For the first time since the pandemic began, students in Prairie South School Division could soon travel outside of Saskatchewan for extracurricular activities.
During the recent PSSD board meeting, trustees voted to allow wrestlers from A.E. Peacock and Central collegiates to travel to Edmonton, Alta., from Jan. 28 to 30 to participate in a competition. Trustees also voted to allow students from LaFleche Central School to travel to Elk Water, Alta., on Friday, Jan. 14, for a ski trip.
Trustee Lew Young voted against both motions.
All applications for out-of-province excursions must come to the board table for approval since they involve students leaving Saskatchewan.
There are no dedicated school wrestling teams in Moose Jaw, so youths train through the Kinsmen Club and participate in events that the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletics Association (SHSAA) sanctions, explained Supt. Derrick Huschi.
This trip is possible because the association has not said anything about whether wrestlers can compete, he continued. Since the board meets monthly and this event is at the end of January, division administration thought it was important to bring it forward in case the SHSAA says students can attend.
PSSD will work with the SHSAA to ensure the event is sanctioned so students can attend and determine the situation in Alberta beforehand.
“I don’t think anyone is looking at putting themselves or their child at harm. And if there are restrictions with travel and everything else, we would be looking at that,” he added. “But right now, currently, all interprovincial travel is open to students. (For example), hockey teams are already going.”
Young was against the wrestling request and pointed out that there is no agreement even in Saskatchewan about whether extracurricular activities should occur. Some school divisions are against such activities, while the Ministry of Education says they are fine to hold.
His other concern was that if students travel to Alberta and the host school division shuts down the tournament before it starts, that could be a waste of time and money.
“There are a lot of questions still not answered,” Young added.
With the ski trip request, Huschi noted that the venue sits on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border in Cypress Hills. That is the ski hill closest to LaFleche; other venues are in North Battleford or Fort Qu’Appelle.
While wrestling is a close-contact indoor sport, skiing and snowboarding occur outdoors, he added.
Young’s concern with the ski application was about proof of vaccination and whether vaccine-free students could attend hotels or restaurants when they travelled to Elk Water. He wondered how chaperones would handle that situation if it arose.
The ski trip is for one day, so no hotels or motels would be involved, said Huschi. Meanwhile, students can bring lunches to the hill if the chalet declines to serve them.
With the wrestlers, hotels in Alberta don’t require vaccine passports, but restaurants might, he continued. However, the division would learn beforehand whether the tournament requires vaccine passports, and if so, those unvaccinated students would stay home.
Since the athletes wrestle with the Kinsmen Wrestling Club, they may have already provided that information to the organization, Huschi added.
The next PSSD board meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 11.
