Time For Real Ontario School Championships

I think it's time that the folks at the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Associations finally does the right thing: gets serious about provincial championships. Either that, or stop misleading the public by calling them finals involving the best teams. They are not.

Having four levels of competition for some sports is an experiment that went whacky. There is widespread disappointment from schools, coaches, athletes and parents (I get the e-mail and calls from people because OFSAA won't listen) that these provincial playoffs are watered down just to be politically correct or serve as a cash flow for OFSAA.

Playoffs for big, not so big, small and really small population schools, means more teams - and more money to the OFSAA pot. It's also more money by taxpayers to send teams from all over the province to various locations. The various OFSAA playoffs rarely have the best teams.

Teams that are not league champs, and in some cases with below .500 records, getting to OFSAA playoffs is anything but education in sport. It also makes it more like an invitational tournament than a bonafide Ontario championship. Blow outs in games also don't come across well and Friendship Games -- that's what OFSAA calls it when losing teams play losing teams at some playoffs -- is hokey.

Let's look at boys' hockey, for example, and the private schools - another sore spot with some people who are clearly against private schools competing at OFSAA. Stories surface about how some schools in the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association attract students. Some people also refer to it as recruiting. The CISAA will send two teams - from its six-school league - to the OFSAA hockey playoffs next month in St. Catharines.

One of them won't be Nichols as OFSAA knows better than to have a Buffalo school compete for an Ontario title. By the way, Nichols finished one point behind St. Andrew's of Aurora in the regular season. St. Andrew's, for the past few years, just doesn't want to have anything to do with OFSAA hockey playoffs. So, that leaves Appleby, Upper Canada, St. Michael's and Ridley - and only Appleby has a winning record.

Two of Appleby, Upper Canada or St. Michael's will be going to the Quad/Triple-A and/or Double/Single-A playoffs. Some leagues, with 10 or more teams, will only send one team. Confused? Yup, so are lots of people. The folks at Ridley, with its 1-12-2 record, should put up a case for going since the school is from St. Catharines. Hey OFSAA, that'll boost crowds and the Tigers might even be better than some of the other teams actually at the event.

Time to have one championship in a sport. Time to send just the best team from the league to an Ontario final. That's the way it was for years. The way OFSAA now does it for swimming, track and field and various other sports.

Comments

[Jamie]

You are absolutely right. One Ontario championship for each sport. If not, what`s to stop 10 provincial championships. Maybe we need an Ontario final for just Catholic schools. Maybe one for schools with elite athletes. Maybe one for schools who have never won anything. OFSAA needs to get real.

[vic]

It amazes me how teams "quality" for a provincial championship, but then have to pay $300 or more "entry fee" for that tournament? A small group of hard working people will run the championship, and half of the money they make goes to ofsaa is what someone has told me. Is this true?

[Morris]

Mr. Grossman, I wonder when you`ll be reporting about the OFSAA 9A or10A championship.

[School Coach John]

Leave OFSSAA alone.
They know what they`re doing and will even tell you so.
The format they have now is just right - confusing and backwards.

[Neil]

Not fair to have schools of 400-500 compete against schools of 2000....just crazy. This isn't about $, its about fairness.

[Brian]

What about schools with 400 or 500 competing against bigger schools in baseball or track and field or swimming or wrestling.
That's happening now.
How come that is fair?

[Stevens]

Hey guys, money talks. Everything is about money.

[hockey fan]

Ofsaa with all their divisions reminds me of all the bowl games in U.S college football. Makes no sense. As for the "fairness" debate. Student athletes have a choice. They can be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond. Time to quit trying to please everyone.

[Pepper]

There are far too many OFSAA events.
I can hardly wait for the Quad-A table tennis finals followed by the Triple-A archery playoffs, then the Double-A cricket and the Single-A frisbee.

[Kennedy]

Has anyone figured out why OFSAA is so messed up. It just seems to go from bad to worse. The reason they have so many playoffs is to allow their staff to go out and attend banquets and then pick up a cheque with some of the gate receipts. As someone who has organized an OFSAA playoff, we should keep all the profit to pay the bills and treat some of the volunteers for their hard work. It just bugs me to no extreme to see OFSAA grab money and do nothing to help us.

[Mr. Blake]

I really do believe that OFSAA, as an organization, means well. But the staff just keep making far too many mistakes along with poor judgement too.

[Jumbo John]

If a league doesn't send a champion, it's over.
You don't send the next best team.
This is silly.

[Dumpledorf]

Here's another joke. Watching the way teams qualify for OFSAA. In Toronto, a team can lose the league championship and still advance by winning a back-door game. So, a team could be 30-0, then lose to a team that's 20-10, and still get to the OFSAA playoffs and be ranked way down the list.
This is pathetic. Education at its finest.

[Nobody]

OFSAA Boys Hockey used to be such a big event in the 90's, now it's completely off the radar. It should just be one event, 20 teams, winner take all. None of this double-A, triple-A, quad-A, A-A, etc. Yes, on paper the schools from the bigger areas should be favoured, but that does not mean they'll automatically win the title. The championships are decided on the ice and quite often the smaller teams still end up being there because they have better chemistry.

[S. Edwards]

Hey, Grossman, I hear you're not a big fan of OFSAA staging 10 championships at the same time.
You're not alone. I'm with you.
Wait until they have 20 at the same time. Got to love when they push all those basketball and volleyball playoffs up a few days so teachers can get a quick exit to the March school break.
I remember when they had the playoffs on a Friday and Saturday and many of us went to them. Now they're mid-week.

[Andrew]

The whole "private schools recruit" thing is so overblown. Get over it. I'd be shocked if St. Mike's or Upper Canada embarasses itself at OFSAA - let it go...

[Neil]

For individual sports, size of school doesn't matter as much, so sports like wrestling, xc, track can have one championship (although it does impact the team standings). For team sports (basketball, hockey) size of school is very important. Really, you expect a rural school of 400 to compete with an urban school of 2000+...come on, use some logic. You use baseball as an example, but it is barely even a sport competed on across the province...and I would expect the big schools usually win...Pickering, Birchmount, etc.

[Rob]

I find these blogs to be interesting with some good responses and some real rhubarbs.
All you experts who live in a perfect world, give your head a few shakes.
Anyone want to tell me why people are not dealing with these sports kingdoms like Bill Crothers in Markham? All their kids, hand picked to attend that school, play sports and against other high schools. Doesn't matter if it's a big or small school,
Is that fair?

[chris starkey]

I have been at a AA school all my life (first as a student and now as a coach) and Neil is right, there is no fairness in TEAM SPORTS having rural schools of 400 where most of the kids rely on their 3:30 bus for transportation competing against city schools of 2000 where most of the students can walk to and from school. For those teams who want to challenge themselves at a higher level, they can always declare to go to a higher category if they feel that a gold medal at AAA is inferior to a quarter-final loss at AAAA (for example).

I do agree that there should be a minimum requirement but whenever it has been proposed to have a pre-OFSAA qualifying tournament of some sort, it has been decided that it is better to have teams from 16 different associations in the province than to have the top 16 teams in the province. They tried this once in girls' basketball many years ago and it came down to finances and the like.

[The Truth]

WOW! It’s posts like these that stir up the pot but really make it interesting for us readers. You made a couple of arguments that I would like to address:

1) Number of Schools competing – it seems like everything these days is a “cash grab,” even though it is a logistical nightmare for sport convenors whom are often volunteers. Have you ever thought about the idea that these kids “experience” warrants enough of a reason to have so many teams enter? Every school I go to I see kids wearing OFSAA hoodies with pride. Its a great experience for our young athletes.

2) Private Schools in OFSAA: I think whats great about this is that private schools finally get to play teams outside of their jurisdiction (often CISAA). I remember the good ol’ days when we got to play soccer and football teams from large schools like East York and Dante Alligheri. It was a great experience.

3) Private Schools Recruiting: As Andrew says, people need to get over this. Mr. Grossman, I know your intelligent enough to the very strong counter-arguments that exist – just look at Bill Crothers, Birchmount Park and Father Henry Carr (kudos Rob)

4) You state “Appleby, Upper Canada, St. Michael's and Ridley - and only Appleby has a winning record.” Yet how many times has UCC and SMC been in The Star’s Top 10 for hockey? Exactly. Strength of competition is very important and it shows in football. UCC and SAC are typically left out of football bowls because SMC triumphs in CISAA, but also in the Toronto level as well. CISAA teams rightfully deserve to have 3 teams in OFSAA. In College Football, SEC has more teams then smaller conferences etc.

[Lance Harper]

Having read some of the comments, I have to say that the people who make the decisions at OFSAA need to open their eyes and do what's best for school sports and athletes - not what OFSAA thinks is best in their political world of fantasy.
OFSAA does not always have the best from each association and just look at hockey where two private schools - neither of them won their league - enter the playoffs. That's a farce.
Maybe if OFSAA gets a good accountant, it can budget wisely to have legimate championships and not the joke they have right now.

[Jeffrey]

Hey, Neil.
Last I looked, girls field hockey was an OFFSAA championship with teams.
Can you tell me why there is no Quad-A, Triple-A, Double-A or Single-A playoffs?
All the big and small schools play in one championship.
Ya, figured you didn't have an answer.

[Bernie]

I would like to know from Mr. Starkey, what do you have to say about stacked teams doing well with the Quad-A schools and then choosing to play down at Double-A so they can win?
And, one other point, who are these people who decide its better to have teams from all associations rather than have the best teams meet?
Maybe it's time to get people on these committees with creative minds and make school sports what it should be.

[Coach D]

CISSA really has no business participating in the hockey championships. Take a look at the Appleby, SAC and UCC rosters.... when did this become the Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland championships. Really, it must be one heck of a commute from Glace Bay to Oakville and the economy in Glace Bay must be booming as opposed to the rest of the Maritimes. Of course these schools recruit and the old boys fund it. They're not even shy about it. I've heard it in the stands, even on the sidelines during lax season. So please, when other schools have a large portion of their roster from an 8 square mile jurisdiction, don't ever tell me that the 'poor' private schools are not being treated fairly. boo hoo.

[Gene Mack]

What a pleasure to read this repetitive theme by Starkman. I am sure observation status is available to speak with OFFSA. Everyone can follow the very good tournaments on the website. Possibly the"STAR"could increase daily coverage to 4 plus pages a day to illustrate the great competitions occurring everyday in the region or province