Good Things to Come for Beach Volleyball at Ashbridges for 2027? Need Your Input!

Hey everyone,

I wanted to give an update of what’s happened since this petition went out in March.

Thanks to everyone’s engagement and the help of one of our members who works for CBC I was able to get a segment on CBC news and CBC Radio’s Here and Now. Shortly after this I received an email from someone from the Mayor’s office to meet to discuss the situation. For the first time it felt like someone was on our side. With their help, I was contacted by the city’s Parks & Recreation department to sit down to hear our side of the story, and talk about solutions.

The meeting was very positive, they were extremely receptive to hearing our concerns, and I was assured that things will be different for 2027 and beyond, though they don’t currently know what that will look like. They agreed that no single organization should be granted control over every court at the beach, and that they will ensure there is greater community access for weekends moving forward. They promised to connect with me before October to update me with their solution.

While the vibe was optimistic, we don’t quite yet have a clear answer of what changes will be made next year. So I think now would be a great time to share our own ideas! Our voices are now being heard, so let’s share our ideas with the city’s Parks & Rec team. If you have an idea for solutions (for example, online reservation system, signage, more public courts, maximum tournament size, etc), compromises, ways to improve communication, etc, post a comment on this petition or send me an email:

cdvsignupspare@gmail.com

I’ll collect everyone’s suggestions, consolidate them, and pass it along to the Parks & Rec team. They’re actively communicating with OVA to figure out a solution that won’t heavily disrupt their operations while also honouring us community members who want greater access to these courts, so now is the perfect time to share our ideas.

Thank you everyone who has signed and shared this petition. It’s exciting to see that if we’re all in this together then change can happen!

-Cip