BC student athlete wrestles with regulators after school change

The parents of a star student-athlete on Vancouver Island are pinning their hopes on a change of heart by school regulators after their son was told he can’t compete in wrestling at the high school level.

The father of Qualicum Beach Grade 10 student Tristen Beaudry says he has recently transferred from his old school to an online academic program.

Gilbert Beaudry says it has been a great fit for his son, but BC School Sport (BCSS) rules around transfers designed to prevent the stacking of teams with star players mean he’s not allowed to compete at the high school level for a year.

“He was thrown under an umbrella where he doesn’t fit, he is one of the minorities where it doesn’t jive,” Beaudry told The Leader Spirit. “Tristen is a very good wrestler and he’s now at a point where he’s going to be placing top three, possibly winning provincial championships, and that opens doors for other things he wants to do, like making Team BC or Team Canada. They look at those rankings and qualifying.”

Beaudry feels the one-year restriction makes no sense in their situation, given that they have been successfully travelling out of the local school district for years to train and compete, while officially remaining attached to his local high school.

“Now that we wanted to change schools to better his education — and he’s doing much better now academically — now they are saying he can’t wrestle because of a stupid rule I don’t think applies to him.”

Beaudry says there is no team to stack in Tristen’s case — his online school has never had a wrestling program and neither has the local high school, which is why they have had to travel.

“He is the wrestling team! They don’t have a wrestling team for him in this district. For them to say now that he has switched schools and he can’t wrestle is ludicrous.

“He’s really upset because he just got done winning first place in western Canada, and it’s opening all these doors for him. Now they’re shutting him down.”

Beaudry applied to BCSS for an exception to the transfer rule but was denied. The family then paid $250 for an appeal and was again denied.

“An exception could have been granted if we physically moved or he was being bullied, which was not the case. It was our choice for him so he could do better academically. We are happy with that decision and he has never wrestled in the district anyway, so it just doesn’t make sense.”

BC School Sports confirms Tristen’s case was reviewed by an eligibility officer and an appeals committee, but it did not meet the criteria for an exemption.

“In this case, there was no evidence anything had happened beyond the control of the family and it didn’t merit an exception,” said BCSS Executive Director Jordan Abney, adding that the fact Tristen was in an online program made no difference.

“They are still subject to our normal transfer and eligibility rules. You have to attend a member school — they are attending an online learning institution, which is a member — and the same process and rules would apply just as if they were going to an independent or public school down the street.”

Abney says if a transferred student remains at a school for a year, they are then allowed to compete.

“He can train, from a practice standpoint, with whatever school is close by — we want kids to be active and engaged in their school communities — but once that one-year period has passed, the student-athlete is then welcome to wrestle for their online school and train with whatever school makes the most sense for them.”

After his appeal was denied, Beaudry approached the family’s local MLA for help.

“There are rules and we don’t want to be in a situation where schools are poaching some of the best players while academics come second, but this is not the case with Tristen,” said Adam Walker, the independent MLA for Parksville-Qualicum.

“He has fallen through the cracks. He is an incredible wrestler and the rules in place are preventing him from doing what he is passionate about and what he is really great at.”

Walker says his office is working with the Ministry of Education and BC School Sport to see if there is any way to allow Tristen to continue competing within the existing rules.

In the meantime, Beaudry is waiting and hoping.

“To see your kid so happy competing and winning with all the work we’ve put in just to have them pull it away just makes me so upset,” he said.

“It’s his thing, it’s what he likes. As his father, you like to see your kid do something positive. They should be supporting him, not pulling it away.”