A teen athlete in B.C.'s West Kootenays has been shut out of the sport he loves after he was declared ineligible to play for his high school team, without an explanation.
Because there was no volleyball team at his school in Grand Forks, 16-year-old Myles Christman moved in with friends so that he could play for Mount Sentinel Secondary in South Slocan.
But BC School Sports has barred Myles from playing for his new school.
"I feel like a part of my life has ended, because volleyball is a big part of my life," the teen told CTV News.
His older brother played for Mount Sentinel under identical circumstances years ago, but there was no eligibility problem then. Martin Christman, the boys' father, says the family was told it would be OK to make the move because there was no team in Grand Forks.
"We've done that and they've gone ahead and declared him ineligible again," he said.
"It just seems completely unfair that this young man is just unable to play the sport he just enjoys so much."
An appeal of the decision was supposed to be filed eight days before a meeting of the school sports board, but Mount Sentinel filed it with just five days left to go and the board is refusing to hear it.
Raj Puri, the president of BC School Sports, is refusing to publicly discuss the rationale for the decision to bar Myles.
"I don't know the particulars of this particular case, but I know some of the rules and regulations are there to maintain an even playing ground," he said.
John Kennedy, a lawyer and family friend, has intervened in an attempt to help, but he hasn't had any luck getting answers, either.
"I said to them, ‘This is silly,'" he said. "I just can't for the life of me understand why they can't do something to get this kid playing volleyball. Clearly, he deserves it; clearly, he's not trying to unfairly compete."
That leaves Myles with few options.
"I just love playing the game, playing the sport, and they just took that away from me," he said.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
