Ontario Senior Games Association Hosts Week-Long Hockey Tournament at CMCC

Photo supplied.
Pictured is the OSGA Women’ tournament winners the Northumberland GOLD RUSH who finished first with a 5-0 record. They are headed to Kamloops this summer where they will represent the province in the national tournament on August 23 to 26th. Congratulations, ladies!

Last week, Cavan-Monaghan’s Community Centre was the site of a major adult hockey tournament. 

More than 500 players in 27 men’s and women’s senior hockey clubs enjoyed a tournament that spanned eight days.  The event was hosted by the Ontario Seniors Games Association (OSGA), which is the provincial division of a national organization which promotes an active social and physical lifestyle for residents 55 and over.

There were 27 teams from across the province who came from as far west as Windsor and Cornwall in the east.  The teams were divided into age groups with the Men’s categories of 55+, 60+, 65+,70+ & 75+ while the women had six teams composed of women aged 55 and up.  All teams played four games each and then enjoyed a banquet with delicious food and an evening of socializing between all the players and their guests.  Organizers wished to send a special thank you to Linda Adams and the amazing auxiliary members at the Millbrook Legion for hosting them.

The teams that participated came from Windsor, Niagara, London, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Brampton, Markham, Huntsville, Haliburton, Barrie, Caledon, Whitby, Cornwall, Brockville, Northumberland, Upper Canada and the Grey Bruce Region. According to tournament organizer Don Rider, all teams were very impressed with our new facility.

One of the games during the first day of the tournament began with a special ceremonial faceoff featuring honorary guest Allan Hare.  He dropped the puck between two of the teams he used to play for: Peterborough Seniors and the Cornwall Classics.  Allan has been a member of both teams that were competing in this particular game and has participated in three OSGA provincial games and one Canada Seniors games in the past, before a serious hockey injury ended his participation in this sport.  The puck drop allowed his friends and the OSGA community to honor his contributions to the sport of hockey.

Photo Karen Graham.
Allan Hare was invited to perform the ceremonial puck drop for one of the first games in the tournament. He had been a member of both teams in this particular game – Cornwall and Peterborough. Allan has participated in three OSGA provincial games and one Canada Seniors games in the past, before a serious hockey injury ended his playing hockey. The puck drop allowed his friends and the OSGA community to honor his contributions to the sport of hockey.
Pictured are Peterborough player Rob McKend (Blue jersey) and Cornwall Classics member Alex Herrington ( white jersey), Allan’s wife Joanne, OSGA Vice President Daria Thompson, Eva Ferguson and Tournament Convenor Don Rider.

The tournament went off without a hitch – the only injuries, according to Convenor Don Rider was to player egos.

The Northumberland Gold Rush ladies’ team had an undefeated series in Millbrook, which earned them a spot at the National competition in Kamloops this summer.  The men’s team’ selections for the national event have yet to be determined.

Under normal circumstances, provincial competitions occur during odd years while nationals take place in even years, but the organization is catching up after several years of cancellations due to Covid.  Peterborough will host this year’s summer games taking place from August 9th to 11th.

The OSGA is a non-profit organization that promotes a variety of sports, including skiing, curling, cycling, lawn bowling, tennis, pickle ball and golf, to name a few.  It hosts summer and winter games event to allow participants to fine tune their game through a broad competition and are designed to attract amateur participants.  To learn more about this organization, visit their website at www.osga55+.ca.  KG

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