Sydenham HS Hosts OFSAA Volleyball

Jemma Dooreleyers | Mar 13, 2024

Sydenham High School hosted the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association (OFSAA)’s Senior AA girl’s volleyball tournament for the first time since 2018 last week.

The tournament, which is the final stage for high school athletics across Ontario, took place from March 4th to March 6th and hosted 20 AA senior girl’s volleyball teams from across Ontario.

While the event lasted two days, for Bryan English, SHS’s volleyball coach and Phys. Ed teacher, it was not only the culmination of the 2023-24 volleyball season but also the result of three years of hard work. According to English, OFSAA works on a three-year calendar so to put in a bid to host a tournament, planning and strategy are involved.

This cohort of girls was the first group to have volleyball development training from English while they were still in elementary school, so English decided to put the bid in after their Grade 9 year, liking the promise the girls showed and knowing that they would be seniors by the time they were hosting the championships. To put a bid in, other things like where the banquet will be held, where the other teams are going to stay and having enough courts to host the championship are also required.

SHS was awarded the bid for the 2024 Senior girls AA volleyball OFSAA tournament in the spring of 2022 and “the planning more or less started then”.

According to English, a school doesn’t only need enough courts to host OFSAA,

“You need a great staff who are willing to pitch in and help out and responsible students that you can count on to volunteer,” he said. “We’re fortunate at Sydenham to have both of these.”

While SHS did not place in OFSAA, English appreciates the learning opportunity that hosting the tournament provided.

“I love what hosting these events does for our school,” he said. “It exposes our students to a level of competition that they don’t often get a chance to see and gives the younger students something to strive towards.”

Hosting OFSAA is not only beneficial to students, it is also beneficial to the community.

English has been coaching volleyball for 22 years and “it doesn’t get old.”

“I love what high school sports can offer students,” he said. “The many important life lessons that can be learned through an entire high school season and the pride at representing your school at the highest level is priceless.”

The ability to host OFSAA was brought in part with South Frontenac Township as a sponsor.

In the competition itself, the SHS Golden won their first game in pool play, but lost the next two, relegating them to the consolation playoffs, where they won their quarter and semi-final matches, setting up a consolation final with St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School from Cobourg. The Golden Eagles got off to a hot start, winning the first two sets 25-22 and 25-18, before losing the next two sets 25-22 and 25-24, setting up a 15 point 5th set. Cobourg carried the momentum over and won the final set by a 15-8 score.

The overall tournament winner was Beatrice Desloge ESC, who defeated TA Blakelock ESS in staight sets, running away with the championship by scores of 25-19, 25-18, and 25-11.