North Bay is emerging as a centre for OFSAA Championships

Rooted is all about the people and the places that make us proud to call our community home.

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You might have noticed an uptick in people around the city earlier this month as North Bay played host to two provincial championship tournaments over the same week. From March 3 to 5, the OFSAA Volleyball Girls’ AA tournament and the Boys’ AA basketball tournament took place in the Gateway City.

For Heather Chambers, North Bay’s local OFSAA representative, hosting provincial championships in the city has become second nature. Over the years, she has seen everything from basketball and volleyball to curling and hockey take centre stage, each event bringing an undeniable energy to the community.

“It’s awesome. Just unbelievable,” Chambers said. “The level of skill that students see when they step into the gym or the arena, or the dome now, is amazing. And the hospitality, the sportsmanship—it’s just one great big bag of positives.”

This year was no exception with these tournaments being held at West Ferris Secondary School, St. Joseph Scollard Hall, Chippewa Secondary School,  Canadore College, and the Canadore Dome. The events drew top-tier high school athletes from across Ontario, with 40 teams participating between the two sports. But beyond the competition itself, these events highlighted why North Bay has become a go-to destination for OFSAA championships.

Chambers says, “North Bay has built a reputation for being a well-oiled machine of organizers, coaches, and volunteers who make these events happen.”

Chambers explained. “You have to apply to host an event, and North Bay loves having us. We’ve got such wonderful people in our coaching and Phys. Ed departments—it’s become almost second nature for these organizing committees. There’s a tremendous amount of work that goes into putting on an OFSAA tournament,” Chambers said. “But North Bay has developed a real committee structure that makes it possible. They love doing it, and it shows.”

For athletes, OFSAA isn’t just about playing at the highest high school level—it’s also a chance to get noticed. College and university recruiters keep a close eye on these championships, looking for the next wave of talent.

Joey Rainer, Recreation and Wellness Coordinator at Canadore College, says this is one of the many reasons the college embraces hosting these events.

“It’s a wonderful recruiting tool for us,” Rainer said. “To have these athletes—who play a sport we compete in within the OCAA—right here in our facilities is a great opportunity. We’re always looking to recruit solid student-athletes, and OFSAA helps us do that.”

For coaches, seeing players in a high-stakes environment provides an invaluable scouting opportunity.

“These tournaments give us a chance to see athletes at their best, handling intense moments,” Rainer said. “Plus, the athletes get to experience the campus itself.”

The Canadore Dome has proven to be more than just a turf facility—it has quickly become a multi-sport hub that serves both the community and championship-level athletes.

“I think it’s even been better than what we expected,” Rainer said. “Initially, we thought of the Dome as a driver for soccer and turf sports. But it turns out that the courts are used just as much. Being able to host a championship like this in the Dome is amazing.”

The Dome and Canadore College were the sites of the volleyball competition, convened by Sara Pickles, Athletic Director at Chippewa and Head Coach of the Ravens Senior Girls Volleyball team. While the competition on the court was fierce, Pickles says the work behind the scenes to bring an OFSAA tournament to life is just as intense.

“People don’t always see the months of preparation that go into something like this,” Pickles said. “You’re coordinating venues, accommodations, schedules, referees—everything has to run smoothly. And then, on top of that, you want to make sure the athletes and their families have a great experience in North Bay.”

With so many moving parts, it takes a full team effort to pull off a successful championship.

“We’re lucky to have such a strong network in this city. The schools, the volunteers, the local businesses—everyone steps up to make these events happen,” Pickles said. “It’s a real community effort and I’m proud of my committee for pulling off such a great event this year.”

West Ferris Secondary School teacher Sam Levac convened the basketball tournament and said, “It was very enjoyable- this was our second tournament this school year as we hosted the Girls AA Basketball in November. Our organizing committee was loaded with experience which made it great to share the workload.”

Levac says, “North Bay is a beautiful city no matter what time of year. It’s important to show off our city with the many things that we offer. It’s also very important for our tourism industry to fill our hotels and restaurants during these events.”

This is the fourth OFSAA tournament Levac has been a part of, including two as a player when he was a student at West Ferris when the Trojans qualified for the boys basketball championships in 2010 and 2011. Levac has gone on to convene two tournaments and says, “I’m hoping to add coaching at an OFSAA event one day soon,” he says as head coach of the Trojans basketball team. “But it was great to convene a tournament without coaching as there are many things happening during competition time.”

“As the convenor, I would like to thank all the volunteers who have helped with this event and of course, our wonderful sponsors who contributed to the tournament - without them none of this would be possible. I’d also like to thank the organizing committee for their long hours of work!”

Someone who understands that sentiment is Kadrienne Montcalm, a teacher at Chippewa and a long-time OFSAA planning committee member, who just participated in her 19th OFSAA event. Montcalm was responsible for planning the programs for both events.  

“My first OFSAA was back in 2012, and it was with Ryan Culhane at West Ferris. He asked me if I would be interested in learning to put the programs together and I was. I learned it over a few weekends, we’d sit down in a room and just get all the information and start plunking it in,” she says.

Montcalm says, “That's one of those pieces that maybe people don't know, for a volunteer committee of teachers doing this as an extra thing, it is a big lift. The main thing I learned was to make it feel inviting. You want to give the teams that little something extra and, in comparison to a lot of OFSAA’s that are out of town, I like to think our programs are some of the best.”

Montcalm says even after planning so many programs in the past, she still gets a thrill from seeing the finished product. She says, “I like seeing it all come together. It's like any design work, as soon as you see the final product you think, ‘I made that!’ Then when you see people flipping through the program, and bringing it home as a keepsake, it makes the work very much worth it.”

Montcalm says she’s hopeful the residents in North Bay see the positive effects these tournaments create, “You think about the economic spinoff and the number of teams coming in, how many hotel rooms do they need? You get around 20 teams coming in from out of town for each tournament, and they're all going to be staying somewhere. And vice-versa I think some teams who are coming to play here for the first time, they don't realize how much North Bay has to offer until they get here.”

Montcalm says a great idea that was proposed recently was for teams to have a host with them for the duration of their stay. She says, “Convenor Sara Pickles brought that idea forward a few years ago and the committee loved it. It gave a personal touch for those teams to have a local host who could help the teams book restaurants, figure out the best ways to navigate around the city, and find different things to do during their down times.”

Pickles says, “It was just an idea I had based on my experience as a coach at other tournaments. I thought it would be helpful to get people who already live here to show these teams around.”

While organizing the tournament was a major responsibility, Pickles also had the opportunity to coach her own team against some of the best high school programs in the province. The experience, she says, is invaluable for both players and coaches.

“The level of play is incredible, and as a coach, it pushes you to be better. You’re constantly adjusting, analyzing, trying to find ways to get an edge against the best teams in Ontario.”

For players, the opportunity to compete at OFSAA is often a defining moment in their high school careers.

“It’s a chance for these athletes to step up and prove themselves,” Pickles said. “Some of them have been dreaming of this since Grade 9, and now they’re here, playing on a stage that really means something. It’s emotional, it’s exciting, and for a lot of them, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Even for teams that don’t walk away with a medal, Pickles believes the lessons learned through high-level competition are just as important as the wins.

“You learn so much about yourself when you’re playing under pressure,” she said. “How do you respond when you’re down in a set? How do you stay focused when the gym is loud and the stakes are high? These are the things that make you a better player—and a better person.”

Montcalm says for the students, getting to play in a tournament in their hometown is a chance to showcase their pride for their school and their city.

 “I think being able to represent that pride in their school and their sport is huge for our local athletes. And at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you are seated once this tournament begins, it's all about how you play and the experience that they get and those memories they get to walk away.”

Levac adds, “Many youth and amateur athletes in our area travel to bigger cities to play in tournaments quite often and this makes it enjoyable for local players and coaches to play in our hometown of North Bay for a change. The magnitude of OFSAA is huge and our players know that, so they really enjoyed playing in an OFSAA tournament with the benefits of playing in familiar facilities and getting to sleep in their own beds.”

The Basketball committee members included: Sam Levac, Ryan Culhane, Kally Levac, Dan Coutu, Brandon Grube, Mark Robertson, Erin Robertson, Sean Mullan, and Rob Brady.

The Volleyball committee members included: Kadrienne Montcalm, Sara Pickles, Craig Nodwell, Shawn Plamondon, Mark Hopper, Dan Cockburn, and Steph Silverthorn

If you have a story idea for “Rooted” send Matt an email at m.sookram@outlook.com