With equipment handed out and practices started, the Fort Frances High School Muskies football season has begun. With more returning to normal, the Muskies Touchdown Club is hoping to keep the sport affordable.
COVID restrictions have now lifted a season after the Muskies won the NorWOSSAA championship, the Fort Frances Muskies will rejoin Division three of the Winnipeg High School Football League which means travel expenses will be increasing over last year. The Muskies Touchdown Club is hoping to give the team a boost and cover many expenses.
The Muskies traveled to Kenora today for a pre-season jamboree and the regular season gets underway next week with the home opener against Dryden on Friday Sept. 9 at 3 p.m.
Marlis Bruyere is the vice president of the Touchdown Club this year she says transportation costs will be a big target of their fundraising this year.
“Part of the issue for the football team this year is with the cost of gas, transportation costs have really gone through the roof,” Bruyere said. “We’ve doubled, almost tripled our transportation costs .”
Touchdown Club discount cards will be back this year with discounts for many local businesses including Taggs Source for Sports, McTaggart’s, Dairy Queen, Boston Pizza, The Bargain Shop and many others. Players will be doing a blitz on the evening of Monday Sept. 12. Going from home to home in Emo and Fort Frances. Cards are being sold for $20 each.
As a result of the fundraising efforts of the Touchdown Club, Muskie players do not have to cover as many funds as other teams in the area.
“We’re also the sport that’s about the cheapest as far as requirements for the players,” Bruyere said. “In the past they only had to pay a $200 fee to the school. I think that’s going up a bit this year to offset some of the costs. But they also don’t have to pay for their equipment, I think we’re one of the only ones in northwestern Ontario where they don’t have to pay for at least part of their equipment, the equipment is provided by the Touchdown Club free of charge so we’re trying to maintain that.”
The idea is to make it easy for those who want to play football to be able to join the team.
The Touchdown Club is also looking for new members. Most of the people who help with the club are parents of players so if their child is no longer playing they move on.
“Part of the problem with the Touchdown Club is once everybody’s moved on, their kids have moved on, out of high school, they’re usually not involved as well,” Bruyere said. “What we really need is parents’ involvement. That doesn’t necessarily mean administratively. They don’t have to come on and attend meetings on a regular basis, but they need to be involved in some way because if it falls on the shoulders of a few people you burn them out and then you can’t get them back the next year.”
In addition to selling discount cards the Muskies are also selling old jerseys from the 2019 championship season as well as decommissioned helmets. Anyone interested in purchasing jerseys or helmets or interested in helping out with the Touchdown Club can send a message to the Fort Frances Muskies Football Facebook page or get in touch with Bruyere at (807)-276-0883.
