Politicians Need To Support Amateur Sports – Todd Does!

In covering sports dating back to the late 80tiers our focus with Sportswave is to connect with Amateur Sports in not just Delta but also various areas of BC considering that today’s amateurs are tomorrow’s pros.

It’s odd that not everyone sets their  focus on our youth as well as the volunteers and yes – we understand that making the pro level of the game is what everyone strives to achieve.

It’s the time of the year (again) that everywhere you go all we see are signs telling everyone to “VOTE FOR ME” yet how much do you actually know about the candidate running in your area and my “bet” is NOT MUCH! 

Locally in Delta I have reached out to the ones running for Mayor and honestly speaking I have heard directly from two with the third sending me a reply on FB saying “I’d love to” but to date I have had no further reply.

Regardless the one thing that my Parents instilled in me is “Get out and Vote – it’s the only thing that’s free and besides your Father fought in WW2 for your freedom” and over time I’ve only ever missed voting once and that was the last time.

So now we have two elections within a week that we (at Sportswave) live streamed both Council as well as the Mayor’s Candidates meetings where we worked alongside the Delta Chamber of Commerce. 

Ironically – both are still up to watch in case you missed either one but given the closeness of the two elections we are unable to live stream a possible meeting with the Provincial Candidates given that there are no open facilities to host it!

Regardless I have reached out to the Candidates running in North Delta and received a reply from one – yes one who ironically graduated with my Daughter Annette from ND Secondary in 1988 – small world!

So what else do you know about the Candidate who is running in place of Ravi Kahlon who for us was a welcome addition over his terms and always made himself available to both myself and Kevin Adlem our Eastlink Producer when he was in town.

So now we have Todd Schierling running for the NDP who is looking to secure a seat in Victoria but still has two years before he could retire from the Surrey Fire Department.

Looking at his resume over the years he’s been a constant fixture with sports in North Delta helping today’s youth to not just reach for success but also achieve their goals in various sports in the area.

I sat over the weekend and had a “good one on one” chat with him at his office and covered a variety of topics which surrounded amateur sports in not just Delta but also the Province.

Digging deep into his resume and background I found out that he has been involved as a supporter since 2001 including the Surrey Fire Fighters who have supported the “Goodwill Sr. Girls Basketball Classic” held every January at Surrey’s high schools.  

Over time there have been twenty (20) teams from Surrey participate in the City Invitational where several teams have made this event a permanent fixture in their tournament calendar noting that he is committed to add North Delta on his agenda with various sports. 

It should be noted that several firefighters volunteer their time organizing game schedules, sponsorship providing BBQ sales with all proceeds supporting the tournament. 

The overall theme of the tournament involves promoting volunteerism, diversity in the fire service as well as promoting female sports.

In promoting ‘Goodwill’, the Surrey Fire Fighters’ Charitable Society offers several bursaries each year to those who have outstanding volunteer service in their community. 

Each candidate (senior) applies in writing, along with references and grade transcripts, and is reviewed by the school board and firefighter representatives. 

As part of our Youth and Education program, it is the Surrey Fire Fighters’ Charitable Society’s goal to deliver the funds from all donors to the deserving student-athletes of Surrey – we are proud to announce that we have awarded over $100,000 in total. Learn more here.

A special thanks to our Gold sponsor, hercourt. for their support to our youth and education program.

We would also like to recognize a new sponsor since 2023, Kintec, for their generous donations to the award recipients.

The event sends special “Thanks” to the Vancouver Bandits for their donation of gear to the coaches and players and for their contribution to the scholarships being awarded.

Thank you to our new sponsor the Singh Foundation for their generous donations going towards our student-athletes. 

The Singh Foundation provides funding, mentorship and support for programs and activities for underserved and at-risk youth in our community.