Community service Pub owner recognized for public safety. Page 10 art exhibit Nanaimo gallery features artwork dealing with death and dying. Page 21 Development support Program helps technology companies. Page 7
Sports highlights Page 25
www.nanaimobulletin.com
TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014
VOL. 25, NO. 15
School plan includes new sports stadium
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options presented include moving Rotary bowl to current location of Serauxman ballpark. By greg Sakaki ThE NEwS bULLETiN
CHRIS BUSH/THe NewS BUlleTIN
nanaimo’s Wave Babes dragon boat team sets off for a practice paddle in nanaimo Harbour Friday in preparation for the annual nanaimo dragon boat festival, which gets underway Friday (July 4).
Dragon boat festival draws thousands of racers, spectators By Tamara Cunningham ThE NEwS bULLETiN
By the time dragon boat racers roared across the finish line, Lawrence Tang realized two things: there was nothing girly about the sport, and he was hooked – “fully hooked.” “All the excitement, the competition … you have 20 people doing the exact stroke at the exact same time in order to be at their maximum – there’s no other sport where that’s a requirement,” he said, adding he knew he had to get involved. That was 12 years ago at the first Save-On-Foods Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival. This week, Tang and his team, the Mentor Mariners, plan to make waves during their 11th race at
Quickfacts sAVe-on-Foods Nanaimo Dragon boat Festival takes place July 4-6 at Maffeo Sutton Park. For schedules and events, please visit www.nanaimodragonboat. com.
the annual harbourfront event. The team will join thousands of spectators and paddlers who are expected to converge on Maffeo Sutton Park for the three-day festival, beginning Friday (July 4). It’s considered one of the city’s largest events, drawing an estimated 14,000 people last year. It’s also the kickoff to a summertime series of festivals, from the Silly Boat Regatta
to the Nanaimo Marine Festival and Great International World Championship Bathtub Race. “It’s just one of those events that make Nanaimo, Nanaimo,” said Ian Niamath, a member of the Dragon Boat Festival Society. The event, which revolves around the fight to end breast cancer, will start with an invite-only Survivors Party on Friday evening, followed by the Candles of Courage ceremony at Swy-a-lana Lagoon to honour those affected by cancer. Over the weekend, the public will be able to take in entertainment, put on in partnership with Crimson Coast, as well as peruse vendors at the Farmers’ Market and view races. See ‘EVENT’ /5
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A huge high school project in Nanaimo would give the neighbourhood a new look and also shake up the city’s sports scene. The Nanaimo school board received and endorsed on Wednesday a Nanaimo District Secondary School site study, part of the planning process for a $65-million wish-list construction project. The document represents a rethink of the entire property, not just the school buildings. The report, prepared by Cornerstone Architecture and Planning Group, suggests relocating and rebuilding Rotary Bowl stadium, demolishing Serauxmen Stadium, moving the school district’s works yard to another part of the city, and constructing, in two phases, a high school that can accommodate 1,900 students. “The report is very extensive, very comprehensive,” said Dot Neary, school board chairwoman. “It doesn’t commit the board to any particular course of action except to start consultations.” The report recommends a partnership with the City of Nanaimo on a new stadium for track and field, football and soccer, and co-operation with Vancouver Island University on a trades academy. Neary said all recommendations will be considered, no matter how drastic. The architect’s recommendation is to move the track-and-field oval to where the baseball stadium now stands, put artificial turf in the middle of the new track and locate the javelin and hammer-throw fields at Rotary Bowl’s current location. See ‘NEW’ /2
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