Since March of 2020, a huge part of GPCI’s student identity has been missing. With the suspension of classes came the end to extra-curricular sports. In fact, our Junior Varsity boys basketball team had just finished playing their first game at provincials when the tournament host announced that they were cancelling the remainder of the games and teams were to head home. With numbers continuing to climb and variant after variant rolling through the population, extra-curricular sports never got a chance to get off the ground in the 2020-2021 school year. Some coaches were able to hold training sessions at lunch, but there was no competitive play in any sport last school year.
For many students, extra-curricular sports play a huge part in their connection to their school and identity as a student. Playing sports gives students the opportunity to learn important life skills such as sportsmanship, integrity, leadership, and the value of maintaining an active lifestyle. The Manitoba High School Athletic Association refers to high school sports as the “other half of education” and prides itself on creating athletic experiences that will help prepare athletes for all their future endeavours. Some students use school sports as motivation to keep their grades up, alleviate stress and improve well-being.
“School sports are very important to some students. Basketball lets me release stress and encourages me to keep my grades up. Sports are also important because some students may use them to get scholarships to universities.” – Grade 11 GPCI Student
“School sports have always been a way for me to stay active. With all the restrictions, it’s becoming harder to stay active because everything keeps getting shut down. I’m hopeful that school sports will continue to give me and others an easy way to stay healthy and active.” – Grade 11 GPCI Student
“With COVID and everything going on last year, we weren’t able to play and kids were devastated. Being able to have a full season this year made things feel more normal.” – Grade 9 GPCI Student
“Sports help teach me how to work with a team and to reach goals I set. I get the chance to help my teammates reach their goals and together we overcome challenges. They push me to try new things and give me lessons I wouldn’t find otherwise. Last year, I found myself lost some days. I like having the schedule sports gives me to stay on track and work towards something every day.” – Grade 11 GPCI Student
In a small high school such as GPCI, the percentage of students that play sports is great. With only three sports having been played so far this year, over 56% of our student body has taken part. This number continues to grow as we start new sport seasons. That means that well over half of our student body were negatively affected by the pause on high school athletics last year. Couple that with all the other aspects of stress that COVID-19 has brought into our students’ lives, and there is no wonder to the increase in mental health ailments.
Thankfully, with the introduction of vaccines, high school sports have been allowed to compete this year. Students were excited to play and came out in huge numbers. GPCI managed to field Junior Varsity and Varsity girls volleyball, Varsity boys volleyball, Varsity girls basketball and Varsity boys basketball teams. We also have students playing hockey on the Roblin/Grandview/Gilbert Plains Co-op team. For many of these athletes, they hadn’t been able to play their sport for well over a year. Students were excited and enjoyed being back on the court and ice playing competitively.
With volleyball season being the only one completed so far, GPCI athletes saw a great deal of success. Our boys’ volleyball team consisted of eight players, four of which had not played any high school volleyball. They attended three tournaments and three exhibition games. The season started off rocky but there was a great deal of improvements made over the season; unfortunately their season ended at zone playoffs. Our girls’ volleyball teams saw so many girls come out that they were able to field two squads. The Varsity team played in two tournaments and one exhibition game, while our Junior Varsity team attended one tournament and three exhibition games. Both teams played in zone playoffs and regionals, where they eventually won the opportunity to advance to provincials.
The Varsity team consisted of 12 girls, none of which had ever competed at a provincial level in volleyball. The girls had a good showing for their first experience, but eventually lost out in the quarter finals to Deloraine. It was the only overnight experience they got to be a part of this year and they made the best of it, strengthening friendships and making memories.
Our Junior Varsity team consisted of ten girls and were the only single “A” team at the tournament. The girls finished first in their pool after round robin, with only one set lost. They then defeated Rosenort in quarterfinals, and Warren in the semifinals, placing them in the gold medal game against Gabrielle-Roy. With a combination of nerves and a strong middle opponent, the girls dropped the first set 25-15. They managed to regroup and came out swinging in the second set, winning 25-15. With confidence back in their sails, the girls went on to beat Gabrielle-Roy in the third set 15-5, winning the 2021-2022 Provincial “A/AA” Girls Volleyball Championship. This was only the second time in JV Provincial history that an “A” team won the championship, with the other time being in 2017-2018, also being won by Gilbert Plains Collegiate.
Outcomes and success aside, the return of high school sports has made a huge impact in the lives of our students. It has given them motivation, exercise, comradery, and a small sense of normalcy. Here’s hoping that we can continue this path and give our students even more of what they have been missing these past 22 months.