White Buffalo Athletic Club offers sports and much more

Page 11

Although, as the name implies, the White Buffalo Athletic Club's main focus is on sports, members of the club are learning more than just how to play the game.

As its mission statement explains, the White Buffalo Athletic Club is "dedicated to providing our Aboriginal youth with fun, sports, self-esteem and Aboriginal Cultural Awareness" and to "providing youth and their families a positive and safe environment."

One of the ways the club plans to accomplish these goals is by providing support to help its members learn.

Rachel Starr is education director with the club. Starr, a qualified teacher, acts as a resource for any members of the club who are having problems in school. She either tutors them herself, or finds another qualified tutor to assist them.

Although right now the tutoring is about the extent of the club's education programs, Starr said plans are in the works to expand what is being offered.

She is especially interested in launching a reading comprehension program in the future, as she feels a lot of the problems faced by kids in school trace back to their inability to read at a higher level once they reach the higher grades.

"The emphasis is going to be on the reading and comprehension, and getting kids interested in reading, because I think that's where we lose a lot of them, is when they can't decipher what they're reading. Then you've lost them, because it sort of builds on that. They can't do math, because they can't understand what they're reading," Starr said.

Starr said she'd like to involve Aboriginal students studying education at the University of Alberta in the reading comprehension program, providing the club members with not only help to improve their reading skills, but also with positive Aboriginal role models in the education field.

The club is in the process of negotiating for a new, larger location for its offices. When the new home becomes a reality, Starr said, she plans to provide club members with a study space, complete with computers for those students who wouldn't otherwise have access to one.

Another goal Starr has for the education portion of the club's activities is to get parents more involved in their children's education, stressing the importance to them of providing their children with support in their studies.

Starr will also be concentrating her efforts on finding Aboriginal teachers and tutors who can help out with the club's education initiatives.

Right now, with summer just coming to an end and students still settling into school once more, the number of club members taking advantage of the tutoring program has been limited, but Starr expects that will change as the school year progresses, and as more Aboriginal youth find out what the White Buffalo Athletic Club has to offer.

The club members have been busy on the sporting front as well. On Sept. 11, the club had 12 teams take part in a ball hockey skills competition.

The teams all play under the White Buffalo Athletic Club umbrella, but are house teams for various Aboriginal organizations. The ball hockey competition included teams from the Native Canadian Friendship Centre, the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, Red Road Healing Society, Boyle Street Co-op, Feather of Hope, and the Boys and Girls Club - McCauley. The event took place at the A.C.T. recreation centre at Rundle Park, with the centre donating the space for the competition.

According to Robb Campre, athletic director for the White Buffalo Athletic Club, the theme of the event was "honoring our athletes."

The evening's activities began with an opening prayer, followed by the White Buffalo drummers and dancers. Then the members were recognized with an honor song sung for the young people in the club.

Soup and bannock was also served, courtesy of the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, Red Road Healing Society, and the Canadian Native Friendship Centre. That was followed by a skills competition for all the youths involved in the club's bal hockey program.

Six different stations were set up for the skills competition. The first station was manned by representatives from the Edmonton City Police, who used radar guns to clock the speed of competitors' shots. The second station featured players from the Edmonton Eskimos running a football toss. Station three was a mini-putting range, while station four gave participants a chance to test the accuracy of their shots. Station five was a one-on-one competition, with individual players testing their skills against a goalie. The sixth and final station featured team relays.

At the end of the evening, prizes were handed out to the competitors. Among the prizes donated for the event were 50 game tickets provided by the Edmonton Eskimos, and hockey equipment, courtesy of Bauer. The goal of the ball hockey event, Campre said, was to show the kids that their commitment to sports and dedication is being recognized.

The White Buffalo Athletic Club is open to anyone of Aboriginal descent who is a registered student, or who is 18 years or older. Members must be drug and alcohol free, and must dedicate themselves to the success of their team. Involvement on one of the club's sports teams is mandatory for all club members.

According to Campre, club membership currently sits at about 250, and is growing every week.

For more information about becoming a member of the White Buffalo Athletic Club, call the club office at 440-0112.