Team will advocate for seatbelt use on team buses: Humboldt Broncos head coach

By The Canadian Press

HUMBOLDT, Sask. – The head coach of the Humboldt Broncos says his Saskatchewan junior hockey team will push for seatbelt use on team buses after a deadly crash in the spring.

In a statement this week, the Broncos said their coaches, players and staff will buckle up not only when travelling to games but also in their day-to-day lives.

“Encouraging the use of seatbelts cannot be understated,” said Nathan Oystrick, who was hired as the coach and general manager in July. “Promoting seatbelt safety is a high priority for us.”

Seatbelt use on buses has been in the spotlight since April when a bus carrying the Broncos junior hockey team collided with a semi-truck in rural Saskatchewan. Sixteen people were killed — including 10 players and the team’s head coach — and another 13 were injured.

In a brief interview, Oystrick said the team wants to advocate for seatbelt use.

“We’re wanting to be involved in the process and involved in some of the change,” he said Friday.

The statement said they will be looking at various activities to promote seatbelt use that include education, media and public awareness through this hockey season and into the future.

It comes after the parents of several players who died have called for mandatory seatbelt use on all team buses.

A lawsuit filed by the parents of Adam Herold in July asked for a court order requiring all buses carrying sports teams in Saskatchewan to be equipped with seatbelts.

Earlier this month, the mom of Stephen Wack wrote an opinion piece that ran in newspapers across the country asking for shoulder harness belts on all coach buses, along with the need for legislation making it compulsory to wear them.

Tricia Wack concluded her opinion piece by asking people to buckle up for the Broncos and the hashtag #buckleupforthebroncos was born.

Another parent Toby Boulet, whose son Logan was killed in the crash, has made it a point to wear his seatbelt on the bus as the general manager of the Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s rugby team.

His example led the team’s head coach, Neil Langevin, to challenge the rest of the team to make it a habit to wear their seatbelts.

All of the coaches and at least half of the players on the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s rugby team are buckling up.

— By Colette Derworiz in Edmonton. Follow @cderworiz on Twitter.

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