COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: Champions of Eastern Ontario to be crowned as Senior Girls Basketball tournament takes over RCI

Could a local team end up representing Eastern Ontario at the upcoming provincial Senior Girls ‘A’ Basketball tournament?

Renfrew Collegiate Institute won’t be competing but will host six of the region’s best teams on both Wednesday, November 15th, and Thursday, November 16th, according to RCI Coach and Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association Convener, Adam Noack.

Noack says that RCI’s historical roots make it a fantastic option to host the regional tournament, as the school’s earliest recorded championship on record was won by their girl’s basketball team all the way back in 1906.

Back in the present day, Noack reminds myFM that basketball is one of the fastest-growing and most popular sports across Canada.

The tournament begins at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, with round-robin games happening all day at the 90-minute mark. The top four teams will move on to a single elimination bracket on Thursday, starting with the semi-finals at 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. before the championship finals at 3:00 p.m.

Noack hopes the high level of play will motivate young student athletes to put in the work and make the EOSSAA tournament in their senior year as well.

While the RCI Raiders are not among the six teams in the running this week, local fans will have a Renfrew team to cheer for in the #2 seeded St. Joseph’s Catholic High School.

Noack says there’s also been a lot of intrigue around the tournament’s top seed, a small school hoping to avoid the clock striking midnight on their Cinderella run.

Spectators are welcome to drop by Renfrew Collegiate Institute to watch the games live at 10:00 a.m. both days. You can also stream the action on the RCI YouTube Page, and final scores will be updated throughout the day on the EOSSAA Twitter and Instagram accounts.

(written by Kasey Egan)