Playing simon fraser in Canada costly for american teams

Central Washington University graduate assistant Brian Avery looks over a passport card obtained by one of the members of the Wildcat football team, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010. The team needed to obtain passports for travel into Canada this weekend for their game against Simon Fraser. (Brian Myrick / Daily Record)

Harder than it used to beSimon Fraser University was approved to join the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in September of 2009. This fall marks the first season The Clan has competed in NCAA-sponsored athletics.

As the Central Washington football team ventures north Friday, a lengthy process to ensure each player can cross the border has been in the works for more than a month. The extra fold of international travel is a new thing for NCAA programs, as Simon Fraser is the only non-U.S. university in the NCAA. But traveling to Canada isn’t new to Northwest football programs.
“It’s not quite as unique for guys who have been coaching in the Northwest for a long time,” said Central Washington head coach Blaine Bennett. “Simon Fraser used to be in the Columbia Football Association when everyone was still NAIA. And crossing the border wasn’t quite so complicated. Ever since 9-11, going back and forth is much more complicated than it used to be.”

Central will depart from Ellensburg on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. SFU and CWU will play at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, B.C., at 3 p.m. Saturday.

ELLENSBURG—When Simon Fraser University officially became a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference before the opening of the 2010 fall sports season, The Clan brought a unique fold to the equation for respective opponents. Not only is SFU a relative unknown to other GNAC members athletically, it is also the only NCAA-sponsored university located outside the United States.

SFU is located in Burnaby, B.C., just outside the city of Vancouver. Any team venturing to Burnaby to take on The Clan has to cross the Canadian border. Getting athletes over the border is an extra fold for all athletic programs, but for football teams that bring 53 athletes on road trips, the process is that much more complicated.

Saturday, the Central Washington University football team will travel to Burnaby. Getting proper identification for a Wildcat squad that was flooded with 21 total transfers before fall camp opened in August has caused a lengthy process to ensure a full roster takes the field.
“It’s about a four-week process to get everything processed,” said CWU graduate assistant Brian Avery, who has shouldered the responsibility. “The thing is, all these guys have to have their birth certificates. A lot of these guys are out-of-state guys, so we had to get certified copies sent in.”

Joining the GNAC
SFU was approved as the 10th member of the GNAC last September. When spring football ended, the Wildcat coaching staff began educating players they knew would return about the process of acquiring proper identification, which includes a passport, a passport card, or an enhanced driver’s license. When fall camp opened, about half the Wildcat players already had proper identification taken care of. “Our players have done a good job jumping through some hoops,” said CWU head coach Blaine Bennett. “Brian Avery has done an excellent job overseeing that process. And our administration did an excellent job of giving us some money to help these guys with this process.”

“It’s a huge expense, and a lot of our guys have a financial need, so the administration really helped us out.”

Passport fees can range from $55 to $145. Passport cards are a more convenient (and a more-easily acquired) version of a U.S. Passport, but they come with restrictions. Passport cards only allow its carrier to cross over the Canadian and Mexican borders, only by land or sea, not by plane.

As the first practice of fall camp concluded on Aug. 6, Avery called out a list of names of players who needed to get their border identification in order. Players born in the state of Washington needed copies of their birth certificates to acquire passport cards. Players from out of state needed either the original birth certificate or a certified copy of the original.

Multiple trips
The team made three different trips to the post office to ensure players took care of business. Each player had their respective passports sent to their homes, but deliveries were random and inconsistent. As each player acquired his passport or passport card, they were required to show it to Avery, who then checked their name off a list.

“We’ve had pretty good luck for the most part, almost everyone has gotten their (cards) back,” Avery said. “A couple of people needed some more information. One of our receivers, (Kollin) Hancock, is a guy we are still waiting to find out about. We are not counting on him at this point.”

Several other Wildcats had close calls acquiring proper identification. Standout senior defensive end Eugene Germany had to essentially re-order his California birth certificate. And starting safety Loa Maddon has yet to receive his passport card.

“My status was uncertain for a minute,” said the senior. “I got it sent to the school’s address so it got returned. This morning, I had to track it down and go through all the agencies and everything. It is being FedEx’d to me tomorrow morning. I was a little worried this morning, but it’s good now.”

Since the application takes roughly a month, about 10 Wildcats had to have the process expedited. Even with the expediting process, Hancock most likely won’t make the trip, Maddon is in question, and freshman receiver Jordan Gaut still is waiting.

Wildcat kicker Pavel Panchenko is also still in question. The sophomore is originally from the Ukraine and his passport to the U.S. is without an expiration date.

With the process coming down to the 11th hour, Avery has been feeling the pressure. But now that it looks as if almost every Wildcat on the travel roster will travel to foreign soil, Avery can breathe a sigh of relief.

“For me, it was (stressful),” Avery said. “That’s on my shoulders to get these guys across the border, so there was a little pressure, but we got almost everyone taken care of. It will be a relief once we cross that border and know all our key players are with us, I will feel better about it.”

The last hurdle
A roster of 53 players has the proper identification in order. Now the team must make it past border control. With a collection of new faces, many which came to Central with checkered pasts, crossing the border could be a challenge despite the lengthy process that has already occurred.

“Hopefully we have someone who is willing to work with us and understand we are a team of students coming over the border coming to play a football game,” Bennett said. “There is always that concern (players won’t make it over the border). We want to make sure everything goes smoothly. If you get a certain person at the border, it can be a headache. Even if you have all your paper work in order, the wrong person can create a tough challenge there is no answer for.”

Being approved for a passport card makes it more likely being hassled at the border will be avoided. Still, a worst-case scenario in which the Wildcats play SFU short-handed is entirely possible. The coaches and players have done everything in their power to ensure an efficient weekend. Now, the Wildcats will simply hope for good fortune on their trip north of the border.
“We don’t have a plan B, we are just crossing our fingers that everything goes smoothly and everyone gets across,” Bennett said.

Thursday, September 23, 2010 2:00 pm | Updated: 10:53 am, Thu Sep 23, 2010.
By COLTER NUANEZ sports editor
[URL]http://dailyrecordnews.com/news/article_48dca270-c738-11df-9835-001cc4c002e0.html