Whistler Skating Club president says lack of provincial sports funding 'a huge issue'

With the dust of this year's B.C. election yet to settle, Whistler Skating Club (WSC) president Ben Thomas believes it's a great time for folks to contact their new or soon-to-be-determined MLAs about the state of sports funding in the province. 

Thomas also sits on the board of Whistler Gymnastics and the Whistler Squash Club, and he knows first-hand that all three organizations suffer from a dearth of money. 

"We want to pay our well-deserving coaches more in order to keep them and give them a decent wage, but facility fees are increasing and at the same time we want to keep fees affordable and reasonable for families," said Thomas. "This creates a gap and leads to deficits. It's a very difficult situation, but the only solution I see is government funding.

"We absolutely want to keep [existing funding programs]. Whistler Community Services, for example, does an amazing job in our particular community, but I think there's a much bigger picture and many more dollars that should be put towards [sports and arts] from a provincial level." 

For Thomas, the return on investment would be obvious: physical health and formative experience for the next generation. His own kids, aged 12 and nine, are always tempted to spend more time on their electronic devices—a problem observed by most parents he knows. That may sound unexpected for the Sea to Sky, an area known for outdoor activity, but it is true nonetheless. 

Thomas doesn't want the problem of screen time to catch up to society, and he feels more extensive fiscal and political support for grassroots recreation would represent a key antidote. 

"We're fresh off a provincial election, so people contacting our new representatives who, in theory, should be eager to come up with new ideas, would be very effective," he says, adding he plans to broach the issue with recently-elected West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Jeremy Valeriote. "Also, [let's raise] a general awareness within the community, with families understanding this is a huge issue.

"We would all love to have more facilities, too—Whistler is desperate for a second sheet of ice, for example—and that's another opportunity where governments should be able to identify the importance of investing." 

Deficient funding threatens the ability of sports clubs to provide accessible programming, which for the WSC manifested itself in a rather unusual way.

'The fundamental problem'

In early October, club members were blindsided by troubling news: a whole host of figure skating costumes had vanished from the storage facility they were supposed to reside in. 

According to Thomas, this situation boils down to an unfortunate communication error, with the third-party facility sending invoices to an outdated email address. After a period of radio silence from the WSC, the costumes were left outside in June and people were invited to claim them.

Dozens of individuals took the items within an hour, and club leadership did not become aware of the problem until early October when they attempted to take inventory for their annual Starry Night skating show. 

Fortunately, there has been an outpouring of support. 

"I've heard from so many people who said: 'I used to be in the Skating Club myself,' and I even have had people say: 'I used to wear those exact costumes 15 years ago,'" revealed Thomas. "There's a lot of love for the club." 

A few costumes have been returned and some new ones have been donated. The WSC plans to host an afternoon workshop in the coming weeks, with its members creating more apparel under the tutelage of professional designers and seamstresses. Barring further mishap, Starry Night will still happen on Dec. 6 at the Meadow Park Sports Centre (MPSC). 

But why did this obstacle arise in the first place? 

"The fundamental problem goes back to funding," Thomas said. "As of COVID, we didn't have enough staff and we couldn't afford to hire enough administrators, so we were not able to check all our emails. Then we switched email addresses and one thing led to another, and next thing you know, a year goes by and we haven't responded [to the storage facility's messages]." 

Thomas doesn't wish to dwell on what happened, but he hopes a record crowd will drop by to support Starry Night in December.

Members of the public who have information on costume whereabouts or would like to help the WSC by volunteering or providing fabric are asked to reach out to the organization at [email protected].