At-Risk Youth Get To 'Chill' At Tabor

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

Blue skies and minus -12 greet the launch of Chill’s 2nd season in PG

The nip in the air could not keep smiles off the faces of those gathered at Tabor Mountain to announce that the "Chill" snowboarding program is back for year two.

Prince George is just one of three cities in Canada, and 12 in North America, to host the innovative program aimed at not only teaching at-risk youth how to snowboard, but equipping them with life skills and increasing their self-esteem through sport. 

The PG program is the result of a partnership involving 2010 Legacies Now, Bell Canada, the provincial government and Tabor Mountain and garners $25-thousand dollars of Bell’s $150-thousand dollar funding commitment. 

Last year, 75 local youth took part.  This year, another 50 will be outfitted with clothing, boards, lift tickets, instruction and transportation to and from Tabor Mountain Ski Hill over a six-week period.

Deputy Premier/Prince George-Mount Robson MLA Shirley Bond chatted with Charles Lowley at today’s announcement.  Lowley was a participant in last year’s program and is back this year to act as a Peer Chaperone.

Bond says, "It (the program) not only makes a difference in terms of these young people’s physical abilities, but in terms of the people that they’re going to be."

She thanked Bell for "stepping up to the plate" and providing this opportunity for youth in the north and praised 2010 Legacies Now for making sure similar opportunities abound in the run-up to the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics. 

Acting Mayor, Don Basserman says he’s pleased to see Chill focus on kids who might not get the chances others do.

And he echoed Bond’s comments about 2010 Legacies Now saying he’s continually amazed at the opportunities being made available.  He says, "We want to be involved with as many character-building, economic-building, social-building, spirit-building events that will happen in our community prior to the Olympics and Paralympics, during that time and after that time. And this is an example of the kind of thing that we’re very thrilled to have a presence at."

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