When it comes to books and classrooms and how learning outcomes in academic subjects are delivered, there is an alternative to school in Prince George.
But if you're talking sports, there's no substitute for a tournament that stokes inter-school rivalries to get kids involved.
For nine teams from most of the city's secondary and junior secondary schools, today is the day when bragging rights will be determined in the 20th annual alternate education softball tournament.
"It's just a fun tournament," said Andy Wilson, a teacher in the Storefront Alternate Education program who is co-organizing the tournament with L'donna Lynds.
"There are a lot of different alternate-ed programs in our district and there are a number of different community-based programs as well. The kids hardly ever get to see each other and compete like in regular high school sports programs. This is something people have been organizing for a long time to keep kids interested and keep them coming (to class).
The alternate education program is for students in Grades 9-12 who are considered a higher risk of dropping out of high school.
"These are kids who have had some harder journeys along the way," Wilson said. "Some of them have had problems at home or with the law or they might have mental health issues. We live in a rough town and that's why we've always had a lot of different programs, and our district has been very good about supporting the alt-ed programs."
