Blue Devils Athletics: Sport Without Barriers

The Cause

Here at Eastglen High School, we are ranked the highest on the social vulnerability index for all "brick and mortar" high schools in Edmonton Public. This vulnerability index means our students lead much more complex lives and encounter significantly more barriers than those in other schools. However, despite the extra barriers, our desire to provide high quality experiences for students filled with dignity and opportunity remains steadfast. One of the most prominent ways we see students experiencing joy, a sense of belonging and community, and opportunities for a brighter future, is through athletics. We have over 1000 students, and over 250 of those students are involved in Blue Devil Athletics.

This year for the first time in a long time, outside agencies who provided funding for youth in sports have closed applications in the Edmonton area due to high demand. Prior to this, we had many students who relied on this funding to help them pay to play sports. Due to a variety of factors including safe transportation, caring for siblings, cultural norms, and maintaining an accessible cost, school sports are often the only sports our students get to play. However, with rising costs for all Albertans, families are all struggling to make ends meet and schools are struggling to continue to provide accessible, low-cost options for sports.

This grant funding would be set up into an account titled Blue Devils Athletics: Sport Without Barriers. As the current Athletic Director, I already have some initiatives that help our students access sport in a safe and inclusive environment. Such as, an annual shoe drive for runners and sport specific shoes, along with fundraisers throughout the year. However, our reality is such that the demand is greater than what I am able to provide currently. This account would help offset costs for multi-sport athletes who show dedication to their sports and to our school culture, who’s families indicate need for assistance in reducing the cost barriers to play. These costs support safe transportation for student athletes to and from games, uniforms to play in where they don’t feel like they look like a “have-not” school, and up-to-date and safe equipment.

We are incredibly grateful for your consideration of supporting our student athletes to continue to have these opportunities.

Who Will it Benefit?

Eastglen’s school community is composed of approximately 1000 students from a variety of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. The majority of our students are Black or Indigenous, with many students holding refugee status. We also house two special needs programs, Interactions and Community Life Skills. Our school itself is situated in the North East area of Edmonton, neighboring the historic area of Highlands and the socially vulnerable neighborhoods of Bellevue, Newton, and Montrose. Many of our students walk from these neighborhoods, or bus from other socially-vulnerable areas further North.

These student athletes reflect the diversity in our school, including those in our Special Needs programming with sport opportunities through Unified Sport. Our athletics programming at Eastglen fosters an environment where all student athletes get the opportunity to play, to wear proper gear, and to feel proud of their teams, regardless of their financial standing. Most of our students’ families do not have the financial means for them to participate in activities outside of school, due to either the cost, time, or travel. The opportunity for all students to be in an athletic environment where they have a sense of pride, while taking care of their physical and mental health, is incredibly valuable.

The value of our athletics program extends beyond our student athletes into our whole school and community culture.