The Eastern Rebels Peewee broomball team played at a caliber beyond their young age, demonstrating strong skills, solid game knowledge and strategy which allowed them to defend their title of Provincial Champs, and bring home the Gold medal with a four-game shutout.    Courtesy photo

Denise Robinson
Special to the Record
BARRIE – Twelve Eastern broomball teams travelled to Barrie for the 2018 Federations of Broomball Association of Ontario Provincial Championships that took place on the weekend of Feb. 9-11. These 12 teams represented over 180 young athletes ranging in ages from 8 to 19 years old. Forty-nine teams competed in this year’s Provincial Championship, and the Eastern teams did not disappoint. They brought home eight medals.

Peewee: The mixed Peewee division, which consisted of 8-12 year-old boys and girls, made us all proud. Among the 12 teams participating in this division, the Eastern Rebels team played at a caliber beyond their young age. They demonstrated strong skills, solid game knowledge and strategy which allowed them to defend their title of Provincial Champs, and bring home the Gold medal with a four-game shutout. The Blue Beasts team faced two strong opponents right out of the gate and got knocked into the consolation round where they battled victoriously to bring home the Consolation Gold. While the Ball Broomers team played hard and showed a lot of heart; they unfortunately were knocked out in an overtime game against the Seaforth Cyclones 1 team.

Bantam: The Bantam Boys, the Stealth, showed grit and cunning while playing as a strong unit for a total of seven games against their opponents to bring home Silver, while the Warriors Bantam Girls’ team showed dedication and skills that secured them the Bronze medal within their division.

Midget: The Stealth Midget Girls worked hard to defend their title of Provincial Champs and succeeded to bring home the Gold for the fourth consecutive year. The Midget Boys’ team, the Eastern Warriors, played with lots of stamina, but unfortunately fell just short of making the medal round.

Juvenile: The Seaway Valley Devils Juvenile Girls’ team outplayed almost every team in their division which earned them the Silver medal this year. The Eastern Thunder Juvenile Girls’ team played with lots of strength and grit, but sadly didn’t qualify for the medal round.

Within the Juvenile Boys’ division, the Sting and the Valley Gamblers had to face off against each other twice before Sting was determined this year’s champs and brought home the Gold and the Valley Gamblers took Silver. While the Warriors Juvenile Boys’ team also played some very spirited games, they unfortunately didn’t make it to the medal round.

All teams would like to send a special thank you to their coaches, trainers, team managers and sponsors for all the time and effort spent getting them ready for this provincial tournament. Peewee and Bantam provincial teams would like to thank their sponsors for their support: EAST-ONT Land Improvement; Vanden Bosch Elevators; Ideal Pipe; Richer Plumbing; Sammy Seay Hoof Trimming; Forgues WoodWorks; Domar Farms; and Corrigan Gas. Also, a special thanks goes out to all those who gave a personal monetary donation in support of these young athletes.

Broomball is a fun and exciting sport that teaches young players about good sportsmanship, boosts self-esteem, provides regular high-cardio workout, all while being a very affordable sport. For more information about youth broomball leagues in our regions, contact finchbroomball@gmail.com (Finch League), tanyazandbelt@bellnet.ca (Russell League) or r.m.brown@hotmail.ca (Carleton Place). Want to try broomball before committing to a league? Then register today for summer broomball in Crysler by contacting Daniel.oconnell@usa.com.