L.V. Rogers High School in Nelson is rebranding from the Bombers to the Grizzlies this fall, after students and staff voted to move away from the World War II namesake.
Principal Dan Rude said the school had wanted to change its team name for a number of years, explaining that it was first recommended by students shortly after the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.
“From what I understand, the first time was just after 9/11. We had teams travelling out to different places, and there were some problems with being the ‘Bombers’ crossing the border.”
It was brought up again in 2019 but was put on hold due to the pandemic, until last September when the school’s student council approached Rude and asked if the topic could be revisited.
“They actually created a presentation about wanting to change the name to something else. They thought they might have to do a presentation to the school board here, but it turns out it’s a school-based decision, so we did some work throughout the year to again look at the history and to see connections and possibilities of a different name.”
Students and staff brainstormed name ideas and came up with three contenders: the Grizzlies, the Ravens, or the Summits, with the Grizzlies emerging as the winner following a student vote.
The school colour, which is blue, will remain the same. Rude said the school may pick a few different versions of logos for around the school, and the athletics team is entertaining the idea of including some imagery, such as a grizzly or a paw print, on the school gym floor, which is up for resurfacing this summer.
He said there’s limited documentation on the history of the L.V. Rogers Bombers namesake, but he thinks it had something to do with Nelson’s connection to World War II efforts.
“Through World War II, there were some initiatives connected to the war efforts that Nelson was part of, and I think that kind of imagery got connected with that World War II part.”
Even though the name will be gone, Rude said the school plans to honour the history of the L.V. Rogers Bombers and its connection to the City’s war efforts.
“There might be some kind of version of a display case or something like that that honours the Bombers and the history of it. We are definitely sensitive to the fact that a lot of people have been connected to this name for many years and that there was this idea that it was connected to war efforts, so we definitely want to honour that perspective.”
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