Priorities Blog #4

    I think something important to members of Coldstream is priding our self on being different from other towns, and although the easy thing to do when asked where we are from is to say Vernon (which is what I do) most people actually say Coldstream. My mom always says Coldstream and it actually just bugs me because then she has to explain where it is and that it is pretty much connected to Vernon...blah blah, but the point being that a lot of the members of the community are happy about being part of Coldstream and happy we are a separate community.


    As I mentioned in the last blog, a recreation or leisure centre would really benefit our community and help us become even more independent and this is something that is priority to people like my mom. The horse crap problem can probably be put on the back burner for the time being (if you didn't read my last blog you wont know what I'm talking about). I know almost all members of the community would be willing to contribute to building a rec centre or at least support the idea and i know this because Coldstream is a very active community. In the summer you can always see people going for jogs and training for their sport; come winter there is no more swimming in Kalamalka or Okanagan lake, rarely will you see people jogging and you for sure don't see any skateboarders or Rollerblades outside. With a rec centre containing a pool, skate park and indoor track it would solve these problems and like I said allow us to stay in our community and not have to go into Vernon.


I cant speak for everyone but I know my family as well as most of the other families would be willing to give financial aid for something like this to happen. Like I said most people value active lifestyles and community independence, which is why there would be no problem to get enough people behind the idea. Obviously everyone likes to enjoy the nice weather but I think the indoor rec centre is priority right now for the community of Coldstream and I know most have the same stand as me. (Below is a nice little sketch I did for what this rec centre should look like, well actually I obviously didn't sketch this but yeah you get the idea.)


As for other people involved besides people within our community I actually think Oprah or Bill Gates should just give us some of there pocket change to get this thing underway. Done deal, everyone happy.
   

BLOG #3 My Community Group

   The Community I chose to talk about in this blog is my home town, Coldstream BC. It is a community connected to Vernon in the Okanagan. Although most don't realize it, Coldstream is considered a complete separate town from Vernon, we have our own Mayor and are classified as our own municipality. It is a pretty cool community; besides the obvious nice weather and famous lakes, it is a place that is different from the average town. It is somewhat of a rural community with most residents having at least an acre of land and are able to have big gardens and animals of all sorts; often you will see people riding their horses down the roads.
  

    I am obviously not in Coldstream and didn't phone the mayor or anything to discuss this, but after talking to family and friends that are also part of Coldstream, I have gathered a couple ideas that we believe would better the Community. Possible opportunities include  more strict rules with people and there horses; often what happens is the horses take dumps on the road and it just sits there until it's washed away by rain, ran over by a car tire or stepped in by a jogger. If there was something passed saying that the horses have to have bags on their butts when walking or the owner has to clean it up after the horse it would make things much cleaner, residents much happier, and shoes much cleaner.


    The main thing that was brought up was the idea of an indoor leisure centre for all ages. The biggest reason for this is that residents of Coldstream have to go to Vernon for an indoor pool and indoor ice rink. If Coldstream was able to get a facility like this it would for sure help the community become more independent not having to rely on Vernon as much, in return I think would Develop Coldstream and its residents. If we could add other aspects to the indoor centre such as a skateboard park as well would also be beneficial to the community because this allows for the younger kids that are into stuff like skate boarding to have a year round facility to utilize. This would also decrease the issues such as smoking and drugs that go on in the outdoor skate parks.

    I think these things are two of the biggest opportunities to improve the community, the first idea would obviously clean things up and make people happier to be part of the Coldstream community, and the second idea would allow us to be more independent and in return allow for residents to become closer. I think there is always room for improvement in all communities and if Coldtream was to accomplish the two main things I mentioned it would be great for our development as a community.

BLOG#2 Invictus

    My previous blog entry on sport being a key contributor in community development goes hand in hand with the story of Nelson Mandela and his revolutionary movement in South Africa which is referred to as "Invictus". I think it proves exactly how "sport" can be much more then just "sport", meaning that it can have such a significant impact on all aspects of life including community development.


    After watching the movie Invictus for the first time; it was pretty cool to see the true story and how everything unfolded. The movie is a reenactment of the true events that occurred in South Africa in 1995; the newly elected president Nelson Mandela had a goal/ vision of ending the separation of blacks and whites which is known as apartheid.


    Mandela was successful in ending the apartheid of South Africa through the use of sport, and more specifically through rugby. South Africa actually hosted the '95 Rugby World Cup when Mandela came to power, this turned out to be exactly what Mandela needed in order to change his country forever. The South African rugby team were underdogs and ended pulling off the perfect Cinderella story.



    Before the World Cup there was a lot of hate in the country and for the most part the country was split right down the middle with the different races holding grudges against each other. As the World Cup unfolded, Mandela spent all his time backing the national team as he knew this would be the perfect thing to help end the hate and separation. As the team improved and moved further in the tournament, the countries people started focusing on the sport and coming together as one to cheer for their fellow countrymen. When the final whistle blew, the country erupted and everyone celebrated as one; whites and blacks were hugging each other and and giving each other high-fives.

    Mandela's vision was coming together and he said at one time that he had wanted the country to no longer be able to notice the black guy "Chester" on the team but to see everyone as equal and as one. This is exactly what he wanted to transfer over to the countries people; if he could get everyone to learn about themselves and learn that everyone is equal then in return South African could take giant steps in becoming a much more united country.

The link below gives a perfect example of how rugby was able to unite the races:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q97GEasO4Y

Sources: Invictus film (2009)

   

BLOG#1 Community Development Through Sport

 

     The article on community development through sport caught my eye simply for the fact that it demonstrates examples of how sporting programs as well as sport in general can really be a useful tool in community development. The article is mainly targeted on programs in the UK and doesn't exactly go into much detail on the programs mentioned but gives a summary on how they are effective in community development.


    To give examples, there are programs such as The "Healthy Living Centres program" which encourages participation in sport and physical activity, which in return increases peoples health and well-being as well it up-skills and empowers communities. Also mentioned is the "Step Into Sport" program which is said to encourage young members of communities to volunteer and then rewards them for doing so with vocational qualifications and experience. These are just two examples of little things that communities do involving sport and physical activity with the idea of developing the individuals and the community as a whole.
   The article  states that by involving sport in a community it leads to community engagement, builds cohesiveness and capacity within the community as we as develops social capital. I think all these points are pretty hard to argue with as most people can probably relay back to a time where sport helped your community development at one time or another.

   For me personally, I can for sure relate to what this article says. I grew up in a small town in Northern Alberta, called High Level where there is not a whole lot to do. From my experience one of the biggest things that helped our community develop and come together was sport. Although hockey is big pretty much everywhere in Canada, it is especially big in High Level; people love going and watching minor hockey games through out the whole winter and when it comes time for provincials the whole town in behind the players. In my time in High Level, we went to provincials almost every year and we always had sponsors from many businesses in town which helped us with jerseys, equipment, and travel to places. We were so far away from everything so travel was very expensive, taking buses was not cheap and through fundraisers and sponsors we were able to have competitive teams every year.


   High Level and hockey is just a Small example, how about Vancouver 2010? The Olympics took years of planning and this obviously took the effort of thousands within the Vancouver community to come together and be able to successfully host the event. Lets also not forget the potential for money to be made through sporting events. The Olympics brought Vancouver billions of dollars through hotel, food and beverage, transportation, the list goes on and on.

   The article just gives a small example of what sport can really do for communities and their development, people can be happier, people can be healthier, money can be made, friends can be made and the community becomes stronger. I cant really imagine a community without some form of sport.


Reference: Bowtell, j. (2006). Community Development Through Sport. London: London South Bank University http://www.sportdevelopment.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=607:community-development-through-sport&catid=49:socialinstrument&Itemid=65