Home team hardware
The Finch “Monarchs” pose for a photo with their newly earned trophy following a tight match against the Russell ‘Ice Breakers” in the Bantam/Midget A Division final of the Finch Youth Broomball Tournament, on Sun., Jan.14, at the Finch Arena. Monarch team members include; Kayla Cameron, Keely Zandbelt, Rebecca Bags, David Nobert, Melanie Fogarty, Patrick Daoust, Brett Nicola, Chase Dingwall, Austin Goncalves, Zac L’Ecuyer, Mitchelle Sheridan, Jordan Carty, Loïc Harvey Girard, Alexis Korniski, and Gregory Harps. Coaches were Faye Cameron, and Brad Nicola. O’Donohue photo
Michelle O’Donohue
Record Contributor
FINCH – The Finch Youth Broomball Committee hosted their annual tournament over the weekend at the Finch Arena. The tournament began Friday evening, continued all day Saturday, and wrapped up with finals on Sunday morning. Players and spectators braved the turbulent winter weather conditions and showed up in full force to support the tournament that hosted 18 teams with players between the ages of three and 15.
The Russell “Titans” pose with their trophy following their win of the Pee Wee Division A finals at the Finch Youth Broomball Tournament. Courtesy photo
In a tournament overview document issued by the committee, it was stated that games would include the divisions of Sprout, Pee Wee, and Bantam/Midget. Division is determined by the player’s age, with Sprout being the youngest. Past Chair of the Finch Youth Broomball Committee, Cynthia Daoust, advised that in addition to Finch, teams were also representing Russell, and Carleton Place.
The Finch Arena was electric on Sunday morning for the finals, with large crowds in attendance to cheer on the teams. The final game of the tournament, the A final for the Bantam/Midget level, saw a showdown between the Finch Youth Broomball “Monarchs” and Russell Minor Broomball “Ice Breakers”. Each team played with determination and stamina, but the game was scoreless after two periods, and entered a sudden death overtime in which each team played with one fewer player, and both of the goalies were pulled. After some close calls both ways, Finch was able to score the winning goal and claim the match. They were awarded a shiny trophy, and bragging rights as Bantam/Midget A Division champions of this year’s tournament.
The full list of winners over the weekend included;
Pee Wee C Division, Finch “Rebels”; Bantam/Midget C Division, Finch “Cobras”; Pee Wee B Division, Russell “Whipshots”; Bantam/Midget B Division, Russell “Big Dogs”; Pee Wee A Division, Russell “Titans”; and the Bantam/Midget A Division, Finch “Monarchs”. The list of winners was provided to The Record by the Finch Youth Broomball Committee.
Following the end of the tournament, Daoust discussed the efforts that have been put in over the last few years to restoring and improving the Finch league. Efforts have included the ‘Lace up Program’, which began three years ago as a way to introduce younger players to regular skills training. Daoust went on to say that they have seen great improvement in players’ abilities since implementing this program.
Another program that has been introduced to strengthen the league is an initiative that sees senior members go in for referee training. Daoust explained that after completing this training, the senior members are able to serve as refs for the youngest group, Sprout, aged three to seven. This fosters continued growth within the league as well.
Daoust concluded by saying that next up for Finch Youth Broomball will be Provincials during the second weekend in February, held in Barrie. The Finch tournament helps to get kids excited for the upcoming larger stage.
