A Langley high school has sent a warning to parents after videos surfaced showing evidence of a teen "fight club."
The videos posted to YouTube show teenage boys trading punches while wearing hockey gloves. The title of one clip suggests the boys in the video are part of the "Brookswood Fight Club."
An email sent to parents by the principal of Brookswood Secondary School suggests as many as 20 boys in grades 9 and 10 have joined the club.
"While we don’t know the specifics of who is involved, the rumours we have heard are that this is happening outside of school time," principal Marcello Moino said in the email.
"It is happening in a private backyard or residence… and the boys are attempting to be organized by having rules, wearing gloves (apparently hockey gloves?!), and having a 'draw' system."
The principal warned parents of the dangers of undiagnosed concussions, advising them to watch for signs of brain injury in their children.
"Firstly, and most importantly, we are worried about the boys getting hurt and then trying to hide injuries from parents," he said.
"Secondly, whoever is hosting this event, whether they are aware or not, could face potential liabilities if any of the boys are hurt.”
His email advised parents of teens who are interested in fighting or boxing to sign them up for classes or programs in licensed venues where supervisors have been trained at minimizing injuries.
CTV News spoke to the owner of the house where some of the videos were shot, and she said she's told her son to stop the meetings.
Joti Samra, a clinical psychologist practicing in Metro Vancouver, said the main motivator of the club appears to be to get attention, so groups of individuals are gathering to watch the fights.
"There is undoubtedly going to be a peer pressure component where people are engaging because they think they should, because their friends are and other students are," Samra said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Shannon Paterson
