Richmond school district is one step closer to having community coaches coach school sports without a teacher sponsor, according to school trustee Grace Tsang.
The policy committee consulted the president of the Richmond Secondary School Athletic Association to draft a new policy and has sent the report to the Richmond Board of Education.
Currently, a teacher, principal, or district employee needs to sponsor a school sports team and be present during field trips.
Without anyone from these levels stepping up, nothing can be done, said Tsang, head of the policy committee.
These sports teams, or activities will be cancelled.
Over the past few years, school districts across B.C. have noticed a decrease in the number of teachers who volunteer to coach extracurricular activities.
To accomodate, most districts changed their policy, but Richmond remains one of three that hasnt.
A 2008 revision stated volunteers or community coaches could only occasionally supervise games and practices without a sponsor.
Although not a sole reason, last years job action, which recommended teachers not participate in extracurricular activities, was a factor for this policy reconsideration.
There were a lot of sports and activities that had to be cancelled because of it, said Tsang. And some of these programs, the students relied on for their postsecondary scholarships.
But even without job action, schools across the city have been starting to feel the pressure from the decrease in teacher volunteers.
At Hugh Boyd secondary, vice principal Michael Jaswal lists tennis, field hockey, and swimming as examples of sports that have high student demand, but lack sponsors.
Particularly with swimming and tennis, a community coach would actually be more beneficial, said Jaswal.
Because they are more technical sports, wed really benefit from someone who has more expertise and experience.
Besides a willingness on the part of parents and community coaches to volunteer, teachers have also shown their support for a new policy, as they have other obligations, said Tsang.
