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the SCORE April 2014

Volume 7 | Issue 1

Chouinard wins gold in Provincial wrestling March 7 + 8, University of Saskatchewan

The provincial wrestling championships took place on March 7 and 8 in Saskatoon. The CVAC boys were in tough as they were matched up against the best wrestlers from across the province, rural and city, a true learning situation. Although most of the boys struggled, Mankomal Gill of Warman High started well, winning his first two matches, but back-to-back

losses eliminated him from medal contention.

In girls’ matches, it was also tough going, but a surprise was in store for the city wrestlers. After receiving a bye in her first match, Ashley Chouinard from Delisle Composite (64 kg) defeated Young from BJM 10-0 and followed it up with a 0:58 fall victory over Borisenk from Walter Murray. This put her into the semi-finals against Denomy from Bethlehem. In the match, Chouinard was clearly the better wrestler, win-ning 10-0 and advancing to the final. Her opponent was Summach from Centennial Collegiate, who had also gone undefeated to this point. From the start of the match, Chouinard’s skill and determination were clear, as she scored an impressive 13-2 victory, capturing provincial gold!

Congratulations to Ashley from CVAC on her impressive victory! We look forward to CVAC wres-tlers building upon this impressive result over the next few years.

This year’s rural regional wrestling championships took place in Weyburn on March 1. In boys’ competition, four athletes from Warman placed. Mankomal Gill finished second at 82 kg, Anthony Hallberg and Derek Buhler finished third at 73 kg and 98 kg, respectively, while Micah Heide fin-ished fourth at 69 kg. In girls’ matches, Ashley Chouinard from Delisle won the 64 kg champion-ship while Ariana Mulder from Warman finished second at the 73 kg level.

SHSAA high school wrestling is one of those sports which often does not receive the attention it deserves, especially within the boundaries of CVAC. This will definitely change next year when Warman High steps up to host the 2015 rural regional championships.

Ashley Chouinard

Hanley Girls win Provincial curling gold February 28 + March 1, CVAC hosts

February 2014 was the busiest month for curling in CVAC history. Seven different sites hosted playoffs – one dis-trict, three regional and three provincial – en route to the

SHSAA high school provincial championships, a reflection of the quality of effort being put forward by our schools and the people running these programs.

It began in Blaine Lake as they hosted the district playoffs on Feb-ruary 7 and 8. This was a challenging year for CVAC teams to ad-vance as the regional host sites were guaranteed positions in the playoffs they hosted if they had teams entered. Due to circum-stance, only our girls’ regional in Delisle had a host team. This opened the door for a number of teams to advance along the playoff trail.

Hanley Senior Girls curling team (Coach: Scott Cory) … continued on page 4

Highlighting the athletic accomplishments of students in the Central Valley Athletic Conference, featuring Prairie Spirit School Division

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CVAC brings home medals from Hoopla March 13 - 15, Regina Senior basketball playoffs were the focus for many students during the month of March. It began with conference playoffs the first weekend, followed by regionals the next, and finally provincials March 13 - 15 in Regina, the host for Hoopla 2014.

Boys In boys playoffs, Hepburn (1A), VCA (2A) and Clavet (3A) advanced to regional playoffs as conference champions, while RJC (1A), Hague (2A), Stobart (2A), Waldheim (2A), Dalmeny (3A), Delisle (3A) and Warman (4A) moved on as regional qualifiers. At region-als, VCA continued to dominate its opponents, advancing to Hoopla as the regional qualifier, while Stobart lost 84-78 in a tight final to Saskatoon Legacy Christian. Meanwhile, Clavet rolled into provincials after two solid victories at their regional championship.

At Hoopla, third seeded Clavet ran into stiff competition in their semi-final matchup when they faced the second ranked Regina Harvest City. The Cougars could not keep up with the talented Regina squad, losing the semi-final matchup to the eventual provin-cial champions and sending them to the bronze medal game to face Indian Head. Clavet played a much more inspired game against Indian Head, but fell to the Broncs 71-51.

Meanwhile, third ranked VCA lined up across from second ranked Birch Hills in their semi final. Strong team play throughout the game led VCA to one of the few upsets at Hoopla this year, as they defeated Birch Hills 61-50, moving them into the 2A final against fourth seeded Saskatoon Legacy, also victorious by upset.

Although the desire was there in the final, the skilled Legacy team could not be denied, as they defeated VCA 90-68, leaving the Lions with silver medals to take home to mark their Hoopla experience.

Girls In girls playoffs, RJC (2A), Langham (2A), Clavet (3A) and Warman (4A) were conference champions advancing to regional playoffs. VCA (2A), Asquith (2A), Dalmeny (3A) and Delisle (3A) also advanced, but as qualifiers. At regionals, Langham continued their strong play, winning their regional and advancing to Hoopla with a tight win over RJC. Clavet had an excellent weekend, winning their re-gional with easy wins over Eagleview and Outlook. Warman also advanced to Hoopla with excellent wins over Melfort and P.A. Carleton.

At Hoopla, third ranked Warman entered Hoopla pitted against second ranked Notre Dame, a very tough semifinal match up. Los-ing 98-72, Warman faced Lumsden in the third place game Saturday afternoon. Although tightly contested, Lumsden finished strong, defeating Warman 62-59, sending them home disappointed.

Meanwhile, fourth ranked Langham was up against the top seed Foam Lake in their Hoopla semi-final. A strong effort was just not quite enough, as they lost 63-56, pitting them against Shaunavon in the third place game. Once again, Langham came out strong, this time winning 62-46 and capturing the bronze medal match.

Valley Christian Academy Senior Boys basketball team with Coach Brad Wall

… continued on next page

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SHSAA Sportsmanship

Award

In February, Stobart Community School was awarded the 2013 SHSAA Sportsmanship award

for 1A Girls Soccer. Congratulations to Stobart Community School!

Finally, third ranked Clavet was matched up against second ranked Caronport, a very strong opponent, in their Hoopla semifinal. Unable to contain Caronport’s balanced attack, they lost 66-51, putting them up against Kamsack for the bronze medal. Clavet jumped out early and held off Kam-sack for a solid 50-43 victory, the bronze medal, and the completion of a very successful season.

And so another season comes to a close with wins and losses, tears of joy and tears of frustration.

CVAC wishes to congratulate all who repre-sented themselves and their schools with dignity and effort this year. We look forward to seeing, hearing and reading of new stories of competition next year.

Basketball … continued from page 2

W.W. Brown School Senior Girls basketball team (Langham) with Coach Cheryl Hardcastle

Clavet Composite School Senior Girls basketball team with Coach Chad Williams

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All of CVAC’s provincial host sites proved themselves to be worthy choices. In mixed playoffs, three teams battled for two positions at regionals. Martensville High, the provincial host site, advanced after defeating both of their opponents. They were joined by Col-onsay who slipped by Langham in the B side final.

On the boys’ side, three of the seven teams rose to the forefront. Colonsay, the provincial host, went undefeated on the weekend and advanced to regionals. They were joined by Borden who came back from a first game defeat by Blaine Lake to defeat the same opponent in the B side final. Finally, on the girls’ side, three teams again rose to the top. Hanley, the provincial host site, went un-defeated on the weekend, capturing the district championship. Allan put forth a great effort, but they were not able to advance as Delisle, whom they defeated in a closely contested “final shot” B final, was guaranteed a position at regionals as the host site.

The following weekend, February 14 and 15, Delisle, Rosthern and Waldheim stepped up as the regional hosts for girls, boys and mixed curling playoffs respectively. In the girls’ regional, Hanley proved themselves to be worthy provincial hosts. After receiving a first round bye, they won their semifinal in a record two ends! Playing only two ends on Friday may have affected their sharpness. In the A final, they took a solid lead over Meadow Lake only to see it slip away later in the game. They quickly regrouped, defeating Spiritwood in the B final, and entering provincials on their own merit.

Meanwhile, at the boys’ regional, Colonsay’s squad made a state-ment, going undefeated and emerging as regional champions after a tough final against St. Walburg. Finally, at the mixed competition, Martensville continued to work on its team play, losing out to re-gional champion Meadow Lake while readying themselves to host provincials.

Provincial curling finals

Following the February break, the provincial curling finals rolled into Martensville (mixed), Colonsay (boys) and Hanley (girls) on the February 28 - March 1 weekend. At the mixed championships, the inexperienced Martensville team was in tough, facing two regional winners in their pool. Although they lost their games against Stras-bourg, Yorkton and Swift Current, they gained valuable experience to put to use next year.

Meanwhile, at the boys’ championship, Colonsay’s young squad impressively defeated Saskatoon Holy Cross 6-3 in their first game before falling to an experienced team from Maryfield 7-3 in their second. Their final pool game, against Regina Leboldus 2, ended in an 8-7 victory, putting them into the semifinals against Regina Leboldus 1 on Saturday. It was a challenging game, ending with Leboldus emerging victorious 5-2. In the bronze medal game, Col-onsay once again met Maryfield with a similar result. Regardless, the provincial experience should prove invaluable to this Grade 9/10 team in the future.

Finally, at the girls’ championship, Hanley continued its year-long strong play, defeating Saskatoon St. Joseph 10-3, Esterhazy 6-4 and Hodgeville 7-5, winning their pool and advancing to Saturday’s semifinals. This was a rematch with Meadow Lake, the team that upset them in the regional final. Revenge was sweet as Hanley emerged victorious 9-2. This put them up against Esterhazy in the provincial final. It was a very tight battle, with the score tied at 4 after 7 ends and Hanley with the hammer. Experience paid dividends as the Hanley squad scored three in the eighth end, winning 7-4 and capturing the 2014 Provincial Girls Curling Championship! Congratulations from CVAC to the girls and their school!

Thus ended the busiest curling season in CVAC history. Once again, we would like to thank the seven sites that stepped up to host an SHSAA curling playoff this season. As already stated, it reflects how coaches and communities recognize the importance of giv-ing back to maintain interest in a sport like curling that often does not receive the respect it deserves for its development of char-acter, honesty and perseverance in its players.

Curling … continued from page 1

Colonsay School Senior Boys curling team (Coach: Sandra Moen)

Martensville High School Senior Mixed curling team with Coach Megan Shaw

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Upcoming Dates Date Event Location

April 7 Junior Badminton multiple sites

April 10 Junior Badminton Leask and Stobart

April 11 Due date for nominations for SHSAA awards

April 12 junior badminton finals VCA

April 14 Senior Badminton playoffs Warman and Rosthern

April 16 Senior badminton finals Delisle

April 25 Due date for SHSAA resolutions

May 1 Athletic Directors meeting, 4 p.m. Division Office

May 3 Regional Badminton VCA

May 9 SHSAA Badminton clinic Warman High

May 10 Provincial Badminton Warman High

May 21 Conference A Track Meet Griffith Stadium, Saskatoon

May 22 Conference B Track Meet Griffith Stadium, Saskatoon

May 30 District Track Meet Griffith Stadium, Saskatoon

June 6 + 7 Provincial Track Meet Moose Jaw

June 11 Junior soccer TBD

June 18 - 20 SHSAA Annual General Meeting Yorkton

Nominations for SHSAA coaching awards Every year, the SHSAA recognizes individuals who have served as excellent coaches, officials, or all-around contributors to CVAC schools and programs over their careers. School staff are asked to nominate individuals they believe deserve to be formally acknowledged by their peers. Information packages were sent out sever-al weeks ago to all schools running SHSAA programs. They explain the criteria for each award and the struc-ture to be generally followed when submitting a nomination.

Nominations must be forwarded to Grant Elke by Friday, April 11, to be presented to the nomination com-mittee on Tuesday, April 15. Those chosen as nominees will have their information forwarded to the athletic directors in each school for discussion at a staff meeting prior to the Athletic Directors Meeting on May 1.

At the A.D. meeting, a vote will be tabulated and the recipients of the male coach, female coach, official, and service awards will be announced. The SHSAA will make a presentation to these individuals at their Annual General Meeting in June.

Badminton Clinic CVAC is proud to present an SHSAA-sponsored badminton officials' clinic on Friday, May 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Warman High. Con-ducted by Kelly Wandler, Vice-Principal of Allan Composite School and one of the highest ranked officials in the Americas, this free-of-charge clinic offers the opportunity for those interested in sport and travel to gain their accreditation in a one evening work-shop. Badminton Canada is looking for officials interested and willing to travel the country in support of their sport. This may be the opportunity you are looking for! What have you got to lose?

Contact Grant Elke or the SHSAA directly by Thursday, April 17 to register.

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Junior Basketball Can it get much better than this?

This was the first year CVAC went with a two tiered junior basketball league and playoff structure, hoping to result in more com-petitive games for teams during the season and the playoffs. Judging by the results, it appears to have been a tremendous success!

Tier A In the tier A playoffs, there were three prelimi-nary games played. On the girls’ side, Langham defeated Martensville High, advancing to the finals. In boys’ play, Warman defeated Osler In a closely contested game while Clavet defeated Martensville High, both winners advancing to the “final four” championships at Warman High.

The games in the finals were excellent, played at a high speed by very skilled players. It opened with the girls’ semi-finals, as top-ranked VCA defeated Langham 53-43 while Warman won a nail biter 41-40 over Hague. The third place game was an offensive outburst with Hague de-feating Langham 74-61. The final was the exact opposite as defense was the name of the game. Warman stifled VCA’s offence, defeating them 30-23 and winning the girls’ championship.

The boys’ semi-finals were high paced, tightly contested games. Top-seeded Dalmeny defeated Warman 53-50 followed by VCA’s 43-39 victory over Clavet. In the third place game between Warman and Clavet, neither team could build more than a three point lead throughout the game. In the end, after an amazing final three minutes, Warman defeated Clavet 56-55.

In the championship final, it was the flash of Dal-meny versus the drive of VCA. The two teams were tied after the first quarter, had a two point difference at the half and a one point difference after three quarters. Only after Dalmeny’s star point guard fouled out was VCA able to build a lead, winning 51-41 and capturing the boys’ championship.

Tier B At the tier B level, playoffs started off with a bang the first week in February. First round games between the lower seeded girls and boys teams led to several tough battles as teams looked to greater challenges later in the week. When the dust cleared, Osler, Dal-meny, Waldheim and Venture Heights girls, together with VCA, Stobart, Perdue and Leask boys had advanced. Because the winners of the conference finals would advance to the “final four” playoff, the games would be intense.

In girls’ play, the top seeds all managed to overcome their challengers. Asquith defeated a young squad from Venture Heights; Delisle got by a tough Osler team; Clavet withstood the challenge from Dalmeny, while Hepburn, looking to take part in the finals they would be hosting, defeated Waldheim in a tight contest. Thursday’s boys’ results produced “the year of the upset” with three of the higher seeds going down to defeat. Top seed Hepburn did defeat VCA, but Hague was upset by an unknown Perdue squad. The upsets continued with Langham losing to Leask and Asquith falling to Stobart. This guaranteed the boys’ finals would be truly unpredictable.

Warman High School Junior Girls basketball team with Coach Corey Fast

CVAC Junior results

Valley Christian Academy Junior Boys basketball team with Coach Tyler Golding

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Athletic Directors Calendar Friday, April 11 Due date for nominations for SHSAA awards

Friday, April 25 Due date for SHSAA resolutions

Thursday, May 1 CVAC Athletic Directors meeting at Division Office (4 p.m.)

Wednesday, May 7 Deadline for SHSAA E5 for Track and Field.

CVAC portal The CVAC portal is accessible to staff and the public, and only Athletic Directors have permission to make changes to the information presented.

The portal provides a complete CVAC calendar, the CVAC Executive, a list of the Athletic Directors in all CVAC schools and upcoming tournaments. In addition, all sports are listed on the left side of the portal, each with the names and emails of all the CVAC coaches for that sport, by age classification (junior/senior) and gender, where applicable. Other information includes rules, league, tournaments, forms, officials lists, clinics and awards. The calendar is being constantly updated, making it a good reference for CVAC events.

Play on Saturday morning began with a flurry as the first girls’ semi-final pitted host Hepburn looking for an upset against top-seeded As-quith. Playing without its point guards, Asquith was not able to keep pace with the Hawks, losing 43-38. In the other semi-final, an offen-sive battle, Delisle won 61-53 against Clavet. The third place game saw Clavet rebound to defeat Asquith 45-37 in a tough battle. Finally, in the championship game, Delisle defeated Hepburn 49-48 in a game as tight as the score reflects.

On the boys’ side, Hepburn showed its strength with a 41-33 victory over Stobart. This was followed by the Cinderella team from Perdue continuing its run, defeating Leask 44-39. After Stobart defeated Leask 55-49 in the third place game, it came down to the top seed versus the unknown as Perdue did not take part in league play. Unfortunately for them, their run was halted by the depth of the Hepburn squad, losing 58-31, leaving Hepburn as the champions.

It was an exciting year for all. Congratulations to teams and coaches; CVAC looks forward to working with you again next year!

Hepburn Junior Boys basketball team (Coach: Sandi Hamp)

Delisle Junior Girls basketball team with Coach Brandi Kelsie

A.

D.

Junior Basketball … continued from page 6

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Junior Curling What a weekend!

The CVAC junior curling championships were held in Blaine Lake on the March 7 and 8 weekend. The number of teams was down slightly this year making it possible to complete the entire double knockout playoff during the two days, creating a much greater sense of excitement throughout the week-end but especially for the finals. We also introduced the “coach on the ice” concept to see how well this worked regarding improvement in the pace of play.

These playoffs highlighted the depth of the curling program in Colonsay. In the boys’ playoff, there were only two entries, so a best-of-three format was used on Saturday. In the playoff, Colonsay defeated Delisle two straight, but the games themselves were quite competitive with 8-3 and 8-5 scores. In girls’ play, Colonsay used their experience to their advantage to capture the title, their skip having taken part in senior mixed playoffs earlier in the sea-son. They cruised through most of their games although Allan gave them a scare in the A final (5-4).

In the mixed championship, we had our largest number of teams entered (11), making winning the championship a real accomplishment. Rosthern, Waldheim, Blaine Lake and Laird 1 started well, with Waldheim and Blaine Lake advancing to the A final. An 8-4 Blaine Lake victory created a challenge to any team looking to defeat them. Waldheim rose to the occasion, de-feating Rosthern in the B final, then needing to defeat Blaine Lake twice to win the championship. It was not meant to be, as Blaine Lake met the chal-lenge head-on, winning the first game 6-5 and capturing the mixed championship.

Another successful season completed. CVAC hopes the curling programs within its boundaries continue to grow. Seven different sites hosted playoffs this year, a very impressive number indeed. We look to see Dalmeny and Allan curling clubs as possible hosts next year, together with the growth of bonspiel play during the season. Thank you to all who supported our curling program from within and without.

Colonsay Junior Girls curling team with Coach Brian Steckler (Coach: Sandra Moen)

Colonsay Junior Boys curling team with Coach Brian Steckler

Blaine Lake School Junior Mixed curling team (Coach: Megan Crittenden)

CVAC Executive 2013/14

Craig Reinhardt, President | Josh Janzen, Vice-President | Grant Elke, Extra-Curricular Commissioner/Treasurer

Jon Yellowlees, Coordinator | Noel Roche, LEADS representative | Scott Cory, Officials Commissioner

Amanda Chilibeck and Lucia Kondra, Members at Large