Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by Photo Submitted

SWIMMERS PROTEST – Whitehorse Glacier Bears swimmers hold a sign that says “Bring Malwina Back” at the Canada Games Centre on Thursday. The swimmers wanted the WGB board to know the impact Malwina Bukszowana has had as their swimming coach.

Whitehorse Glacier Bears coach resigns, swimmers protest

Whitehorse Glacier Bears swimmers, instead of practicing, used the time to protest the resignation of their coach Malwina Bukszowana Thursday morning.

By John Tonin on April 12, 2019

Whitehorse Glacier Bears swimmers, instead of practicing, used the time to protest the resignation of their coach Malwina Bukszowana Thursday morning. The swimmers, as seen in the photo, held a sign at the Canada Games Centre pool saying “Bring Malwina Back.”

Members of the team will once again protest their coaches resignation today at 3:30 p.m. at the CGC.

The swimmers wrote a letter to the board members of the WGB asking them to please bring back Malwina as their coach.

“We wanted to bring to your attention the impact Malwina as head coach has made on many swimmers by making many of them successful and many swimmers enjoy swimming,” read the letter. “With every job has its challenges and hard decisions … We as senior swimmers really want her to stay as head coach.”

The letter was signed by 18 of the swimmers to bring back their coach.

A letter to the board by Jillian Chown reads:

“My understanding, from what you told me, is that the Head Coach, Malwina, has given you two options to decide upon tonight. One, an immediate resignation, or two, stay on as Head Coach with the provision that the Board, “stay out of her business.” I can tell that the Board Members present were experiencing some strong emotions at the meeting, some angst towards the Head Coach.”

The letter continues to ask the board to consider stepping back and allowing Bukszowana to at least finish the season as everyone involved needs consistency and a path forward to continue training.

A third letter by “concerned parents” said the board is not following the WGB Code of Conduct and Conflict Resolution Policy.

“We are asking for stability and safety for our Head Coach and all of our coaching team and request an immediate board meeting with parents to be set up and facilitated by an outside party. It is evident that our WGB Code of Conduct and Conflict Resolution Policy has not been honoured and we have a Head Coach who feels a lack of respect, unsupported and in conflict in her workplace.”

WGB president George Harvey was reached by the Star via email but said: “it would be inappropriate for me to comment on any HR matter related to our staff.”

More to come after tonight’s protest at the CGC.

Be the first to comment

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.