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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015
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Soccer coach under investigation Coach was arrested and released, but not charged with any offence by Martin van den Hemel Staff Reporter A Richmond FC soccer coach has been barred from touching or being alone with any of the youths he coaches after he allegedly put his hands around the necks of two players in separate incidents in October and November. Roberto Sciascia, who has been the paid technical director for Richmond FC (formerly the Richmond Youth Soccer Association) for about seven years, is not charged with any offence. He was arrested by Richmond RCMP on Jan. 6 but released on his own recognizance, under the condition that he “abstain from coaching any sports teams with participants under the age of 18” or contact the players. But those conditions were amended Jan. 16 by a provincial court judge-at the request of Sciascia’s lawyer David Tarnowwho instead ordered that Sciascia “not be alone with any of the youths you are coaching,” and “have no physical contact with any youths you are coaching.” On Oct. 21, Sciascia was leading about a dozen 12-year-old boys in a practice when the first incident occurred in full view of the other players and two adult assistant coaches. Sciascia was illustrating a point about choking an opponent’s defence, and without warning put his hands around the throat of the nearest player. While the boy wasn’t injured, and the incident drew nervous laughter from the other kids, the incident prompted the boy’s parents to write an official complaint to the board. “We are writing to express shock and intense concern about an incident that occurred on the practice field...First, as parents (we) want to state that no adult should be placing their hands on our child for any reason,”the parents wrote in
Martin van den Hemel photo Roberto Sciascia at a November soccer practice.
a letter to the Richmond FC board, which was obtained by The Richmond Review. The following month, Sciascia put his hands around the neck of another boy, a 13 year old, during a different soccer team’s practice in early November. Once again, he was making a point about choking the defence. But that incident, which also did not result in injury, was never reported to the board. None of the allegations have been tested in court. When asked for comment following a soccer practice in November, Sciascia declined to give his side of the story. “I’m working for Richmond so you have to talk to Richmond,” Sciascia said. Following his Jan. 6 arrest, Sciascia wasn’t coaching for Richmond FC, but his long-term status remains unclear. David Weber, chair of Richmond FC, said he couldn’t speak on behalf of the board, and said he was chiefly concerned about the privacy of the boy and his parents, and noted this was a private matter involving personnel. Mike Fletcher, vice-chair of Richmond FC, also declined to comment last week other than to say their internal investigation was ongoing.
Martin van den Hemel photo Richmond is a popular place for spending by Visa card holders, according to a report. Tourism Richmond CEO Tracey Lakeman says that’s great news for locals, ‘because every time a visitor spends money in Richmond, there is an economic impact to the entire community. ‘
Richmond a popular spot for visitors from U.S., China, U.K. and Germany Report from Visa Canada and Tourism Industry Association of Canada shows Richmond is among top 10 in visitor cardholder spending by Martin van den Hemel Staff Reporter It won’t surprise many locals that Richmond is a popular Canadian destination for visitors from China. But among travelers from the U.S., Germany and the United Kingdom, Richmond also ranks in the top 10 cities in Canada for Visa cardholder spending, according to a recent report from Visa Canada and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. “We were so excited to see that Richmond made the Top 10 list of five countries that are visiting
Canada. Obviously the United States is a huge market for us,” said Tourism Richmond CEO Tracy Lakeman. Of all the Canadian destinations for U.S. visitors, Richmond was the ninth most popular in terms of Visa spending habits, with Toronto finishing first and Vancouver second. Richmond finished just behind Quebec City, which was eighth. In that same Visa report, Richmond finished as the ninth most popular Canadian city among travelers from the United Kingdom, and 10th among visitors from Germany. As far as visitors from China are concerned, there was only one place in Canada where they spent more money than in Richmond: Vancouver. Richmond finished ahead of Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. “Why is that important? Because every time a visitor spends money in Richmond, there is an economic impact to the entire community. Taxes are being paid by visitors that go toward our services,” Lakeman explained. See Page 5
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