BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
While high school sports had to adjust to the new age groups for 2003, athletes maintained the same high level of competition that has made Sudbury one of the hot beds for secondary school athletic action.
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MAKELA |
2003 saw the Sudbury District Secondary School?s Athletic Association (SDSSAA) crown numerous team and individual city champions and had several strong performances at NOSSA and OFSAA events, especially in basketball and volleyball.
One of the biggest surprises was the Lasalle Secondary School Senior Girl?s basketball team that claimed their fifth consecutive city championship. They followed this up by being crowned NOSSA champions. The Lancers then put forth a valiant effort in the OFSAA Championship. They won two games before bowing out to the eventual champion Governor Simcoe. Lasalle was led by Lisa Furchner who averaged 20 points a game.
The Lo-Ellen Senior Girls Volleyball team captured the Double ?A? OFSAA Championship and was also named the 2003 House of Kin Sheridan Family Team of the Year.
Overall, it was a great year for high school sports in the Nickel City.
?It was an adjustment year,? said Dave Makela, Rainbow District School Board Athletic Administrator. ?Changes to age groups basically made the maximum ages for juniors and midgets one year younger. It?s always difficult the first year in an age change, but it didn?t have a negative effect. The Sudbury association is extremely healthy.?
Makela is proud of the athlete?s efforts and organizer?s efforts.
?We?ve held 14 provincial championships here since 2000,? said Makela. ?Our people are taking on championships nobody wants. It?s tough to find the dedicated people willing to do the job required to host an OFSAA event. We have the people here to do the job. I am proud of them for taking on the challenge.?
Sudbury will continue to be a magnet for high profile events.
?I think our association is one of the best in the province,? said Makela. ?The people that help organize the events know this is the pinnacle of a high school athlete?s career, so they try hard to make every event special.?
More big news came from the football scene this year. 2003 marked the year that varsity football returned to Sudbury Secondary School after an extended absence. 2003 also marked the beginning of the SDSSAA sport committee?s efforts to participate in NOSSA football action. They put a petition in to the NOSSA committee and will await the decision in April.
?Football is a cornerstone for the association,? said Makela. ?It?s the oldest sport contested. If the football program is doing well, it breaths success into other programs as well. It?s big news and everybody is excited. It will take us a few years to be competitive at that level.?
Sudbury hasn?t had a team participate in NOSSA since 1991, and the last time a team from Sudbury captured a NOSSA title was St. Charles in 1969.
The high school sports scene is massive in Sudbury and an important social cog of the community.
?On any given day during the school season, the association is playing between 25 to 40 games in 35 different sports,? said Makela. ?That?s just the sanctioned games and doesn?t include tournaments, so it gives you a small appreciation of just how much is going on here.?
2004 promises to be another banner year for Sudbury high school athletics. Sudbury will host the 2004 editions of
OFSAA curling and A/AA girls soccer.
