SUDBURY, Ont. - There will be a lot of birdies in the air in Sudbury February 3 and 4, and they will all be indoors.
Collège Boréal and Cambrian College are hosting the Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA) East and West Regional Badminton Championships.
"This year, we are so excited to be co-hosting the regional championships for the first time, along with our friendly rivals, Cambrian College," says Andréa Boyce, Varsity Sports and Fitness Centre Coordinator at Collège Boréal. "It is going to feature high-level badminton and we're looking forward to putting on a great tournament and showcasing our city in the process."
"It has only been three years since we reintroduced badminton as one of our varsity sports, so this is a great honour to co-host the Regionals along with Boréal," adds Tim Yu, Cambrian's Manager of Athletics and the Athletic Centre. "Having both campuses so close together will allow all the teams - East and West - to follow each other's games and it should create a great atmosphere among the players and coaches."
Ten teams will be competing. Boréal plays in the East Division and will be hosting the east regional games, while Cambrian plays in the West Division and will be the venue for west regional matches.
"Imagine if Boréal's campus had been built on the other side of Notre Dame Avenue, we might be in the same division as Cambrian," jokes Boyce. "It's great we'll be able to root for each other in our respective divisions, but it's also a crossover tournament so we may end up facing each other after all, as we do in regular season play. It could be the Battle of the (LaSalle) Boulevard."
Matches include men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles.
Play begins Friday, February 3 at 11 a.m. in both the Boréal and Cambrian gyms. Championship games will be held Saturday.
The public is invited to attend and will also be able to watch the event through the live stream.
For more information, visit www.ocaa.com, www.collegeboreal.ca, or www.cambriancollege.ca.
*Divisions were not determined based solely on location.
Source: Collège Boréal/Cambrian College