The 2020 Cornwall Men’s Flag Football League season concluded on a cool, rainy November 1 day, with CrossFit Cornwall nabbing the championship.
The title tilt was held at Optimist Park, where CrossFit Cornwall prevailed over Planet Fitness 34-13.
Local photographer Costa Zarifi attended the match and shot photos of the action. You can check out his work on Facebook.
Curling clubs in Alexandria and Alexandria are working towards the launch of their respective 2020-21 seasons as soon as possible, with both currently registering members new and returning.
The Alexandria Curling Club is aiming for a November 9 season start, with a number of adjustments. There will be no gender-based leagues, at least for now, and the industrial league won’t play this year. As well, a raft of COVID-19 health and safety protocols are in place, details of which can be viewed via this link.
Membership registration documents can be accessed on the club’s website here. For more information, contact the membership director via e-mail here.
Word has is that ice man Jim Poulton is hard at work building the ice sheets, following “some work to replace faulty equipment in the cooling system.”
At the Cornwall Curling Centre, membership recruitment continues. There is a pre-registration survey available here.
Maxville’s Glengarry Curling Club previously announced that it would not be open this fall, setting early January for a potential season start.
The Lancaster Curling Club had hoped to open in October, providing that sufficient members registered. That target was not met, so the club’s executive has deferred opening until January, seeking to boost its membership numbers by then. See this earlier story for more details.
Local curling clubs are working towards reopening this fall or winter in a challenging environment due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lancaster and District Curling Club set a goal of 80 full-time paid members registered by October 15. Club president James Doonan made the announcement to members via e-mail, with a post added to the LDCC Facebook page.
“The Board of the Lancaster District Curling Club has decided on a path forward for this season; our decision was made after reviewing the [member] survey results, the recommendations of the COVID committee, recommendations from the various curling associations at the federal and provincial level, and, finally, the Eastern Ontario Health Unit.”
The number of 80 full memberships was determined to offset start-up, ice installation, and operational costs at the club.
Should things get underway, a number of strict rules will be enacted to govern usage of the facility and game play.
For further membership information, please see this link on the LDCC website.
In September, the Alexandria Curling Club held its annual general meeting virtually. The full video can be seen here and on their Facebook page.
Meanwhile, the Glengarry Curling Club in Maxville has taken the decision to remain closed until at least January 4, 2021.
The Cornwall Curling Centre is aiming for a November return to play.
Whenever curling resumes, there are sure to be alterations to the game. Check out this video for some examples.
Last month, the Cornwall Prowlers of the Eastern Ontario Super Hockey League convinced Chris Cloutier to sign with the senior ‘A’ club.
Coach and general manager Mitch Gagne says on the addition of the 37-year-old defenceman, the Prowlers “lacked some grit and physical play last season and needed to fill that gap.”
The veteran blueliner has been playing in Quebec’s semi-professional league, the LNAH, with the Pétroliers du Nord. Last winter, he suited up for 23 games, amassing 144 penalty minutes and zero points.
“After a long chat with Chris about needing him to play hockey more than the shenanigans as he can play the game not just the tough guy role, he committed [to Cornwall’s senior ‘A’ team] due to the uncertainty of the LNAH this season,” explains Gagne.
As a semi-pro league, the LNAH relies on strong spectator attendance numbers for revenue to play salaries.
Meanwhile, the EOSHL, an amateur league, does, of course, have expenses too, and will need some fans in the stands in order to operate this winter. As of now, it is a waiting game on that, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing.
In the absence of fall tackle football, the Cornwall Wildcats are fielding a flag football at Joe St. Denis Field.
The action kicked off last weekend, first with the midget-aged program, and then on Sunday with the other youth levels.
September 13 results saw Mosquito Team 2 beat Mosquito Team 1 with a 49-14 effort, while Mosquito 3 and 4 played to a 28-28 tie. This level includes players with birth years of 2009, 2010, and 2011.
At the peewee level (DOB 2007, 2008), Team 1 blanked Team 2 on a 35-0 score. The other game saw Team 3 overpower Team 1 by a 42-28 margin.
Bantam 2 beat Bantam 1 on a 14-7 score, and Bantam 3 shut out Bantam 4 with a 21-0 effort.
Here are some photos shared on the Cornwall Minor Football Association Facebook page.
Mosquito 3 versus Mosquito 1: 21-14
Mosquito 4 versus Mosquito 2: 28-7
Peewee 1 versus Peewee 3: 42-21
Peewee 2 versus Peewee 3: 7-7
Bantam 3 versus Bantam 1: 28-7
Bantam 4 versus Bantam 2: 28-7
Play continues next weekend, with the midget players on the gridiron on Friday evening, while the other levels play Sunday.
Maxville’s John Wensink skated for the Cornwall Royals of the QMJHL for three season in the early 1970s, before going on to play professionally, primarily in the NHL with the Boston Bruins.
The ‘Bring Back the Royals’ group is active on social media. If you are interested in following them, check out their Facebook group here.
Wensink, now 67, retired from pro hockey following the 1988-89 season, when he was a member of Team Netherlands.
His time in the NHL stretched over 8 years, as he suited up for 446 games. He was drafted in 1973, selected in round 7 by the St. Louis Blues, 104th overall.
In recent years, Wensink has focused on coaching, working the bench of minor hockey teams in St. Louis.
A men’s flag football league has taken flight in Cornwall, with games played Wednesday evenings and Sunday on a field at Optimist Park.
In a match played August 30 between Cornwall Volkswagen and Planet Fitness, the latter prevailed 42-22. Amongst the athletes helping Team Blue, Alex Zarifi recorded a pair of touchdowns, while Eric Bowman threw for two. Bowman also ran in a major and snagged an interception.
Thanks to Costa Zarifi for recording these two videos of the action. The one above shows an interception thrown by Bowman, while the movie below has Bowman on a QB run.
Heading into play tonight (September 8), Planet Fitness sits in second place, with 10 points, trailing Crossfit Cornwall (12). Cornwall Volkswagen has 2 points, for sixth spot. Rounding out the standings are third-place Jas-Mar (8 points), Campeau Insurance (6), Rookez (4), and Hyundai (0).
Local competitive sports have been in short supply of late, but the Cornwall Wildcats are working to change that, offering a youth flag football program. The midget level kicked off last Friday at Joe St. Denis Field, with other levels to begin play in the week ahead.
Levels of play in the league, with all matches in Cornwall, are mosquito (DOB 2009, 2010, 2011), peewee (DOB 2007, 2008), bantam (DOB 2005, 2006), and midget (DOB 2002, 2003, 2004).
For more details, see this previous story.
The flag football program follows the cancellation of contact football leagues in the region due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the case of the Wildcats, this meant there would be no NCAFA youth tackle football this fall.
The World Junior A Hockey Challenge tournament was scheduled to be held in December but has now been cancelled as part of Hockey Canada’s suspension of events booked for fall 2020.
It would have been the 15th annual edition of the international hockey tournament that features tier 2 junior ‘A’ teams from hockey-dominant countries. Traditionally, Canada has two entries, and local players have featured on past squads.
The 2020 event had been scheduled for December 13-19 with games to be played at the Cornwall Civic Complex.
According to the Hockey Canada release, organizers will be looking to reschedule the event to December 2021.
Other cancelled tournaments are the national women’s under-18 championship, set for November in B.C., and the para hockey cup, booked for December in Nova Scotia.
From the announcement, “Hockey Canada’s priority remains the health and safety of all participants and the general public. We believe the decision to cancel these events is the safest decision given the ongoing uncertainty of the [COVID-19] pandemic at the local level, as well as the international implications associated with these events.”
Here it the full press release:
A young Alexandria kart racer is having quite the summer, racking up the victories on the dirt oval in Cornwall.
Tristan Ladouceur, son of stock car driver Joey Ladouceur and grandson of Glengarry Sports Hall of Fame inductee Laurent Ladouceur, nabbed his fourth track victory of the season on Tuesday night.
His dad tells me that the young racer competes in Junior 3 class, a division for kids ages 12 through 15. Three of Tristan’s wins have come in Cornwall, while one was achieved on the Brockville track.
Thank you to photographer Tyler Lacelle for the above image. You can check out more of his work on his Facebook page.
And it’s not just young Tristan who is having a great summer on the track. His cousin Trey has two wins in the Stock (15+ age group), and cousin Liam has a few victories in Junior 2 (ages 10-12).
In the most recent Modifieds division race held on the Cornwall track August 23, Joey Ladouceur finished sixth. The winner on the night was the Seaway City’s own Corey Wheeler.