Valerie G. Barnes Connell Jordan
Northern Advocate
Churchill Community High School (CCHS) hosted the 2024 Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association (SHSAA) 4A Girls’ Volleyball Provincials on Nov. 15-16 with help from friends – the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre (JRMCC). gym
With the risk of inclement weather and distances to travel for, teams from the south travelled part of the way on Thursday, Nov. 14, and completed the last leg of the trip to La Ronge Friday morning.
“We had a coaches meeting at 10 o’clock on Friday morning and all the coaches were here,” Scott Tomporowski, Commissioner for the SHSAA Girls 4A Provincial Volleyball, said in an interview with the Northern Advocate. “We had Opening Ceremonies at 10:45 and all the teams were here, and they started to play at noon.”
Ten teams competed in the games, with CCHS the only northern competitor. Each team played 10 round robin games, four quarter-final games, two semi-finals and the Bronze and ending with the final for the Gold.
The games were split between CCHS and JRMCC gyms throughout the competitions.
Teams competing in the Provincials included: Vanier in Moose Jaw; Lumsden; Nipawin; Tisdale; Melfort; John Paul II in North Battleford, Burnt Fox, Fort Qu’Appelle; Humboldt and CCHS.
CCHS, host of the provincials, was also the only northern Saskatchewan competitor in the event
The SHSAA Volleyball teams are organized by conferences, which are determined by the number of girls who are eligible to play, Tomporowski said.
CCHS and the other teams participating in the competition, are 4A conferences, which means they have somewhere between 100 and 250 females in Grades 9 through 12 eligible to play volleyball.
The conferences are 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A. 1A Conference is made up of females from the smallest schools and 5A is made up of schools with the largest numbers, likely the cities.
SHSAA does have other girls volleyball teams in different conferences across the north, Tomporowski said, including, La Loche, Beauval, Pinehouse Lake and Buffalo Narrows.
Teams compete in their Conferences, then Regions and finally Provincials.
The La Ronge Ice Wolves gifted the teams with tickets to their game and they were offered a free breakfast by the community sponsors of the event, Tomporowski said.
John Paul II from North Battleford went home as Champions, defeating Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate in straight sets in the final.
