History

As president of the Nanaimo and District Track and Field Club and a volunteer coach for the past 15 years, I would like to bring public attention to this long standing volunteer community organization and piece of community history.

Historically, the Nanaimo Track and Field Club was created after World War II. Decades later, the Club formed a partnership with the local school district and was able to develop a high caliber Track and Field venue. The newly sprouted partnership allowed the likes of Elwood Wylie – a recent inductee in the Nanaimo Sport Hall of Fame – to spearhead the development of this facility. Art Van Idour continued Wylie’s vision, creating what is now known as Rotary Bowl and one of the finest track and field venues in the province. It also allowed some 15000 youth and educators within the District to access this facility as often as they wished.

During my association with the Rotary Bowl, it has been undoubtedly, a multi-use venue. The multi-uses include access to the following programs, clubs and organizations: the NDSS PE program, VIU Mariner baseball, VIU PE, VIU International Student recreational soccer, the Breast Cancer awareness 12-hour relay, the Nanaimo Canoe and Kayak, the Bastion Running Club, the Sikh community, private Boot-Camps, Pacific Sport clinics and training sessions, the City’s access for the opening and closing ceremonies of two BC Summer Games and BC Senior Games, as well as for various soccer, basketball, hockey, football, and rugby clinics, available at little or no cost.

Thus, after decades of work on behalf of organizers, community volunteers and local youth, NDTF found a home. To this day, we rely on the District for general maintenance and up keep. This means that the Club and District must make judgment calls and restrict access to group/activities that could cause undo wear or damage to the facility or are simply unsuitable. It is in the spirit of community that our Club hopes to accommodate as many interests as possible while keeping the material and communal integrity of our facility intact.