An influx of nearly $33,000 will be doled out to athletes and organizations by the Nelson Regional Sports Council over the next three years.
The council announced grants totalling $3,660 will be awarded three times per year through 2020.
Chairperson Kim Palfenier said the money is meant to encourage the council’s mandate of promoting local sport and physical literacy development.
“You don’t necessarily have to be an organized sport,” she said. “So if it was somebody who was just starting up, something that hasn’t been funded in the past before, they are eligible to apply as well. It’s all ages, it’s not just youth for instance.”
The sports council had $32,940 previously earmarked for a Zamboni replacement when it was running the Civic Arena. But in 2016 the council returned the keys on the city owned facility after 10 years of management, leaving the non-profit group in need of a new plan for the funds.
The board’s eventual answer was to put the money back into the community.
“We could have done lots of other things with that but we really wanted to keep it local [and] put it right in the pockets of the fund’s participants,” said Palfenier.
Grants will max out at $1,000. The deadlines for applications are Jan. 31, May 31 and Sept. 30, and applications and further queries can be emailed to Palfenier at palfenier@shaw.ca.
tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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