Hockey Nova Scotia Offers Pilot Program for BIPOC Youth
by Jody Jewers, Sport Quarterly editor
Jody Riggs and his family moved to Nova Scotia from Ontario for a change of pace. They have three children, two in hockey and one in ringette.
Riggs, who is Black, watched his kids improve and wanted that to continue, but realized there are challenges.
“Part of it was knowing the right people and part of it was having the funds and time,” he said. “And part of it was the comfort in the rink. When there’s not many people who look like you, walking into the rink and standing by the ice isn’t always the most comfortable experience.”
Riggs and another parent, Angela Walker, had independently contacted Calvin Barton of the Black Ice Hockey and Sports Hall of Fame Society and Dean Smith, Chair of Hockey Nova Scotia’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, and thus seeds for a pilot program had been sewn.
A free 22-week elite skating and skill development program for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour players at the under-11 to under-15 levels in competitive hockey began Oct. 15 at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth.
“Jody is a coach in our Black Youth Ice Hockey Program,” said Smith. “And he felt that once you exit that program, there’s minimal to no support for kids of colour in the game. So we thought, what a great idea to build a second program that addresses those needs for competitive players registered in minor hockey.”
With Hockey Nova Scotia’s support, funds were allocated to cover costs. Special guest instructors have been brought on board for sessions, including former Halifax Citadels player Jaroslav Sevcik, Dalhousie women’s hockey coach Keifer House, national women’s team assistant coach Kori Cheverie, Halifax Mooseheads assistant coach Liam Heelis and Mooseheads alumnus Jules-Edy Laraque.
“We had a list of players who came through the Black Youth Ice Hockey Program over the last decade, so we used that to reach out and gauge interest,” said Smith. “And we also asked minor hockey associations to identify BIPOC players who might benefit from this program and every association in HRM responded with names and we were able to get tremendous buy-in.”
Smith said the program has 56 players, though with scheduling conflicts from their minor hockey programs, usually 15 to 30 are on the ice per session.
“Representation is everything,” said Smith. “We think if you can see it, you can be it. Many of these players currently involved in the program are playing high-level hockey, so we believe that building that skill set even further allows them to go back to their home associations and allow other members to see them excelling at the game, and maybe they’ll see them at high performance camps, perhaps representing Nova Scotia or even Canada some day.”
Smith said all coaches, particularly those from underrepresented communities, are welcome to attend. There is also an off-ice component that will start in December, with former Preston MLA Angela Simmonds offering psychological resistance training. The program also offered its first junior officiating sessions for ages 12-14 to better understand the rules of the sport and for those who might want to consider officiating at a higher level.
In January, Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame inductee John Paris Jr. will be running a clinic as part of the program.
Smith said the program is looking to expand to areas outside of metro Halifax.
“It’s always been a challenge for Hockey Nova Scotia to build programs in rural areas, but we’ve never lost sight of that,” said Smith. “It made sense to pilot this in Halifax Regional Municipality because we knew the numbers and the diversity were there, so that’s our starting point. We’ll conclude this program in March and review and assess the good and the bad and go from there.”