THUNDER BAY – Non-profit sports teams taking to the fields at local community centres are asking if they can be exempted from paying the $100 fee.
City council heard a deputation Monday night from several representatives of community centres including the South Neebing Community Centre and Current River Community Centre.
“We are shocked we are going to be charged this fee with no increase in service from the city,” said Laura Bron, president of the South Neebing Community Centre.
Teams playing on fields at community centres are charged a $100 user fee. Bron said this can have a big impact on non-profit teams for youth.
“When this was proposed to us, we were told it was just an extra $10 to $13 per kid,” she said. “We don’t like that ‘just.’ If families have multiple kids on a team, that can add up to a lot for families.”
Teams have raised registrations fees from $50 to $60 to cover the additional $100 cost, which amounts to $10 per athlete. Registration fees cover insurance, cleaning, jersey, and other equipment costs.
According to Bron, there was a decrease of 30 youth joining the teams this year, which has raised a red flag for organizers.
“Our mandate is to provide an activity that can be accessible to all,” she said. “Please, we ask you, don’t be the reason our programs fold and we are unable to give back to our youth. It is very frustrating to think our hard work is having roadblocks thrown at us by the city.”
Current River Coun. Andrew Foulds said he is concerned that the youth athletes could be future users of the proposed $42 million indoor turf facility and the city is “cutting off their development” with the $100 fee.
“I am really interested in how it’s impacting the non-profit in particular,” he said. “I want to know how much revenue the city is actually increasing by doing this. I would like to know how many athletes are affected by this and which teams in particular are affected by this.”
A motion was passed on Monday requesting city administration to prepare a report on how the increased user fees are impacting non-profit sports teams using community centres. The report is expected to be complete by next October.
