Students feel `caught in the middle' as officials weigh fate of Hoopla
Cancellation would be third time in five years basketball tournament missed
The clock is ticking and an afternoon deadline looms on the most wide-reaching high school sports event in Saskatchewan.
The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) is implementing a one-day strike today and withdrawing support for extracurricular activities on Thursday and Friday.
If those sanctions aren't lifted by today at 3 p.m., that means Hoopla — the provincial high school basketball championships — will be cancelled.
The STF insists the move is needed to get the province to negotiate on smaller classroom sizes and additional supports. The province has refused to negotiate those items into the collective agreement.
“It will be extremely disappointing if the two sides cannot come to an arrangement that will allow the sanctions to be lifted,” the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association said in a statement.
As hundreds of student athletes have taken part in rallies this week, here are a few things to know about the current job action affecting high school hoopers, along with all other extra curricular activities.
SMALL NUMBER, HUGE EFFECT
According to the most recent data from Statistics Canada, in 2021-22 there were approximately 182,000 elementary and high school students in Saskatchewan. Of that number, around 750 athletes — 0.4 per cent of the student population in Saskatchewan — would be directly affected with the cancellation of Hoopla.
Students at various rallies on Monday and Tuesday in Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw openly questioned the timing of the job action, suggesting the two sides were using an event with the magnitude of Hoopla as a pressure point. Why, many asked, would the two sides make a deliberate choice to hurt hundreds of the most dedicated and committed students at the conclusion of their season?
Jack Gray, a senior captain for the Holy Cross boys team and one of the main leaders of rallies in Saskatoon, said he feels “devastated” by the developments.
“It feels like we've been robbed of all the hours and hard work we have put in to get to this point,” said Gray, who helped co-ordinate rallies on Monday and Tuesday outside the STF office and near the offices of Saskatchewan Party MLAS Don Morgan and Paul Merriman.
UNION AND PROVINCE BLAME EACH OTHER
The teachers union and the Saskatchewan government keep insisting that the other side is solely to blame.
Premier Scott Moe on Monday said he was “disappointed” in the teachers' union “targeting ” Hoopla.
STF president Samantha Becotte said the provincial government's “unwillingness to work with teachers in finding any path forward has forced this decision,” while acknowledging it “will impact students and communities both big and small across the province.”
The students think they are being used by the STF and the provincial government.
“We feel caught in the middle,” said Kira Dureault, a Grade 12 player with Regina Laval. “I don't want to be just a pawn being moved around in this chess game.”
Gray urged the two parties to “do the right thing. You guys know how important your childhood is. You only get it once so don't take this huge opportunity away from us.”
'A CELEBRATION OF SCHOOL SPORTS'
The SHSAA says education in high school comes from more places than just a classroom.
“The critical life skills that student-athletes attain are accumulated through months of participation in a school sport program,” the SHSAA said in a statement.
“That being said, it cannot be denied that an opportunity to participate in school sport playoffs is another means to enhance the learning opportunities of students as they develop citizenship skills in a competitive sports environment.”
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
For many of the teens, this would be their only opportunity to compete for a provincial hoops championship.
The Preeceville girls last advanced to Hoopla in 1997 — nearly three decades ago. They qualified this year in the 2A division. On Tuesday, members of their team were joined at a rally outside the STF building by players from Norquay and Sturgis.
Krystal Spray, the mother of a Preeceville player, said the cancellation of Hoopla would be “simply disheartening.”
The Lanigan girls, known mostly for their volleyball, have a core who have been together since Grade 3 or 4. They qualified for Hoopla this year as the No. 1 seed in the 3A division, hoping to upgrade last year's silver medal to gold.
The Walter Murray girls on Friday won their first city title since 1995 to earn a spot in the 5A division at Hoopla.
In 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, extra curricular activities were officially pulled and Hoopla was cancelled due to the STF job actions. Then, in 2021, there was no Hoopla due to the pandemic.
Jennifer Lindgren, a community coach in Norquay, said the kids “have worked hard since COVID to build up their mental strength and their confidence … I just don't feel that it's fair, that the choice to have it taken away from them is going to affect their mental well-being.”
Gray is torn up that history could repeat itself.
“This opportunity being taken away three out of the last five years is quite awful,” Gray said.
“It is about so much more than just basketball. It is the last time we get to play together with our friends, making some of our last childhood memories before we become adults, and it is all getting stripped away from us right now.”