For nearly 30 years, a group of athletes known as the Victoria Screamers have been meeting weekly in Colwood to play boccia, and they are appealing for help to keep their club going for at least another three decades.
The Screamers, who live with conditions such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, autism and multiple sclerosis, meet every Saturday at the Colwood Pentecostal Church hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The group plays boccia, a sport that has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1984, which can be played individually, in pairs or teams of three. Players score points by tossing or rolling their ball closest to a target white ball called the jack.
“Ultimately, players come and just have fun,” club president Kelly Halpen said about the 10 members who are a mix of competitive players and others who see the club as an opportunity to socialize.
For Halpen, the Screamers are an integral part of his family. His father was the club president before him, and his brother, Chris Halpen, is also a competitive player and the club’s vice-president.
“My family's been involved with the club for about 15 years,” said Halpen. “It started with my dad taking my brother to tournaments.”
Currently surviving with just four volunteers, the club is appealing for more people to help with tasks such as laying out the court at the start of a session and refereeing. But potential volunteers don’t need prior knowledge of boccia, and they don’t have to commit to coming every week.
“It would be great to have a bank of volunteers, so I could call them up, email or text them, and say ‘Hey, can you help me with this?’” explained Halpen.
As president, Halpen also shoulders most of the responsibility to raise funds to cover the club's cost of travel for the athletes and the weekly hall hire at the church. A monthly fee paid by the players and a recent $500 grant from the City of Colwood has helped, but ideally, Halpen says more volunteers to assist with fundraising would be a real boost.
“Since COVID it's been really hard … the lack of money is hard for the club right now,” he said. “So the club's been surviving on a little bit of fundraising. Some help would be great.”
The Screamers is not just for people wanting to play the game for fun, but also aspiring athletes with dreams of representing their province and ultimately their country.
“Some players, they just want to play for fun, that's OK,” said Halpen. “But for others, it could be something to take seriously and go all the way to the Paralympics.”
Halpen’s own brother has previously represented Canada at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto, winning a bronze medal. But it was touch and go for the brothers before the games began.
“My brother [Chris] got really sick, and so he was in the hospital for three days in Toronto,” explained Halpen. “And this is just before the training camp, but he got better … and he went back to the tournament. He was the one that brought home the bronze for Team Canada.”
Halpen’s brother has also competed in competitions around the world, including in England, Portugal and New Zealand.
And his journey is set to continue as he and the other competitive Screamers are currently in training for the 2024 Canadian Boccia Championships this November in Ottawa, Ont. They will compete as part of the B.C. provincial team at the event, which marks the 30th anniversary of the championships.
For more information about the Screamers and to volunteer, email victoriascreamersclub@gmail.com or call Halpen at 250-744-0251.
