Staff and students are celebrating at Nakusp Secondary School after it was chosen for this year’s Outstanding School Award for Sports.
The honour was recently given to NSS by the BC School Sports Association.
“Being a small school and pretty remote, we still managed to host a team in almost every sport the province has, and we have a pretty active intramurals and leadership program at lunch,” says NSS principal Peter Gajda. “And then we have the huge involvement and support from the community. So BC Sports recognized just how good we are.”
BC School Sports’ website says it awards the title to a school “whose special commitment to improving the lives of its students and staff through athletics, intramurals, leadership and public service has contributed significantly to the welfare of school athletics in its local community and within the province.”
Among the criteria are the extent of the school’s extracurricular program, staff involvement in coaching and sport administration, participation in various BCSS programs, and awards earned, among others.
Gajda says sports have been an ongoing program at the school.
“The school has had a long history of strong athletic directors that have pushed the sports envelope, of making sure we stay involved,” he says. “It’s certainly brought the opportunity for our kids to travel and participate in sporting events, and we think that is important to their social, emotional and personal growth.”
Gajda also noted NSS has hosted provincial soccer and basketball tournaments almost annually.
He says students were delighted by the honour being bestowed on the school.
“The joy the kids had, they were so excited to be recognized,” he says of the presentation ceremony last week. “All the kids wanted to take their photo with the banner.”
He says the banner will hang in the school for the year with pride.
“We may not be the most competitive at provincials, but we get there,” he says. “And our kids dedicate a lot of time to sports. So it’s just great they get recognized for something like that.”