Northern B.C. teen who moved schools for volleyball denied competitive play by transfer bylaw - CBC

Luna Weder made the team at North Peace Secondary in Fort St. John and was excited to compete alongside her teammates, before she was told she was ineligible to play in competitions. (Submitted by Christoph Weder)Social SharingA 16-year-old B.C. teen who moved towns to attend a school with a senior girls volleyball team won't be allowed to play this year because of a longstanding bylaw on athlete transfers.

Hudson's Hope School doesn't have a senior girls team and the school in Fort St. John offered the closest possibility for Luna Weder to pursue her passion, but she found out after the move she wouldn't be allowed to play competitively.

B.C. School Sports (BCSS) says Weder is ineligible due to a longstanding bylaw that makes students who transfer schools after Grade 9 sit out a year unless they meet certain residency or academic exemption criteria.

The organization, which oversees interschool extra-curricular sports in B.C., says the transfer bylaw exists to prevent athletes from seeking out preferred schools and teams to play for.

"The BCSS membership has determined that a member school not offering a sport is not a reason to allow transfers, and thus this rule applies," BCSS executive director Jordan Abney wrote in an email.

Hudson's Hope School is the only school in Hudson's Hope, with just under 150 students, making it difficult to have enough players to form a sports team of any size.

Weder says she previously played on a junior girls volleyball team there, but that it was only possible by having students from a mix of older and younger grades play together.

"I kind of understand what they're saying, but I feel like here in northern B.C. it shouldn't be the same rules down in Vancouver because everything's closer there," she said.

Weder will have to sit out for a year due to an athlete transfer bylaw. (Submitted by Christopher Weder)

According to an email shared by the Weder family with CBC News, Hudson's Hope School advocated on Weder's behalf, with the school noting there hasn't been a senior girls volleyball team in the community for several years.

"This is not a family that is 'jumping ship' so their daughter can play on another team," stated the email.

"This was a decision where they literally had no other choice or means for Luna to pursue her passion."

The email also noted there are only 55 students in grades 8 to 12 in Hudson's Hope, and that only two other students expressed interest in playing senior girls volleyball along with Weder — too few to form a team.

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Weder's father, Christopher Weder, says that explanation hasn't been accepted by BCSS, though, which denied an appeal for an exemption.

"The rules that are meant to keep the fair sports field in southern B.C. make absolutely no sense in northern B.C.," he said.

"The fact that there's no team and the fact there's no coach, you explain this to them, it basically falls on deaf ears — nope, the rule is the rule, that’s it."

Weder is allowed to attend practices at Fort St. John's North Peace Secondary and plays on a club team outside of school.

But she has aspirations to play competitive volleyball in post-secondary and says the visibility and experience of playing on a high school team could have helped with that goal.

With a year to wait, she says she'll only have Grade 12 to play.

"There's not much I can do," she said. "I know the situation. We'll see if anything gets changed, I guess it's the way it is."

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Tom Summer is a reporter for CBC News based in Fort St. John, B.C. and grew up in the Peace Country in Treaty 8 territory. You can reach him at tom.summer@cbc.ca or at 250-329-4103

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