This past week, it came to my attention that some of our readers feel that our local athletics appear to be more recognized for their accomplishments than our local artistic or scholastic achievers. I was pretty put off by that comment.
This past week, it came to my attention that some of our readers feel that our local athletics appear to be more recognized for their accomplishments than our local artistic or scholastic achievers.
I was pretty put off by that comment. Not that I felt that sports stories are the most important thing to come out of our weekly newspaper, but because it personally made me feel that all the other arts and academic news stories we report, are going unnoticed.
I am not going to argue that our sports section can be pretty large at times, especially this week publishing our annual Winter Sports Showcase. But local sports are a big part of our local community, especially right now.
We as Canadians live in a land that is consumed by a snow and ice for almost five months of the year and what do a lot of us do to pass the time? We play hockey, cross-country ski, go curling – the list goes on and on, which means more and more people are finding success in their respected discipline.
Those athletes deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments and with some of these seasons beginning to wind down, you can expect to see one of us either standing along the Multiplex arena's boards or ankle deep in snow taking notes and photos.
However, there are those who choose to stay indoors and read in libraries or practice music and dance. We recognize this, and we find it just as important as an Athabasca hockey team winning a playoff game. We practice what we preach, too – two of my fellow reporters and my publisher are members of the community band.
Since we find it just as important, that is why the Advocate created a whole new Arts section in March 2016, dedicated to those artistic achievers and has become a regular section and will continue to be one for years to come. That's why you will see us inside the Nancy Appleby Theatre as frequently as you would see us in a hockey rink.
I am very proud with the variety of news coverage that we have been implementing in this office. To us, all types of achievements, whether it is winning an Outstanding Student Paper Award or winning a provincial hockey game – each one deserves its own recognition. It does not make one or the other any less important.
