OFSAA pulls plug on February/March championships

By Bernie Puchalski - January 28, 2022

The Saint Francis basketball community’s hopes of hosting the 2022 Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations boys AA basketball championships March 7-9 in St. Catharines have been dashed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, OFSAA announced it would be cancelling its winter championships scheduled for February and March. It will be the second year in a row that OFSAA has cancelled boys basketball and girls volleyball championships and the third year that the pandemic has prevented OFSAA from staging boys and girls hockey championships. Denis Morris was set to host the boys AAA championships March 23-26 in St. Catharines.

By Bernie Puchalski - January 28, 2022

Also cancelled are alpine skiing, nordic skiing, snowboarding and curling. Earlier OFSAA announced there would be no swimming and wrestling championships in 2022 because the host organizing committees for both events withdrew and no replacements stepped forward.

“We are thankful for the commitment shown by our convenors and host organizing committee members who volunteered their time during the planning stages of the OFSAA winter championships and festivals,” OFSAA president Carolyn Chesney said in a statement. “Despite this cancellation of February and March OFSAA events, we again wish to reiterate our continued support for sports and activity for the benefit of students’ physical and mental well-being. School sports play a vital role in education and in the lives of students.

“We remain optimistic for OFSAA spring championships and festivals and plans are moving forward beginning with badminton this May.”

According to the OFSAA release, it based its decision on back-to-school developments and current conditions including: the late restart and current uncertainty of when school sports may resume combined with the government’s pause on high contact school sports until an undetermined date; and, local public health restrictions which may prevent the hosting of OFSAA events in certain communities.

The cancellations will allow local associations to extend seasons of play, thus promoting participation and student/athlete safety.

Saint Francis head coach and OFSAA AA convenor Jon Marcheterre was disappointed but understanding of OFSAA’s decision.

“This is in the best interests of health and I understand where it is coming from but it is heartbreaking to have the event canceled and ultimately pulled out from underneath us,” he said. “The buildup was there, emotionally as well, and the planning was well along.”

Hosting the boys AA championships is a coveted role. In 2018, Saint Francis bid to host the 2021 event and wasn’t successful before trying again in 2019 and landing the 2022 championships.

“It feels a little like an Olympic bidding process,” Marcheterre said. “What is special about double A basketball on the boys side is that in all the years that I have been here, every year has already been filled on OFSAA’s three-year cycle whereas there are some sports the year of they are looking for hosts.”

Anyone slated to host an OFSAA championship this February and March has been invited to host the next open year for their sport unless the three-year cycle is full. If it is full, they are invited to reapply.

Belle River is scheduled to host the 2023 AA boys basketball championship and Nepean/Ottawa is the host of the 2024 event.

“We are going to explore what possibilities are there,” Marcheterre said. “We would still like to host and hopefully in a return to the full-event format, but I am not in favour of jockeying or trying to bump other schools who are planning to host as well.”

He is hoping for a return to the basketball court by his team. The Niagara Catholic Athletic Association has yet to announce a return to play plan but the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association announced practices for all the winter term sports are allowed to resume Jan. 31 but high contact sports such as basketball and hockey must try and minimize contact and instead emphasize skills and drills. Low- or no-contact sports such as curling and volleyball will be allowed to resume league play starting on Monday, Feb. 7.

“There was a flurry of emails already in our board today (Thursday) in response pushing the idea that we will do what we can,” Marcheterre said. “It all depends on public health and what Premier Ford have to say but there is definitely an appetite and interest to resume our season.”