The director of KidSport Tri-Cities says the need for its service is growing as the organization gears up for its annual spring sale of used sporting equipment.
Chris Wilson said 25 per cent more families in the Tri-Cities accessed funding to help pay registration fees for their kids’ sports endeavours last year than in 2023.
He said the combination of a struggling economy and increasing costs for sports associations are putting youth sports financially out of reach for more families.
“Playing sports is becoming more expensive,” said Wilson. “Sports is becoming a little more of a year-round commitment, kids are expected to do stuff in the off-season.”
The spring sporting equipment sale, that occurs March 8, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Riverside Secondary School in Port Coquitlam (2215 Reeve St.) is a major source of the funding KidSports Tri-Cities needs to help bridge that growing gap.
Wilson said the spring event is usually about lacrosse gear and bikes, as people prepare for the change of sporting seasons.
He said a family can fully outfit their budding young lacrosse player at the sale for about $100. Same for hockey players heading into spring or summer leagues.
Equipment for field hockey and softball is also in demand.
“A lot if it is just based on what sports are happening in the spring,” said Wilson.
That means there will also be baseball mitts and cleats, cricket bats, golf clubs and even archery sets and kites laid out on the sales tables manned by dozens of volunteers who help make the fundraiser happen.
But it’s often the bikes — of all types and sizes — that are the stars of the spring sale, said Wilson.
“Everyone is looking for a bike,” he said.
This year, the 150 bikes that have been collected through the past year and carefully refreshed or refurbished by Wilson and other helpers in garages and basements around the Tri-Cities or an ad hoc workshop in the basement of Como Lake Middle School are being bolstered by 70 gently-used kids’ rides donated through a partnership with Trek Bikes.
Wilson said they range from bikes with 12-inch wheels for early starters to the sport to bikes with 26-inch wheels for bigger kids.
Some of the bikes at the sale can be purchased for as little as $30.
To help populate the sale with a fresh infusion of equipment, KidSport Tri-Cities is currently collecting donations through March 7 at three locations:
- Poirier Sport and Leisure Complexj main lobby (633 Poirier St.)
- Port Coquitlam Community Centre lower arena lobby (2150 Wilson Ave.)
- Port Moody Recreation Complex main lobby (300 Ioco Rd.)
Equipment should be less than six years old and in good enough condition to be wearable in league competition.
Admission to the sale on March 8 is by donation to KidSport Tri-Cities or a non-perishable food item to the SHARE food bank.
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