"There’s much more to what we do than help teach kids to put the puck in the net.”
That’s how Nigel Shackles, president of the Seafair Minor Hockey Association characterized his organization which was named Association of the Year at the Richmond Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards.
“Even though we are a kids’ sports organization, our focus has been on a much wider role,” Shackles said.
“What we try to do is provide for the next generation of volunteers and community leaders and sometimes that’s not always been about being able to put the puck in the net or win a trophy.
“Those things are all cool and fun. But ultimately, we are judged on what kind of people we help to produce.”
It’s something Seafair has been doing on the minor hockey side since it was registered as a not-for-profit community organization 25 years ago, and even further back to 1967 when the organization began as the Gulf of Georgia Country Club.
It started with a small rink, four sheets of curling ice and an outdoor golf driving range at the western foot of Francis Road.
Given the rise of other similar groups over the years and resulting competition, Shackles said Seafair has managed to remain prominent because it has stayed true to its overall goal.
“The message we have internally is that what matters most is the experience of playing minor hockey and what that brings to you as part of the community,” he said.
“Seafair has been around a long time and has a lot of history in this community. And for a lot of that time we have been a small association. In the past half dozen years we have grown to become a much larger one, but we never lost sight of the fact of what we are all about.”
And while Seafair has had its share of on-ice success, it’s what the group’s members take away with them after they hang up their skates that matters most.
“I tell people that if we are judged by the number of players we produce for the NHL, Europe or anywhere else, we’re an abject failure,” Shackles said with a laugh.
“The chances of doing that are not great. But we, like every kids’ sports organization, should be judged on how we are helping kids grow up, the experiences we give them and how that builds into being a bigger part of the community.”
