As the cost of youth sports rises, so too does the need for financial help, says B.C. charity

For 14-year-old Jayden Weiss and his 11-year-old brother Ashton, sports have helped connect them to their community and themselves.

Their mother, Anita Rudge, says both her neurodivergent sons have made huge strides thanks to swimming lessons they've been able to access with the help of grants. 

But Rudge fears there won't be enough money to continue supporting her sons and others like them as the cost of sports climbs and the demand for grants grows.

"The cost is about $800 for summer swimming, and when we do swim meets and dive meets those cost money to enter," Rudge said. 

"It would be $1,400 per child per summer ... in the past when we first started it would be about $700 and it would include all four sports and it would include all the meet fees. So we've doubled in cost in six years."

These swimming lessons and meets are something the single mother says she couldn't have afforded without help.

"For you to overcome your autism barrier, and then to finally get to swim, only to get it to be a financial barrier holding you back, it's heartbreaking as a parent," Rudge said.

Rudge's family has received grants from Athletics for Kids, a privately-funded charity that offers sports grants to lower-income families to cover children's registration fees. 

Valerie Gosselin, the executive director of Athletics for Kids, says the Weiss brothers are examples of children they try to help each year. 

Sports are not just a fun outlet for kids, she says. For many, they can also be an important lifeline and she is calling on the province to offer more support to families like Rudge's.

Costs keeps climbing and so does demand, says charity

Gosselin said demand for grants has risen 400 per cent since the start of the pandemic. Reasons for the increased demand include the high cost of living, the rising cost of participating in sports, and the financial impacts of the pandemic.

"When a parent has to choose between food and rent … sports are often the first things to go," Gosselin said.

According to Athletics for Kids, the number of grants has grown from 250 in 2020 worth a total of $45,000 to around 1,000 in 2023 worth $240,000. 

Gosselin said while the B.C. government has provided one-time grants and supports, she wants to see the province do more to make sports more accessible. She says she fears Athletics for Kids, which was started in 2002, will have to start turning away desperate parents soon.

In a statement, B.C.'s Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport says it has been providing more supports to families through the boosted B.C. Family Benefit and other programs including "$400,000 in grants that helps support 5,300 kids each year through 41 KidSport chapters in B.C." 

The province is also investing $15.4 million in provincial and local sport organizations through viaSport — the government's agency for sports programs — among other grants, the ministry said.

But Gosselin says more support is needed and fast. 

"We know that when sports are not a part of a child's life ... it can set that child's life back for a long time, for many years," she said.