Merritt Secondary School has been recognized for its outstanding community service and athletics program, in the form of being named BC School Sports School of the Year.
The criteria for the award mainly focuses on the improvements of students and staff’s lives through athletics, but also takes public service into consideration. After a year of fire, flooding, and pandemic restrictions battered the school’s ability to continue their sports programs as usual, the MSS athletics community continued to find ways to stay active and give back.
Students from Merritt Secondary’s sports teams aided the Nicola Valley Food Bank’s donation distributions to flood affected families, moved furniture out of the school district’s affected buildings, and donated payments offered for their services back to those needing support in the community.
“I’ve always believed the high school is the heart of a small town,” said Gian Cavaliere, Merritt Secondary School’s Vice-Principal and Athletics Director, speaking of the award. “It’s a representation of how resilient our community has always been.”
“It just shows that with a bit of work and a bit of love, good things will happen.”
MSS will also be hosting a multitude of tournaments across a variety of sports throughout the year, including the AA Sr. Girls Volleyball Provincial Championships in December, having beaten out several larger schools to win the bid.
Looking forward, Merritt Secondary is focused on continuing to support the community and becoming a destination for sporting tournaments at a competitive high school level.
“We want to build our culture and brand, build that school spirit, and really make Merritt a destination for schools to come and play.”
