Sports Experts- Campbell River

As a family we have always been so proud of Sports Experts. The doors closed on Saturday and what is left to be said is this. A huge thank-you to our many customers that supported a local store over the years. Your loyalty, support, many good wishes and very kind words warmed our hearts. ❤️

Also thank you to our spectacular staff who stayed positive, helpful and loyal to the end- we will miss you all. Neil and Candice your significant service in the advertising, buying, selling and managing of the store is truly commendable. We were very blessed to have had you lead the team. Best wishes to you all as you move on to new and exciting things.

Goodbye and thank-you.🥰

𝗡𝗲𝗶𝗹 𝗢𝗴𝗴 💫

Neil started managing Sports Experts in 1999 as a 24yr old newlywed.💍
During his years at the store, he and his wife Stephanie gave birth to 2 beautiful children (Sophie and Carson), who are now full-grown adults. He has seen the store through a change in location as well as name changes (Sports Experts to Intersport and back to Sports Experts).

As part of his job, Neil would attend buying shows to view and order new products for the store; this would include going to Montreal twice a year and Vancouver twice a year. During these trips he formed lasting friendships with company reps and other store managers. He holds many memories of relaxing over dinner and drinks with reps after 10 hr days of ordering.

Neil has enjoyed supporting the community and getting to know the customers and their families over the years. Working with co workers has always been one of the highlights. He always enjoys catching up with past staff and finding out what they are up to now.

When he is not at the store he likes to mountain bike on local trails, play soccer, go on hikes and walks with his wife to explore the beauty that this Island offers.⚽️🌲🚴‍♂️

𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗽𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗸💫

Candice started with the Sports Experts team shortly after it opened in 2000.

Candice says that working at the store has been so much more than just a job for her. When she started there she was 20 years old, working part time as a summer student while she was finishing her degree.👩🏻‍🎓She went on to meet her husband Mike (AKA the Hydro hottie😉) literally at the store and continued working during her pregnancies and then eventually moving to part time after she had her two boys. The job was always flexible for her and has afforded her a wonderful work/life balance as a mom which she is so grateful for.🙏🏻

She says she has been so fortunate to work with some pretty great people along the way.🤩 From the owners, to all the great staff, to sales reps, and buyers from other SE stores, many of whom are now lifelong friends. She believes that the connections made were because the store was built around family values and providing great service. There was a genuine personal connection with each customer that was made between the staff and our loyal community. The outpouring of support from everyone over the past weeks has been a testament to that and has been so touching. Candice says it has really meant a lot to her and all the staff feeling the love, support and kindness everyone has shown them during the close down process.💗

She has always felt proud of their little store and she wanted to thank Neil, Jonathan and Robyn who made Sports Experts a very special place to work.💫💙

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻 💫

Marit has been part of the Sport Experts family for over 16 years! Her love for fitness and passion for the outdoors made her the perfect fit.🏃‍♀️🏕️🌲

Marit says what’s she loved about working at Sports Experts were the people. The staff will be lifelong friends and the customers who we got to know over the years. Lots of special memories, from pot luck lunches, to dressing up for special occasions! Thank you for the great 16 years!❤️

𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗗’𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼 💫

Karen heard through the grapevine that Sports Experts was hiring so she decided to hand in her resume and see what would happen. She says she’s always wanted to work in a sports store as she felt she had sport knowledge to offer the community as she was a competitive athlete herself.⚾️

She had been employed since 2016 and says ever since she has enjoyed being part of the team. She had made many incredible connections with past and present coworkers and at the end of the day she said her coworkers are her work family; her second family. 💞

She loved that she got to see her friends everyday and will truly miss them. Working at the store felt like home and not having the store to go to will leave a void but she is grateful to have experienced it. 💗

𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗯𝗲 💫

Ashley has been with Sports Experts on and off for about 11 years. She started during university, left to Alberta where she started her family and then eventually coming back home to the island. Ashley says Sports Experts has been a second home to her, a family that has laughed and cried all together, an amazing group of people you can lean on.🥰

Her favourite memories are all the connections she has made with all the staff and customers throughout the years. The unique events like ladies night, photo shoots with and merchandising nights all with their share of laughs.😆💃🏼📸

No matter where life takes Ashley next, she can always be found at the rink most weekends supporting her kids hockey.🏒🎉

🚨 FINAL DAYS – EVERYTHING 50-80% OFF! 🚨

Our Closing Down Sale starts March 3rd at 9:30 AM. Everything must go!

⚠️ Store closed Sunday, March 2nd⚠️

𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮💫

Katarina started at Sports Experts in 2010 working in the stock room. She was quietly working hard behind the scenes to make sure all our product got hung and security tagged which then eventually transitioned to working on the sales floor. 🛍️

Katarina said it was a valuable experience as she got to meet so many people and be part of a great team. Her favorite part of the job was helping customers and getting the opportunity to know them. She wanted to mention how she has always appreciated the support from Jonathan and Robyn over the years.💞

𝗧𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘂𝘀 💫

Tiana was the newest member of the Sports Experts team, joining us this past fall. She says her favourite thing about the store was how much she enjoyed the sense of community that existed every single day.🥰

Not originally being from CR herself, going to work gave her a sense of community and the opportunity to make connections and to meet knew people. With how popular the store was, on a daily basis she got to witness so many connections between everyone stopping by the store and to witness customers brighten up as they run into old friends and enjoy some shopping at the best store!! She also says she appreciated having sweet co workers and making new friends along the way. It’s been a really nice experience and such a fun work opportunity. 💙

𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 💫

Over the years Sarah says she has really appreciated the opportunity to work in various roles including sales, shipper/receiver and office administrator. She even spent a few seasons tuning up skates, skis and snowboards for customers.🎿

Sarah says Sports Experts has always been one of those jobs where she looked forward to going in each day, a place where staff feel like family, and the owners always take the time to ask how her kids are doing. It’s always been an environment of respect, support, encouragement, filled with plenty of laughs along the way! She says she feels proud to be a part of the Sports Experts team and grateful for having the opportunity to work here with some incredible people. 🤩

A special thank you, to Robyn & Jonathan, and everyone else she says she has had the pleasure of working with over the years!🥰

𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘆 & 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘇 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼 💫

Cruz worked at SE from 2022-2025. He says his favourite thing about working at Sports Experts were all the great customers and working with the amazing staff. 🤩

Addison also started in the summer of 2022! Her favourite thing about working at Sports Experts was all the amazing coworkers and the fun conversations with customers. Sports Experts was such a rewarding job full of joy and laughter and she will miss it tons!💙