April 21-22, 2007 - Region 6
Volleyball, Team Ottawa and the Aberdeen Pavilion at
Lansdowne Park played host over the weekend to one of the best
planned, best executed OVA 18U Girls Ontario Championships
ever. The Ottawa volleyball community pulled together to stage
an event much more akin to a National Championship, incorporating a
gala Saturday evening Championship Banquet, host hotel Hospitality
Suite, bookable pre-tournament practise times, event graphics and
Championship souvenir program. The word in the room seemed to be
that this would be a weekend to remember.
Play on Day One was lively and resulted in mostly straight-set
victories, as well as a few upsets. Saturday action ended after
1v4 playoff matchups in order that the girls might get home in time to
clean up for the big banquet at the Civic Centre. After everyone
in attendance had arrived and been given their chance to fill up on
the offerings at the ample buffet table, the evening's festivities
began. Emcee for the evening was Sue Holloway, the first Canadian woman ever to compete in
both the Winter and Summer Olympics in the same year and a silver and
a bronze medalist in kayak at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los
Angeles. Sue spoke of the virtue of determination,
resilience and single-mindedness in the pursuit of what those around
you may consider unrealistic sporting dreams.
After Sue's speech, a couple of lucky recipients were given
t-shirts and free passes (courtesy of Volleyball Canada) to World
League play in Mississauga this spring. Medals were then handed
out to the 16 OVA Award of Excellence recipients. Former
National Capital and 2005 OVA Evelyn Holick Award winner
Tess Edwards then stepped up to the microphone to speak about her
experience in the US and the NCAA, the transition from club to
University ball, and on the subject of appreciating the last days each
of these girls will soon experience at the club level. Sue and
Tess then presented the OVA Evelyn Holick Award to
co-winners Amanda Cowdrey (Peel Selects) and Shannon
Anderson (Aurora Storm Rage). The evening ended with a
fantastic slide show (very) quickly prepared by Susan Wolfenden, and
featuring images of all the teams in Saturday action.
Congratulations to all.
The final day of competition led to some sterling performances in
the playoff rounds, with the final victors being the 18U team from
DRVC. It is DRVC's first 18U Girls Ontario championship.
Judging by the faces of those first entering the historic venue
and the spirited atmosphere on display during the 2-day event,
players, coaches, family and friends all seemed to have enjoyed the
ambiance provided by the 36,000 square feet of column-free space at
the recently refurbished 110 year-old Aberdeen Pavilion. No
event or facility is without its challenges to overcome, but,
everything considered, the weekend was relatively glitch-free.
"During setup, we realized that sunlight could be an issue so we
quickly contracted the City to install some fabric 'curtains' to
minimize the amount of glare," stated Tournament Director and Region
6 President Bob O'Doherty. He added, "Other than our early
morning 15-minute spillage delay on court 4, we were really pleased at
the success we had in planning, staging and executing such a large
event in such an untried facility."
The 18U Championships gave Team Ottawa (National Capitals,
Ottawa Kangaroos, Ottawa Mavericks) the chance to showcase what it can
do in relation to hosting such large-scale events, and provided
somewhat of a dry run of what can be expected as the National Capital
prepares to host the huge 2008 and 2009 17U/18U Canadian Championships
at possible venues such as Aberdeen, Carleton University, and the
University of Ottawa.
A hearty "Thank you" to all who gave of their free time,
expertise, creativity, and muscle power to help stage the tournament.
Special thanks go out to Bob O'Doherty, who had the vision, did the
groundwork and marshalled the troops to ensure the success of this
prestigious event. You've all been a big part of providing a
fantastic finish to the OVA careers of these wonderful Ontario
ladies.
Final Standings/OVA 18U Girls Ontario Championships - Tier
1:
Gold: DRVC
(Whitby)
Silver: Durham Attack Black
(Oshawa)
Bronze: National Capitals
(Ottawa)
4. Waterloo Tigers
Black
5. Aurora Storm
Rage
6. Georgian Bay Vista
(Midland)
7. Toronto Vipers
17U
8. Peel Selects 89
(Brampton)
9. National Capitals 17U
(Ottawa)
9. Oakville
Thunder
11. DRVC 17U
(Whitby)
11. Forest City
(London)
13. Burlington
Blaze
13. Kingston
Pegasus
15. Barrie
Elites
15. Ottawa
Kangaroos
Tournament All Stars/OVA 18U Girls Ontario Championships -
Tier 1:
Lorna Button,
DRVC
Laura Bye, Waterloo
Tigers
Kristen Collins,
DRVC
Amanda Cowdrey, Peel Selects
89
Stephanie Neville, Waterloo
Tigers
Amy Town, Georgian Bay
Vista
Jessica Zéroual, National
Capitals
OVA Award of Excellence recipients:
Kate Matthews, Aurora Storm
Rage
Hayley Hancock, Barrie
Elites
Caitlin Cross, Burlington
Blaze
Kristen Collins, DRVC
18U
Katie Fitzgerald, DRVC
17U
Leah Saar, Durham Attack
Black
Aime Town, Georgian Bay
Vista
Rebecca Ramsay, Kingston
Pegasus
Victoria Beretta, Forest City
Green
Katee Luecke, National
Capitals 18U
Becky Billings, National
Capitals 17U
Lindsay Wilk, Oakville
Thunder
Lauren Shute, Ottawa
Kangaroos
Kelly Frittenburg, Peel
Selects 89
Kristina Vlcek, Toronto
Vipers 17U
Amy Jager, Waterloo Tigers
Black
