The BCSS governance proposal was passed Saturday morning. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School

B.C. School Sports wins its governance vote: All of the voices weigh in on a tipping-point day in B.C. high school sports history!

B.C. School Sports has won the day, and its executive director says he’s confident the new governance proposal for high school sports in this province — one which unites all 20 of its member sports under one organizational umbrella — will be ready to begin operation, pending green lights from the health sector, this coming […]

B.C. School Sports will hold its AGM on Saturday, at which time its new governance proposal will be put to the vote. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School

With pivotal AGM vote set for Saturday, BCTF claims no knowledge of its spot on BC School Sports’ proposed legislative council!

A B.C. high school sports commissioner says he has been stunned by the 11th-hour discovery of what he characterizes as a gross misrepresentation in the lead-up to Saturday’s pivotal vote on B.C. School Sports new governance proposal.Walter van Halst, commissioner of the B.C. Secondary Schools Rugby Union, called it “absolutely shocking” when it was discovered […]

As the final second ticks off the clock, Sasha Vujisic (right) and the rest of the Burnaby South Rebels culminate the 2019-20 season as B.C. champs. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School

A SUNDAY READ: What both sides are saying in the emotional debate regarding BC School Sports’ proposal for a new power structure in BC high school sports!

LANGLEY — Varsity Letters is presenting both sides of the debate leading up to the pivotal voting day on B.C. School Sports’ pioneering governance proposal, set for the association’s May 1 annual general meeting.If passed by a two-thirds majority plus-one vote of the province’s eligible base of 460-plus athletic directors, all 19 of BCSS’ member […]

Making a sure tackle during the 2019 provincial championships is Sir Charles Tupper's Kiya Vivier-Miller, who earned selection to the 2020 BCSSRU Fab 50 all-star team. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Rugby

The Fab Fifty-B.C.’s Top 50 high school boys Grade 12 rugby players! Despite a lost season, BCSSRU salutes the skill, heart & grit of its Class of 2020!

LANGLEY — Theirs was a season which was ended in its infancy back in March.Yet while the B.C. boys high school rugby graduating Class of 2020 didn’t get a chance to experience the tests of league, playoff and provincial matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no doubting its heart and its skill.That’s why […]

B.C. high school rugby commissioner Walter Van Halst speaks to the challenges which lay ahead for his and all other high school sports. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Other

05.20.20 edition: Varsity Letters-The Podcast talks B.C. high school rugby with commissioner Walt Van Halst

Welcome to another edition of Varsity Letters-The Podcast. This week, we speak with Walter Van Halst, the commissioner of the B.C. Secondary Schools Rugby Union, on the future of the sport within the provincial high school ranks.   B.C. high school rugby was coming off one of its most successful seasons ever in 2019 with […]

B.C. high school rugby coaches, like Lord Byng's Mike Mallette, are part of a rare resource being celebrated by BCSSRU rugby commish Walter van Halst, who has set up free coaching clinics to coincide with B.C.'s Pro D Day this Friday. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Rugby University rugby

BCSSRU offers teachers free rugby coaching clinics on Pro-D Day: “Why can’t we develop coaches the same way we develop teachers?” asks commish

SURREY — During the summer, as Walter van Halst contemplated some of the best ways to both recognize and enhance the many dedicated teachers who volunteer their time to coach rugby in B.C. secondary schools, he kept asking himself the same fundamental question.“Why can’t we develop coaches the same way we develop teachers?” asked the […]