Members of the Nanaimo Senior B Timbermen in happier times following a home-floor victory in 2018 to secure the WCSLA championship. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

dire situation

Nanaimo Sr. B Timbermen opt out of season, franchise faces uncertain future

Feb 8, 2022 | 5:58 AM

NANAIMO — Off-floor calls for help and meetings will help determine if the Nanaimo Senior B Timbermen will have future games on it.

The longtime members of the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association won’t play this season because it doesn’t have the financial backing to compete in the eight team league.

President and former player Shawn Swanson said there was no other choice, pointing to a team briefly under private sector control, which was abruptly off at the onset of the pandemic.

“Players want to play, there’s coaches, there’s trainers. We just need people to go out and get money for sponsorships, do the bookings, figure out ferry trips. The logistics of operating a team is what we need right now.”

The team had operated for many years as a community run, non-profit organization.

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He’s open to any kind of ownership model, whether it be community or privately owned.

Swanson said he and others with deep ties to the organization and league are more than willing to fill support roles to help guide the Senior B T-men into the future.

Swanson said the team “is the glue” of the local lacrosse community, pointing to a bulk of Nanaimo Minor Lacrosse Association coaches being former Senior B T-Men players.

“The senior B team gives average joe’s and pros a chance to play together, stay in town and create a community. It’s a really big hole if we don’t have a team here,” Swanson told NanaimoNewsNOW.

He’s concerned if the team can’t be revived in time for next season, they’ll be gone for good.

“Hopefully people realize that the team’s in need right now. Unless people step up to do something about it it will just kind of vanish and we can’t have that.”

Comprising of a mix of established veterans and younger talent transitioning between junior and the senior A level, the Senior B Timbermen roster is built with overwhelmingly local talent.

A handful of players are suiting up for the WCSLA’s Victoria Shamrocks this season.

The team last competed in the 2019 season when it lost to Ladner in the league finals.

The Senior B T-men won the WCSLA title in 2018 and then lost in the gold medal game of the Presidents Cup national championship in front of a capacity crowd at Frank Crane Arena.

Nanaimo has been a member of the league for more than 30 years.

The league is re-starting this year after not competing for the previous two summers due to the pandemic.

Anybody who believes they can assist in helping to own or operate the Senior B Timbermen are asked to reach out to Swanson via email: shawn.swanson@shaw.ca or through the team’s Facebook page.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes