Joey Payeur
Fort Frances will be the site of OFSAA championships in two different sports in back-to-back years.
On the heels of the all-Ontario ‘A/AA’ boys’ hockey championship coming here next March, it was announced Thursday that the town will welcome the rest of the province for the 2018 OFSAA girls’ and boys’ curling playdowns.
Fort Frances last hosted OFSAA curling in 1981, when the boys’ title was decided here (the girls’ event took place in Ottawa).
The championships were not combined at one site until 1998 in Midland.
“It’s quite exciting,” enthused Fort Frances Curling Club president Ron Silver, who also is the Muskie boys’ coach and mixed team co-coach.
“There was quite a bit of work put in by [Muskie girls’ coach and mixed co-coach] Kim Beaudry, along with [Fort High principal] Peg Keffer and myself, to get the bid put together,” Silver added.
Current Fort High court sports athletic director Christine Jean, a longtime curler, will act as convener for the event.
“The last time, it took place in the old curling club,” Silver noted. “So this will be the first one in the newer facility.
“It’s good for the town and good for the club.”
Up to 20 girls’ rinks and 20 boys’ rinks will be on hand for OFSAA, although geographic and travel cost considerations may factor into those figures.
For proof of that, look no further than last year’s all-Ontario ‘A/AA’ girls’ hockey championship held in Kenora.
Because of the refusal of many qualifying teams from southern Ontario to make the journey, the tournament only saw 16 of a possible maximum of 20 teams in the field.
Four of them were from NorWOSSA and two from Kenora itself—the host St. Thomas Aquinas Saints and the Kenora Broncos, who were added at the last second to round out the field despite finishing fourth in conference play that season.
“With the history of how northern communities have fared when hosting OFSAA events, it’s a concern,” Silver admitted.
“But with just a four-person team to worry about transporting [rather] than a full hockey team, it’s easier to make the trip because the team is smaller and the cost is lower,” he reasoned.
The Muskie boys’ team of skip Chris Silver, third Daniel Vandenbrand, second Jason Bazylewski, and lead Davis Jackson are coming off a highly-successful season.
The quartet won both the NorWOSSA crown here and the NWOSSAA championship in Thunder Bay, then went on to capture the silver medal at the OFSAA playdowns in North Bay, which will host them again next year.
Vandenbrand only is in Grade 10 while Silver, Bazylewski, and Jackson all are in Grade 11.
That means each of the older trio has the chance to be around for the provincials here if they opt to return to Fort High for a “victory lap” in 2017-18.
With the host boys’ and girls’ teams guaranteed automatic entry into the provincials, it’s an appetizing thought to stick around for a final chapter to remember played out in their hometown.
“Before we even thought about going for OFSAA, Chris was considering a ‘victory lap,’” noted Ron Silver.
“With OFSAA now in the picture, it increases the odds he might take that extra year of high school.”
But the coach warned there are no certainties when it came to who might be wearing the black-and-gold colours in two years’ time.
“You’ve got to earn your spot on the team and there’s some good Bantam boys coming up, like Owen Riches and Kian McEvoy, who have been with us for a long time that could be possibilities to be on the team,” Silver stressed.
The same holds true for the Muskie girls, whose team of skip Erin Tomalty, third Tory Beaudry, second Anika Beaudry, and lead Andrea Schram won silver on home ice at the NorWOSSA championships.
Then they claimed gold at NWOSSAA before going 1-3 and missing the playoffs at OFSAA.
Tomalty graduates this year but the Beaudry cousins only are in Grade 11—opening up the “victory lap” option for them—while Schram just is in Grade 9.
Current Bantam division players such as Ashley Payne and Katrina Slomke definitely will be prime candidates to fill any open spots on the roster come 2018.
Meanwhile, the rest of the NWOSSAA curling community may become silent Muskie fans next year.
If either Muskie rink makes it onto the podium at OFSAA next season, it will mean one extra spot for the region when OFSAA comes to Fort Frances.
With two NWOSSAA boys’ teams already slated to make the OFSAA field in 2017 thanks to the Muskies’ efforts this past season, and with the Fort holding the host berth for 2018, a top-three finish at the provincials next spring could translate into as many as three NWOSSAA boys’ teams earning spots for the all-Ontarios here the following season.
Silver said a partial organizing committee already is in place and will be holding its first meeting in the near future.
He added anyone wanting to throw their hat in the ring as a volunteer can e-mail either him at president@fortfrancescurlingclub.ca or club manager Rick Grenda at manager@fortfrancescurlingclub.ca
