MALLAIG – École Mallaig School is hosting the 2025 Alumni Volleyball Tournament on April 4 and 5 and invites the community to come out.
Aaron Christensen, sports coordinator at the school, said the school has hosted multiple alumni tournaments in the past, but this year’s tournament is special because it will be the last alumni tournament held in the current school’s gymnasium.
Construction of the École Mallaig K-12 replacement school officially began last week. The $34 million provincial capital project is being developed by Alberta Infrastructure.
The construction project, while welcomed, does mean students will lose access to the gymnasium for a period of time, said Christensen.
“We’re not going to have a big gym where we can really play and compete in sports.”
The fundraiser is aimed at helping raise funds to allow the school to find alternatives while construction is ongoing. “That means, maybe finding rentals in some of the nearby communities, which is also lots of travel and a lot of expenses.”
“So, we’re looking to use this alumni tournament as a fundraiser to help our athletic program pay for a lot of the [anticipated] increased costs,” said Christensen.
The tournament will be free to watch for the community, he said. The school will raise money through a 50/50 raffle, merchandise sales, and a $10 entrance fee collected from the participating athletes.
“We’re going to have some hats made up . . . concessions . . . [and] all the profits from that are going to our athletic program,” he said. “We definitely would like to invite everybody in the community.”
The event will also serve as an opportunity for alumni to check out old photos and perhaps see people they have not seen in a few years again.
Christensen said he hopes to see the community’s support during the tournament and fill the gym to full capacity.
According to information from St. Paul Education, once construction of the new school begins, the project is expected to take 25 months to complete.
The gymnasium will be closed temporarily at a later phase of the construction, but students will have access to other parts of the school until the new school is ready.
The current school will remain open and operational for most of the project. To provide additional space, modular classrooms will be installed in the later phases of the project.
Construction zones will also be securely fenced off, and barriers will separate active school areas from construction activity to ensure safety. Emergency exits will remain open and accessible at all times.
