Culture is where you find it – and for more than half a century in Sechelt, the venerable tradition of men’s fastball has returned every summer to the field at Hackett Park. Generations of Sunshine Coast families have taken part, either as players, officials, or among the army of spectators. Some neighbourhood people love watching grown men play ball in the heart of the village and come out to every game; others apparently would just like them to go away.
This second group got its wish earlier this year when the District of Sechelt effectively banned the men’s fastball league from Hackett Park, consigning them to the relative wilds of Kinnikinnick. The decision, as well as the rationale behind it – concerns about public safety – came out of the blue as far as the league was concerned and attempts were made to have the district reconsider. To no avail.
But culture is a funny thing, and the community has not taken the loss lying down. As the fastball season approaches, league stalwarts have penned articulate, passionate appeals to reason and fair play – Mike Sopow in his Runyonesque sports article last week, Jim Gray in his reflective letter to the editor this week. League rep Mike Fawcus, meanwhile, has made a last-ditch entreaty to the mayor, council and staff, pointing out that “the community wants the discussion to continue.”
The league has a pretty strong case. The one specific incident of vehicle damage cited by staff was not caused during league play, so was an unwarranted example. Yet much was made of it. The league had no opportunity to verify any of the other generalized “concerns” that were, however, shared with the district’s insurer, prompting advice to move fastball out of the park.
As well, the district’s Park and Recreation Master Plan identifies deficiencies at Kinnikinnick Park that make it less suitable for the league – but it does not identify in its copious public consultation notes a single concern about safety issues related to fastball at Hackett Park.
Finally, the Kinnikinnick location poses a genuine hardship for spectators, players and umpires who rely on public transit to get to games, a fact that staff has rather callously dismissed.
In light of all this, the league’s request is reasonable. It wants the district to set aside the decision for now and have staff attend some games in order to perform a “collaborative risk assessment” based on factual rather than hearsay evidence.
It might seem like a lot of bother for just a frivolous game of fastball, but that’s missing the point. It’s a cultural thing. It’s about tradition. It has tremendous social value.
We would think this mayor and council would understand that concept.
