When Shannon’s son approaching her about playing high school basketball, she was all over the idea.
Having played high school sports herself, she knew the benefits of organized sport.
The pair attended a mandatory meeting before the season began and Shannon was shocked to learn that it would cost $1,100.
Unable to come up with the money, Shannon said the team’s coach told her about the KidSport program.
Her son did some fundraising and was also eligible for a KidSport grant and was able to join the basketball team.
But much like Shannon, not all parents know about the program as applications were slightly down in 2016 compared to the year before, said Jeff Lively, the co-chair of the KidSport Langley chapter.
“We would certainly like to help more kids,” he said.
KidSport was established in 1993 by Sport BC because of the value and benefits sport provides and because the rising costs of registration fees was reducing the number of kids in sport.
The program’s goal is to allow all children access to play organized sports.
Since it began, more than 530,000 kids across the country have been given the chance to play sport through KidSport grants.
The Langley chapter was launched in 2010 and provides grants for local children ages 18 and under to participate in a sport season of their choice.
Sheri is another sports parent whose hockey-playing son has benefitted from the program.
With the cost of registration, tournaments and gear, she was unsure if he would have been able to play without KidSport funding.
And as a treasurer of a minor hockey league, she has also seen just how many families have benefitted from the program: in her three years in that role, she could only recall one family who had been denied, and that was because their application was late.
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