The world's largest hockey stick will soon be gone, but those who love it will be able to get a little piece of it for themselves.
Genuine Collectibles, of Shawnigan Lake, will take over the 205-foot-tall wooden hockey stick replica that has adorned the east side of the Cowichan Community Centre for decades.
Bert Robertson, owner of Genuine Collectibles, said he plans to remove old hockey sticks and transport them to the company's manufacturing facility at Maxwell's Auto Parts in Cobble Hill, where the usable materials from the sticks and pucks will be recycled into unique, authenticated collectibles.
He said this involves creating key or backpack holders that contain a small stick or pack inside a protective cover.
The collection also includes the history of the stick.
Mr Robertson said a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the collectibles would be donated to local sporting organisations and charities.
“We will cover all the costs of the works to remove the poles so there will be no cost to taxpayers,” he said. “At this point, we don't know when we will remove them. There are birds nesting there at the moment so we will wait until they are done.”
Originally built for the 1986 World's Fair in Vancouver, the structure has reached the end of its useful life but has been a prominent landmark in the Cowichan region for the past 35 years.
Ongoing maintenance and a major repair in the early 2000s have extended its lifespan, but the stick-and-puck laminated Douglas fir structure has deteriorated to the point where the structure needs to be replaced or removed to ensure public safety.
The Cowichan Valley Regional Municipality has proposed several options for the future of the hockey sticks, including replacing them with ones of similar or different design and material, keeping the size the same or making them larger, or removing the sticks and not replacing them at all.
The CVRD conducted a public participation survey last year regarding the future direction of hockey sticks, and the majority of respondents said that maintaining the world record for the largest hockey stick and puck is not important and that hockey sticks should not be replaced as they do not bring great importance to the region.
Given the findings of the study and the high cost of replacement, the Cowichan Core Recreation Commission has instructed staff to move forward with retiring the hockey sticks in 2024.
