Makadiff grant program delayed one month due to COVID-19 pandemic

Gordon Anderson
Dec 29, 2020  •  December 29, 2020  •  2 minute read
Grande Prairie Regional Sport Connection executive director Karna Germsheid in a recent photo. The executive director said the Makadiff sports program will be delayed by one month due to COVID-19. The five-week sports program is looking to kick off at four local schools at the beginning of February. Photo by Submitted

The Grande Prairie Regional Sport Connection will adjust the start of its sports-themed grant program due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally, the expected start date for this public school-based program was early January.

“We were hoping to start right after the holiday but because of the restrictions it’s really hard to predict what we will or won’t be able to do,” said Karna Germsheid, executive director for the Grande Prairie Regional Sport Connection. “So, we’ve pushed the schedule start date to February with our best intention that (the program) will still move forward.”

GPRSC received a $35,000 grant from Makadiff Sports and its Grassroots Community Sport Innovation Challenge back in July.
The grant money goes towards providing youth—at four selected schools in Grande Prairie—with free extra-curricular activities, while allowing leadership candidates an opportunity to pursue advanced learning initiatives in the sport and the leadership fields.

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The coaches

Eleven students were selected and went through various coach and development models—including High Five and the National Coaching Certification Program.

“(The instructors are) Grade 10 (students) all the way up to college age (students),” Germsheid said, noting the GPRSC hired the 11 coaches so they could work in teams and learn from each other. “We have some that have previous experience and some that will be new.”

The executive director noted the new instructors are excited about the upcoming program, looking forward to getting in the schools and providing the students with an unforgettable experience.

“(The coaches) have been awesome,” Germsheid said. “All of them are very bright, all very keen. Some of them are already active community leaders in the sport community. As far as running the program, we anticipate they will have a good time and do a really fantastic job with some high-quality lesson plans.”

No plans to quit

Germsheid noted the sport connection isn’t planning to cancel the program, totally committed to getting it done all the way to the finale in early March.

“The plan is to (start) in February and adjust accordingly,” Germsheid said.

The schools selected to host the program are Swanavon School, Hillside Community School, Avondale School and Maude Clifford Public School.

The free of charge program is for children in Grades 4 through 6.

The chosen ones

Originally, the executive director wasn’t sure what the sports on offer would be, but that has since changed.
“We have decided on the sports and (they are) handball, soccer and pickleball for the program,” Germsheid said.

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Far-flung flavour

The instructors are adding an international theme to the program, hoping students develop additional sport-based skills.
Germsheid noted the sports will veer away from traditional sports like soccer, basketball and hockey.

“We are introducing international sports, taking sports from all around the world and incorporating them into our warm ups and cool downs for the kids,” Germsheid said, noting the sports haven’t been chosen yet.

“It’s going to be a nice variation of different skills that will be developed. (They are) sports from different countries that aren’t as popular here just to introduce them to a wide breath of skills to learn.”