It made for a powerful visual – some of the top high school coaches in this province standing in front of 525 new football helmets destined for 35 programs across Manitoba – all gathered for a photo on the turf at IG Field.
The impact to the programs and the players donning the new gear, quite clearly, will be considerably more powerful.
The Blue Bombers announced today the donation of the 525 new helmets to the 35 high school football programs, which will be quickly put to use with the season soon to start. Each school will receive 15 helmets, valued at $425 each.
“It’s our way of supporting high school football,” said Blue Bombers President and CEO, Wade Miller. “Equipment is expensive and getting 15 helmets to the programs in Winnipeg and rural Manitoba is important. It’s just a great way to be able to support these programs.”
This season, the WFC has donated over $300,000 in equipment to youth programs and has seen over 1,000 youth participate in free football camps offered by the club, with that reach coming through the support of the Arts, Culture and Sport in Community Fund from the Province.
To learn more about the programs available through the WFC, please visit https://staging-www.bluebombers.com/youth-football/
“Hat’s off to Wade Miller, the organization, and everything the Blue Bombers have done to give back to the community and getting kids involved in the game,” said Obby Khan, the MLA for Fort Whyte and a former Blue Bomber. “I’m honoured to play small part of that as the Minister (of Sport, Culture and Heritage). I love football and what this is going to do for 500-plus kids in Manitoba playing the game.
“Safety is huge and so is accessibility for a lot of kids because of the costs in this day and age. When I started playing football, I couldn’t afford equipment and my best friend, Carlos Orellana, his older brother Romeo – who was graduating high school – gave me his cleats. That’s how I got started because my parents couldn’t afford the cleats. So, the Blue Bombers giving back like this is huge in providing opportunity for so many kids.”
The new helmets are already decked out in the school’s respective colours and featuring the team logos. Fall camps for the Winnipeg High School Football League opened this Monday, with the season scheduled to begin on September 7th.
“Equipment is a non-stop issue for teams,” said Oak Park Raiders head coach Chris Olson. “We’ve got more and more kids in Manitoba playing football and trying to outfit them – and trying to find the money and going to the school divisions – is a constant struggle. Helmets are up to $450 a pop and they only have a 10-year shelf live and so making sure kids have safe and proper equipment is tough to do. That’s why having Wade and also Obby Khan back this is huge.”
This is bigger than just helping kids being outfitted in new equipment, too. Two stories related to that…
“Our program has always been trying to make football as barrier free as possible,” said Dan Washnuk, the head coach of the Miles Macdonell Buckeyes. “So, anytime we can get financial support or equipment like this from the Winnipeg Football Club means the world to a lot of athletes because it’s ‘X’ number of dollars that we don’t have to raise through registration fees or fundraising. Anything that helps make football more of an economically viable option really help us out.”
And this from Doug Kovacs, the head coach of the Grant Park Pirates.
“Our new helmets are going to the Ukrainian refugees who have come to our school,” he said. “We’ve got over 60 new kids at our school. We said, ‘Why don’t you come and play football?’ You give them a new helmet and it doesn’t cost them anything to play now. They’re just getting engaged in our Canadian culture now and they love it.
“We’ve got 12 of them now coming out for football. We’ve got to have a translator out there with them, but once you get them out there, it’s incredible to see.”
