Spring sports ready to bloom
School is in this week for the vast majority of students, with Easter holidays quickly upon us. However, from what I can gather most schools in the rest of Alberta are currently on Spring Break. All in all, it makes for a fortnight with very little high school athletic competition involving area teams.
But, there are plenty of events in the chamber ready to be fired. Here’s a thumbnail sketch preview. More information from organizers sent to david.wells@holyspirit.ab.ca will afford me the opportunity to pass data on to readers in this space. ••• The next Alberta Schools Athletic Association provincial championship is cheerleading. The event takes place in Lethbridge, April 13-14. From a school perspective, LCI has stepped up as host, with the show playing on the Lethbridge College Val Matteotti Gym stage. ••• Team handball provincials are set for April 27-28 in Edmonton. I regret the sport is not commonly played in these parts, with no ASAA squads from South Zone ever to my knowledge. If any of you ever get a chance to see high-level team handball live, it is a true spectacle. ••• Badminton is played quite commonly indeed in this area. Invitational events are already well underway. The South Zone is divided into six districts. The zone event is scheduled for April 27 in this city.
The South Zone squad then treks to Grimshaw for provincials May 4-5. ••• There are two outdoor ASAA sports remaining to contest their 2017-18 seasons.
The track and field provincial trail starts with district meets. South Zones are in Medicine Hat on May 24, with the Wild Rose Country finale in Red Deer, June 1-2.
Rugby uses the Southern Alberta High School Rugby League as the basis for South Zone Championships seeding. Those playoffs conclude in late May or early June, with provincials set for Calgary, June 8-9. ••• There are two more long-standing outdoor team sports on the local athletic calendar, being slowpitch and baseball. Neither are ASAA governed.
Baseball typically concludes in midlate May, with slowpitch at times reaching into early June. ••• Even that’s not all in terms of area spring school athletic options. For example, 2018-19 football, volleyball, golf and cross-country running teams can formally train come May 1. As well, many kids looking to play high school hoops next season are playing in club events during the coming months as well. ••• On a related note, I started chuckling this past Saturday at a University of Lethbridge basketball club tryout/varsity I.D. session overhearing LCI’s John Evans and Magrath’s Paycen
Blackmore informing each other they were playing high school baseball this spring.
The truly dynamic run-and-jump duo were the top two vote-getters in the Southern Alberta High School 4A Boys Basketball individual awards race. Evans was a Southern Alberta High School Football League all-star, while Blackmore earned the same accolade in the Southern Alberta High School Boys Volleyball League.
I’d wager both these kids are pointed towards extensive post-secondary athletic careers.
And yet, they are taking the time to play high school baseball in the spring of Grade 12. I’m not sure of Blackmore’s skill level in the sport, but Evans was humourously self-deprecating about the fact he has not played competitively any time recently.
The debate of what age kids should specialize in a specific sport rages on. In Southern Alberta multi-sport is still a very valued option. ••• Easter fell on April 16 last year. It’s April 1 this time around and bounces back to April 21 in 2019. Yikes.
Taking extended Easter school breaks as opposed to set Spring Breaks causes a lot more issues for local schools than just revolving athletic schedule concerns. Discuss among yourselves, if so inclined. WELLSIE’S WORLD — Kudos to Chinook in terms of their Tony Roma’s Southern Alberta Girls and 4A Boys Basketball League games presentation last Wednesday. It really was above and beyond.
The biggest variance from the norm around here was music playing throughout the tilts. This is an NBA standard, but illegal by every other set of formal hoop rules I’m aware of. Well, obviously not by the rules Chinook urged for this special attraction. I think it went over positively indeed.
Refs seemed to enjoy the constant lilt, too. A wag suggested that might partially be due to the fact music made it much harder for the three blind men (I kid, I kid!) to hear “suggestions” from fans, or benches.
As for the games themselves, interesting to note 205 points scored in the girls game, as opposed to 190 by the lads.
The boys game was serious indeed. Heck, there was even a timeout called by bench boss Mike Evans in the first half. Possibly topping even that in terms of an all-star game oddity, opposing mastermind Tim Rollingson’s crew forced a 24-second shot clock violation down the stretch. I loved both special occurrences.
I was so happy to see how well received the Women’s World Curling Championships were in North Bay. Total announced attendance was over 69,000, about 14,000 more than 2012 when Lethbridge successfully hosted.
Certainly sets a high bar for the men’s global organized rock throwing title event next year here in the ’Bridge.
Speaking of coming events at the Enmax Centre, I see tickets are now available through the box office for the 2018 Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony there on Friday, May 4.