Final whistle to blow for Kitchener Sports Association as it wraps operation after 80 years

The Kitchener Sports Association will celebrate its 80th anniversary and then close up shop for good this spring.

Norm Foss is the current president of the Kitchener Sports Association (KSA) and said the main issue the volunteer organization is facing is that it doesn't have the people to replace them.

"I'm 75. A Lot of our other members are of the same age and we aren't getting a new group of people in and it's just making things difficult for us to carry on all of our programs and especially operate at an executive level," Foss said.

Foss says they've worked to get new members to join the organization for many years, but they've noticed in the last 10 years interest has waned.

In late 2023, the association's board of directors and members unanimously approved plans to begin "sun-setting its operations." Foss says they plan to make their final year memorable and continue on the group's community building success.

Group formed for a legacy project

The association was formed in 1944 by a group of men whose sole purpose was to create a legacy project in honour of the soldiers who lost their lives in the Second World War. The project was the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

Now often referred to as The Aud, the building opened its doors in 1950. Since then, the association has contributed financially to a number of other projects in Kitchener, including the Activa Centre, baseball facilities at Breithaupt Park and the Lions Arena.

Foss explained to CBC K-W's The Morning Edition host Craig Norris that while those are "one-offs," the group's bread and butter has been regular programs helping local athletes.

"We have a grants committee that hands out grants to minor sports groups for travel, for equipment that they need, that sort of thing and that is still ongoing," Foss said.

"We do a volunteer recognition dinner for minor sports in town annually. We have a committee that hands out scholarships to local youth going to university, and there are others, so we need a certain number of volunteers to do all these things and do them well."

Foss said the source of their funds for the scholarships and grants came from holding bingo games and running the 50/50 draw at The Aud during the Kitchener Ranger games.

He says there'll be one more opportunity to have a sports association dinner and to hand out scholarships and grants.

Applications for the sports association grants will remain open until Feb. 15 and a volunteer recognition event will be held in March. More information can be found on the association's website.

'It was really interesting'

Foss has been a 50 year member of the group who was first invited by a friend and says it's a bittersweet ending.

"I got to meet really interesting people who were involved in just a range of sports across the city. And it was really interesting and it became fun and then it led to a whole bunch of other experiences," Foss said.

"Because of this, I've sat on a Memorial Cup organizing committee, I've helped run a lottery, I've helped run some bars for old timers hockey, and we even did a couple of years of an NHL Old Timers event at the auditorium run by [former NHL player] Vic Hadfield. Those experiences are hard to come by in life, and they're fun."

LISTEN | Norm Foss of the Kitchener Sports Association reflects on 80 years in the community: