The Nanaimo Clippers participated at three Score with Reading events this season. Below is information on the program and pictures from the final event this season, held at Country Club Mall on Saturday, February 3.
Score with Reading was conceived in 2012 as a way to get reluctant readers with an interest in hockey into the library and interested in reading. The first few events, starting in December of 2012 had members of the Nanaimo Clippers Junior A hockey team come to the library, read to the kids, tell them about their hockey careers and studies and sign autographs and get pictures taken. The players of the British Columbia Hockey League are a perfect fit for the program as many of the players go on to get scholarships playing hockey at Canadian and American colleges and universities. The BCHL boasts the highest percentage of players of any junior league to get scholarships which is why the BCHL’s motto is “Smart Hockey”.
In 2014, a street hockey component was added which proved to make the event an even bigger hit with both the attendees and the players. The library’s mascot Tales the Whale even started to participate and has played in net for every Score with Reading event fulfilling their hockey dreams as well.
In 2016, after seeing the success of the program and the impact it had on the kids, we decided to take it a step further with the Score with Reading Mentorship Program. The purpose of this mentorship component is to give children who could benefit from more interaction with their hockey heroes that chance. The 2017/2018 iteration which just wrapped at the Wellington branch at the Country Club Mall was as resounding success.
