Regionals win caps undefeated season
Islands Consolidated School wins NSSAF Division 3 title
‘Little school, big dreams,’ read one of the signs cheering on the Islands Consolidated School Clippers girls basketball team, which captured the 2021 NSSAF Western Region Division 3 Girls Basketball championship on April 8.
The team had a 61-45 win over the Shelburne Rebels in the regionals final, rounding out the Clippers’ undefeated season to a perfect 7-0 record.
It’s also the first basketball banner won by the school, which is located in Freeport, Digby County.
The team had only eight players this year: five Grade 12 graduates, one Grade 11 student and two Grade 8 players.
The team and community were very excited. Following the championship win, parents drove the players around the island in their vehicles, cheering and honking horns. Local residents stepped out into their yards to offer congratulations. On the water, the ferry blew its horn as it crossed the Passage. The local fire department brought out the firetruck with horns blasting and lights flashing.
Due to COVID restrictions, spectators are not allowed inside school gymnasiums to watch sports games so the game was livestreamed. Family members gathered at the community centre to watch the game on a big screen and then congratulated the team members in the parking lot after the game.
There are no provincials this year in school sports, so regionals is the highest level of achievement.