A B.C. high school is considering jettisoning the wartime moniker used by its sports teams.
Early internal discussions about dropping the name of Nelson鈥檚 L.V. Rogers Bombers have begun, according to principal Tamara Malloff.
Malloff said staff feedback about proposed Bombers apparel led to talk about the name, which has been used by the high school since before the current LVR building opened in 1956.
鈥淭he sentiment is it is time,鈥� said Malloff. 鈥淭he world is changing, the impact of globalization and media and information and our understanding of how things are is changing. That was part of the impetus too, is looking at who is it we want to be and represent in the future. So it鈥檚 just at a starting point right now.鈥�
Professional sports teams and schools changing sports names to reflect modern cultural values has become an increasingly common practice.
In November, students at McGill University in Montreal voted to change the name of the varsity sports teams from Redmen. In Major League Baseball, the Cleveland Indians are playing their first season since without the Chief Wahoo logo that was considered a racist caricature.
For the Bombers, Malloff said, the name made more sense in the 20th century than today.
鈥淭here was definitely the post-World War II connection where we didn鈥檛 look at [war] the same way,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t was a different time. But I think the justification, just like any images for athletics for cultural appropriation for example, like the [NFL鈥檚 Washington] Redskins, it鈥檚 the same thing.鈥�
It鈥檚 not entirely clear when or how the Bombers 鈥� and for a time the Bomberettes 鈥� name came to be adopted by Nelson high school sports teams.
Nelson High School, which held its first class in 1901, offered basketball as its first sport in 1903, followed by baseball and lacrosse.
But those teams were known by the school鈥檚 name. A boys hockey team called the Rovers in 1910-11 was the exception, but the name did not stick.
A picture of a basketball team called the Bombers dating from 1926 is listed in the Mountaineer, a .
An article dated May 3, 1940 in The Province refers to Nelson High School鈥檚 Blue Bombers and Bomberettes. The school appears to have dropped blue from the name by the following year, at least according to another Province article about the basketball teams dated Dec. 12, 1941.
This predated a key part of Nelson鈥檚 aerial history in the Second World War: parts for Boeing鈥檚 Catalina Bombers were built at the Civic Centre.
Nor was the name in homage to Nelson鈥檚 most famous pilot, Lt. Robert Hampton Gray, the last of the city鈥檚 soldiers killed during the war 鈥� well after the Bombers were already playing at the high school.
A 1947-48 high school bonspiel featured Nelson High School鈥檚 Bombers and Bomberettes, and most of the school鈥檚 teams used the name by the time the school moved from South Nelson to its Fairview location and became L.V. Rogers in 1956.
Prior to LVR鈥檚 opening, a school district maintenance supervisor told a Nelson Daily News reporter that the gymnasium, also known as The Hangar, 鈥渨ould be the safest place in Nelson in a bombing attack.鈥�
More recently, the name has been associated with athletic excellence. LVR鈥檚 senior boys rugby last year, the latest in a string of successes primarily in rugby and soccer.
Malloff reiterated it will take time to decide on a new name, and that students will also be consulted. She acknowledged some people may be resistant to leaving the Bombers in the past.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be very thoughtful and careful about that and keep that as part of the history and keep it as a visible presence somewhere in the building, but we need to rethink and say what does it mean to an athletic team as part of our culture in 2019.鈥�
鈥� With files from Greg Nesteroff
tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
