A Prince George Soccer Association motion to ban women from its 50-and-older coed drop-in division was soundly defeated 110-20 at the group’s annual general meeting Wednesday night.
The proposal was presented at last year’s AGM to the PGSA board by three male players in the 50-plus coed group who wanted the league to change eligibility rules for the weekly games from coed to men-only.
Because the proposal was brought up late in that 2023 meeting the board decided to defer it to the 2024 AGM, rather than set up an extraordinary general meeting for the vote.
PGSA registrar Kirsty Ames said the board was bound under the Societies Act to conduct the vote.
“The vote was overwhelming for keeping the coed (division) coed,” said Ames. “We all knew it wouldn’t pass.
“We had to vote on it because of the Societies Act and if members come forward and put in the paperwork for something to be voted in in our AGM then we have to vote on. It’s not like the board can decide not to vote on it.”
Kari Daly, the only female player in the 50-and-over coed division, objected to a proposal to grandfather her eligibility in the coed group if the PGSA vote had gone in favour in making it a male-only division. She said she would have refused to play in the 50-and older group if the board decision ultimately banned other women from registering.
“She said we shouldn’t have to vote on it because it was a human rights thing but I said no, it’s a society act thing,” said Ames. “You can’t paint the whole league with the brush that we’re bigots and discriminatory. Because of the mandate of the Societies Act we have to vote on it.
“We had people phoning the clubhouse yesterday saying they were going to burn it down because we were bigots.”
Ames surveyed the PGSA informally months before the vote and was confident the ban proposal would be voted down and tried to explain that to Daly, but Daly wasn’t convinced and was worried about the vote.
“We were dealing with it and it would have been done after the AGM because we all knew that it wouldn’t pass and I kept telling Kari that,” said Ames. “I told her the vote was the best thing that could happen because it’s not going to pass.”
Ames said the four-hour meeting drew about 90 members and it became heated at times with people on both sides of the proposal yelling at each other.
“I’ve been a board member 31 years and yesterday was the only day I felt like quitting,” said Ames.
