By Kurtis Doering

Bedford Road Collegiate sells Redmen gear ahead of name change

Apr 8, 2014 | 12:19 PM

Teachers and students at Saskatoon's Bedford Road Collegiate have started their transition to a new sports team name and logo.

This follows a decision by the Saskatoon Public School Board last month to change the “Redmen” title and its accompanying logo, prompted by public concerns of racial insensitivity.

“Bedford Road has 91 years of traditions with the values that go along with those traditions that we need to make sure we honour,” Bedford Road principal Cody Hinke said.

In an effort to do that, a series of three collaborative meetings called “design charrettes” will be held in the coming months. Students, teachers, parents, and alumni have been invited, including members of the First Nations Community.

The first such charrette, to be held at 6 p.m. on April 14, will be the largest of the three. From there, the ideas will be narrowed down and discussed by two other, smaller charrettes until a new name and logo are agreed upon.

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Hinke says this plan has already been discussed with Bedford Road's students.

“I don't think at any part of the conversation was there ever a 'yeah, but,” Hinke said. “I think the students are ready to move forward.

In the meantime, the task of replacing everything bearing the old “Redmen” name and logo is being replaced and sold off.

Students were given the first opportunity to buy the old jerseys following the school board's decision. The jerseys were also offered to parents at recent parent-teacher conferences.

“Whatever was left over, or is left over, is going to be offered to the community at a, I'll say a garage sale event at the end of May,” Hinke said.

Replacing the banners over the school gymnasium will take a little longer, Hinke added. But it's hoped those banners will bear the new name and logo, (whatever that may be,) by November ahead of the 2015 BRIT (Bedford Road Invitational Tournament) season.

As for the gym floor, Hinke said they were already in the midst of gym renovation plans before the Redmen controversy began. A new gym floor will accompany a new set of stands and a new paint job for the space.

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