Just one game is all it takes.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas and New Year!
For the last four months, the Warriors organization has worked hard to reach out and engage the community to try and revitalize the organization. When the team moved here in 2006, there were over 1,000 season tickets sold. It has declined steadily year after year reaching a low point of around 240 last season and just over 200 this season.
As the Warriors move into 2019, we want to re energize the community and remind them of the benefits of having a strong high level sports organization in our backyard.
The BCHL is known North America wide for being a top destination for top players seeking NCAA scholarships. The BCHL commits more players to NCAA then all leagues in the rest of Canada combined. What this says is half of all the top Junior players in the country play in our league.
The Interior Division of the BCHL is widely considered the top division in the BCHL. In many cases, we are the preferred destination for top players and history proves it. In fact in the last 22 years the national championship was won nine times by a BCHL team, with six of those wins by teams from the Interior Division. That's a pretty impressive statistic when you consider there are 132 teams competing for that cup every year. The Fred Page Cup, which is the BCHL championship, was won by an interior division team the last four years in a row and eight out of the last 10. Do we have good hockey here in the interior?
Putting aside the high calibre of hockey, the biggest benefit is the support these teams provide to the communities. The economic benefit of the Warriors to West Kelowna is estimated to be close to $7 million annually. A strong organization like the Warriors provides many other benefits. We are one of the last remaining assets communities have where you can come together and unite around something in common. Regardless of your economic, social status, gender, political leanings or race, when your team scores, wins or loses, we all share in that, together as one. When a fan sees someone wearing the Warriors Logo, you immediately become connected.
We support and help grow many businesses in West Kelowna. For example, Murray’s Pizza in West Kelowna saw close to five-fold growth since becoming a sponsor three years ago. It’s a great and affordable way to showcase your product in front of thousands of West Kelowna residents. We also offer low cost options for new West Kelowna businesses to help them lift off the ground. This is good for a community.
This season alone, the Warriors supported the following non-profit organizations: Girl Guides, Boys and Girls Club, Canucks Autism Network, Westside Daze, West Kelowna Minor Hockey, Cops for Kids, Chief Tomat Elementary, Boucherie Figure Skating Club, Westside Ringette, Helen Gorman PAC, Westside food bank, Mar Jok PAC, Air Cadets, Mammas for Mammas, Canadian Cancer Society and the list goes on. No other organization can create so much opportunity for others, not only to fundraise, but to raise awareness for their individual causes.
The impact the Warriors have on minor hockey cannot be understated. I recently visited Delta, who is looking for a Junior A team, and their minor hockey is struggling to the point of nearly folding, and Delta has a population of about 100,000. Quesnel, who lost their Junior A team in 2011, saw a steady decline in minor hockey and are now struggling to enroll new kids. The overall community impact was so severe Quesnel funded a brand new 22 million dollar building just to try and attract a team back, and so far, unsuccessfully. Sadly, communities don’t realize what they have until its gone.
If you want an affordable way to enjoy a night out and support your community, come to a game, just one game. You don’t even need to buy season tickets. The population of the Westside is just over 40,000 when you count Peachland. If everyone came to just one game a year, we would be over sold every night. When we are a strong and healthy organization, we can be a significant benefit to the community. Great hockey, free parking, a concession with great food, affordable games tickets and a great community atmosphere in a beautiful building, all right in our backyard! Your support of our organization can help us be a leader driving a vibrant, successful and united community.
We need you to collectively support us, so we can continue to support you.
Just one game. http://tickets.westkelownawarriors.ca
Regards,
Kim Dobranski
Owner/President
West Kelowna Warriors Jr A Hockey Club
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