
“I recognize that the actions we are taking are impacting students and their families, and I can understand their disappointment with this,” Becotte said.
“I truly hope they see that we are trying to find a solution to this process.”
In a social media post by Hoopla tournament committee chair Roger Morgan, planning for Hoopla has been ongoing for 16 months, there are 350 volunteers in place, and 48 teams with more than 700 athletes are among the 3,000-plus attendees expected.
Virtually every hotel room in Moose Jaw is booked. Restaurants have planned for extra staff. The impact to the local economy is expected to be in the millions of dollars.
More than $6,000 has been spent on preparation expenses that cannot be recouped. The financial loss for SHSAA would be upwards of $15,000, Morgan wrote.
“The ripple effect of cancelling Hoopla will be felt provincially but extensively by the organizers, supporting businesses and the community of Moose Jaw,” Morgan said in the post.