As invitational tournaments wrapped up this past weekend in Windsor, OCAA Badminton players will meet in their respective regions as Humber College and Cambrian College are set to host the East and West Badminton Regional Tournaments.

EAST REGION - Hosted By Cambrian College

Many of Ontario’s finest collegiate badminton players will be competing at Cambrian College in Sudbury, ON from February 2-3 at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Badminton East Regional Championships.

The East Regional Championships is a two-day event featuring athletes from Collège Borèal, Cambrian College, Georgian College, George Brown College, Fleming College (Lindsay), St. Lawrence College (Brockville), St. Lawrence College (Cornwall) and St. Lawrence College (Kingston). Players will compete in five events including: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles. The top three teams from each event will advance to the OCAA Badminton Championships, hosted by Centennial College from February 17-18, 2007.

Despite winning the Provincial overall team championship, the Cambrian Golden Shield were knocked off their East Region throne in 2005-06 as the Georgian Grizzlies won the overall team championships at the East Regional tournament. Prior to last season, Cambrian had won the East Region title for twelve straight years. The 2007 edition of the Golden Shield look to rebound after last season’s disappointing loss as the team has been proficient in invitational play this season. Cambrian’s Jody Carruthers has recorded an excellent start to the season and will be vying for the women’s singles title.

John Paynter will lead the squad from Georgian College who enter the East Regional Tournament ranked 4th in the province. Paynter has found the medal podium quite often in invitational action this season as he finished first at the Cambrian Invitational Tournament, while finishing second at the Centennial and Fanshawe Invitational Tournaments. In the past two years, John has earned an OCAA gold and silver medal along with two CCAA bronze medals in men’s doubles. Paynter and the rest of his teammates will look to win Georgian’s first back-to-back East Region Championship.

Results from the East Regional Championship will be posted on the OCAA website at www.ocaa.com. For more information on the OCAA Badminton East Regional Championships, please contact Bob Piche at the Cambrian College Athletics Department at (705) 566-8101 X: 7450.

WEST REGION - Hosted By Humber College

For the second consecutive year, Humber College will host the West Region’s top collegiate badminton players from February 2-3 for the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Badminton West Regional Championships.

The two-day event will feature teams from Centennial College, Conestoga College, Fanshawe College, Humber College, Mohawk College, Seneca College and St. Clair College competing in both singles and doubles competitions. The teams are vying for the opportunity to represent their College at the OCAA Provincial Championships with the top three teams advancing from each event. The OCAA Badminton Championships are set to take place February 17-18 at Centennial College in Scarborough, ON.

As Seneca, Conestoga, Centennial and St. Clair were the top four teams at the 2005-06 tournament, there could be a changing of the guard as the Fanshawe Falcons and Mohawk Mountaineers enter the tournament as the top ranked teams in the province. Two time defending OCAA Men’s Singles Champion and 2004-05 OCAA Athlete of the Year Nathanial Allard will return to the court, looking to defend his regional and provincial title. Badminton fans may not recognize Allard at first glance as he will be sporting the colours of the Fanshawe Falcons. Since his arrival at Fanshawe, Allard has turned the college’s badminton program around as he has won the men’s singles title at the Centennial and Fanshawe Invitational Tournaments. Allard will use this tournament as a stepping-stone as he has his sights on his third OCAA Championship and his first CCAA national title.

Meanwhile on the women’s side, the second ranked Mohawk Mountaineers will look to the strong play of Margaret Myjak, last year’s OCAA women’s singles gold medallist to lead her team to the medal podium. Myjak’s play in 2006-07 has been outstanding as she won three consecutive women’s singles invitational titles at Fanshawe, George Brown and Centennial. Myjak will look to be the first Mountaineer to win back-to-back individual titles since Grace Siu did it in 1993 and 1994.

David Trinh will be looked upon to lead the Seneca Sting to the West Region Championship title once again. In his rookie season, Trinh and his partner won the West Regional Men’s Doubles tournament while going on to earn a silver medal at the OCAA Championships. In 2006-07, Trinh has seen a lot of success in invitational action as he has won both singles and doubles events at the George Brown, Georgian and Fanshawe invitational tournaments. Trinh will have to make an impact on the court if Seneca hopes to repeat as West Region Champions.

Results from the West regional championship will be posted on the OCAA website at www.ocaa.com. The championships are set to take place at Humber College, North Campus. For more information on the OCAA Badminton West Regional Championships, please contact Jim Bialek at the Humber College Athletics Department at (416) 675-6622 Ext. 4539

The OCAA governs intercollegiate sports and promotes physical activity in its member institutions through quality athletic and campus recreation programs. It offers 15 varsity sports to 30 member institutions throughout Ontario.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
OCAA Marketing & Communications Coordinator
P: (416) 426-7043
W: www.ocaa.com