A B.C. high school is considering jettisoning the wartime moniker used by its sports teams.
Early internal discussions about dropping the name of NelsonB次元官网网址檚 L.V. Rogers Bombers have begun, according to principal Tamara Malloff.
Malloff said staff feedback about proposed Bombers apparel led to talk about the name, which has been used by the high school since before the current LVR building opened in 1956.
B次元官网网址淭he sentiment is it is time,B次元官网网址� said Malloff. B次元官网网址淭he world is changing, the impact of globalization and media and information and our understanding of how things are is changing. That was part of the impetus too, is looking at who is it we want to be and represent in the future. So itB次元官网网址檚 just at a starting point right now.B次元官网网址�
Professional sports teams and schools changing sports names to reflect modern cultural values has become an increasingly common practice.
In November, students at McGill University in Montreal voted to change the name of the varsity sports teams from Redmen. In Major League Baseball, the Cleveland Indians are playing their first season since without the Chief Wahoo logo that was considered a racist caricature.
For the Bombers, Malloff said, the name made more sense in the 20th century than today.
B次元官网网址淭here was definitely the post-World War II connection where we didnB次元官网网址檛 look at [war] the same way,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淚t was a different time. But I think the justification, just like any images for athletics for cultural appropriation for example, like the [NFLB次元官网网址檚 Washington] Redskins, itB次元官网网址檚 the same thing.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 not entirely clear when or how the Bombers B次元官网网址� and for a time the Bomberettes B次元官网网址� name came to be adopted by Nelson high school sports teams.
Nelson High School, which held its first class in 1901, offered basketball as its first sport in 1903, followed by baseball and lacrosse.
But those teams were known by the schoolB次元官网网址檚 name. A boys hockey team called the Rovers in 1910-11 was the exception, but the name did not stick.
A picture of a basketball team called the Bombers dating from 1926 is listed in the Mountaineer, a .
An article dated May 3, 1940 in The Province refers to Nelson High SchoolB次元官网网址檚 Blue Bombers and Bomberettes. The school appears to have dropped blue from the name by the following year, at least according to another Province article about the basketball teams dated Dec. 12, 1941.
This predated a key part of NelsonB次元官网网址檚 aerial history in the Second World War: parts for BoeingB次元官网网址檚 Catalina Bombers were built at the Civic Centre.
Nor was the name in homage to NelsonB次元官网网址檚 most famous pilot, Lt. Robert Hampton Gray, the last of the cityB次元官网网址檚 soldiers killed during the war B次元官网网址� well after the Bombers were already playing at the high school.
A 1947-48 high school bonspiel featured Nelson High SchoolB次元官网网址檚 Bombers and Bomberettes, and most of the schoolB次元官网网址檚 teams used the name by the time the school moved from South Nelson to its Fairview location and became L.V. Rogers in 1956.
Prior to LVRB次元官网网址檚 opening, a school district maintenance supervisor told a Nelson Daily B次元官网网址 reporter that the gymnasium, also known as The Hangar, B次元官网网址渨ould be the safest place in Nelson in a bombing attack.B次元官网网址�
More recently, the name has been associated with athletic excellence. LVRB次元官网网址檚 senior boys rugby last year, the latest in a string of successes primarily in rugby and soccer.
Malloff reiterated it will take time to decide on a new name, and that students will also be consulted. She acknowledged some people may be resistant to leaving the Bombers in the past.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to be very thoughtful and careful about that and keep that as part of the history and keep it as a visible presence somewhere in the building, but we need to rethink and say what does it mean to an athletic team as part of our culture in 2019.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址� With files from Greg Nesteroff
tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
