Inclusion in Sport: Despite increasing funding challenges, BGC summer league provides a space for everyone to hoop

By Farrah Philpot

On the heels of the BGC Thunderbolts’ historic championship campaign, BGC Ottawa celebrated another successful finish to its Sports and Leadership League season with its basketball playoff finals on the big stage at Carleton University on Aug. 23-24.

Throughout the summer, weekly SLL games were held at BGC’s Ron Kolbus Clubhouse in the west end. Free to all, the SLL is a year-round program that includes many sports – ball hockey, baseball and walking among them, although basketball is unquestionably #1.

“Basketball is by far the most popular one we have due to the communities that we serve,” explains program coordinator Kian Nejad. “We have teams from every BGC in Ottawa.”

Each year, roughly 1,500 participants from across the city are involved in SLL programs, which includes trained coaches, awards banquets, uniforms, certified officials, skills competitions and all-star games.

For the basketball league, all four BGC Clubhouses in Ottawa have teams – Taggart Parkes, Tomlinson, Don McGahan and Ron Kolbus – but there are also entries from other communities that primarily involved children/youth from low-income or challenging backgrounds.

“If we see a demand in a community we could work with and theres youth that could be involved, we’ll invite them,” notes Nejad. “We have communities like Caldwell that come in. We have community houses from Ritchie, Britannia Woods, that come in.”

Every Wednesday during the summer, intermediate teams from all over Ottawa will come to the Ron Kolbus Clubhouse to play one game, with the seniors playing Thursdays. In order to make it accessible for everyone, everything in the program is free, including transportation to the clubhouse.

“Whether they’re BGC clubhouses or not, we will have a yellow bus pick you up at a certain time to make sure you can attend our event,” says Nejad, who led the Thunderbolts competitive program to back-to-back titles in the North Pole Hoops Showcase League this past season.

Read More: BGC Thunderbolts’ brotherhood at the core of their historic back-to-back North Pole Hoops titles

The purpose of BGC SLL basketball is clear: to teach youth skills beyond sport. Nejad was a product of BGC leagues himself. He says the biggest skill he learned was discipline.

“That was number one,” underlines Nejad, who came to Canada when he was in elementary school and was raised by a single mom. “It gave me something to do everyday. Whether I had practice or not, I knew I was hooping.

“Sport helped me create friends when I didn’t have them. I learned how to respect coaches and authority figures, whether it was strong feedback or a softer kind of feedback. You learn to look up to older guys who are playing that sport, so you build some leaders in the community you want to look up to.”

Nejad’s hope is that by teaching the youth of today these skills, one day they will come back and do the same, as he did.

The program is funded largely through private donors, alongside general fundraising.

BGC Ottawa is one of two in BGC organizations in Canada where members don’t pay a cent to be part of programs. While a free program for everyone will continue to be BGC’s policy, Nejad notes that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep the SLL operating.

“Obviously these last few years have been tough because the cost of everything has gone up and we’re one of the only organizations where the more people we get, the more our costs go up,” Nejad highlights, noting that a lead sponsor for the program is currently missing.

The number of participants is only growing, but the BGC has had to cancel its soccer league in favour of keeping basketball afloat.

“The demand is just too high. It’s what we’re known for, and we’ll just eat the costs,” signals Nejad. “We have had to cut soccer to keep basketball alive.”

It’s easy enough for Nejad to keep a positive outlook however, when he sees hundreds of youth gathered at BGC. The clubhouse offers a place to hangout, feel safe, and even be fed. Every day at 5:30 p.m. the kids will receive a snack, courtesy of the cooking program.

“Nowadays, friends tell a friend – that’s the best thing. You deliver a great program, a friend brings a friend, that’s how you grow,” Nejad signals. “Our issue has never been numbers. It’s always been funding and space.”

Caldwell’s Bellevue teams reached the finals in both the intermediate and senior divisions, facing off against Craig Henry in intermediate and fifth-seeded F.C. Elite in senior.

This article is part of the Ottawa Sports Pages’ Inclusion in Sport series. Read more about local sport inclusion initiatives at: OttawaSportsPages.ca/Ottawa-Sports-Pages-Inclusion-In-Sport-Series/.

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