SOSSA restructuring with a twist
The Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association’s restructuring now includes a wrinkle.
Approved last year and set to take effect this fall, the plan called for SOSSA to be divided into four zones. Zone 1 will consist of Hamilton Wentworth District School Association member schools. Zone 2 will be made up of Niagara Catholic Athletic Association schools. Zone 3 will include Niagara Region High School Athletic Association schools and independent schools that are presently members of Zone 3 and Zone 4 will be made up of NRHSAA schools and independent schools that are presently members of Zone 4.
The move was made in response to former Zone 2 schools, Cayuga, Dunnville, Hagersville and McKinnon Park in Caledonia, that made up the zone in addition to Robert Land Academy in Wellandport, deciding to move to the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association (CWOSSA).
The impetus for the move started two years ago when the Grand Erie school board superintendent in charge of athletics decided that Cayuga, Dunnville, Hagersville and McKinnon Park in Caledonia should leave SOSSA.
“It was a historical leftover that has developed and happened that way and it wasn’t anyone’s choice,” said Brian Fuller, SOSSA’s executive administrative director. “They were just part of SOSSA and always had been.”
For the time being, the Grand Erie schools have decided to remain in SOSSA.
“For some reason, they have run into roadblocks out there and it has been an administrative stalemate,” Fuller said, “I don’t know if it was declining enrolment or different people coming into power, but they said it had been put on hold and put on the backburner.”
Rather than leave the schools in athletics limbo, SOSSA has decided to keep them in the loop.
“They have been such good members of SOSSA that we didn’t want to leave them out in the cold so we told them we would find a way to accommodate them but we are going to go ahead with our restructuring,” Fuller said. “We decided we would accommodate the Grand Erie schools in our championships certainly for the upcoming year. Everybody voted for it and it was unanimous.”
To accommodate the former Zone 2 schools, they will be placed in Zone 3 for 2019-20, Zone 4 for 2020-21, Zone 1 for 2021-22 and the new Zone 2 for 2022-23.
“We felt that was safe because the NCAA [new Zone 2) hasn’t been its own zone yet so this is going to allow them to get established,” Fuller said. “They already have their own leagues so it shouldn’t be too much of a burden.”
Fuller is doubtful the proposal will be needed through 2022-23.
“I am thinking they may not go four years,” he said. “They may finally decide enough is enough and they will move them in to play the schools up there.
“The Simcoe Brantford area is really where those schools should be playing.”
In team sports, the former Zone 2 schools will have to decide by a certain date whether or not they want to challenge the Zone 3 champion for a berth at SOSSA.
“They [Niagara Region High School Athletic Association) will build a challenge game into their schedule for the right to go to SOSSA,” Fuller said. “The first thing you have to remember is only one of the schools is an AA school, McKinnon Park, and the other three are single A schools and I am going to be blunt. They never get to SOSSA championships.”
Athletes from the former Zone 2 schools will compete at the Zone 3 individual meets such as track and field, cross country and wrestling.
The restructuring has changed the number of allotted spots at SOSSA available for each zone. For example, in track and field under the present format, Zone 3 and Zone 4 advanced five athletes each to the SOSSA championships and Zone 1 and 2 combined to advance six athletes for a total of 16 berths at SOSSA. The number 16 will remain the same but now each zone will advance the top four in each event.
Zone 2 will now be made up of Saint Paul, Saint Michael, Saint Francis, Holy Cross, Denis Morris, Notre Dame. Lakeshore Catholic and Blessed Trinity.
Zone 3 will be made up of A.N. Myer, Centennial, Franco-Niagara (formerly Confederation), E.L. Crossley, Eastdale, Greater Fort Erie, Jean Vanier, Stamford, Westlane, Great Lakes Christian, Port Colborne and Niagara Christian. Cayuga, Dunnville, Hagersville, McKinnon Park and Robert Land Academy will have their athletes compete as individuals at the zone level and teams from the first four schools will have the right to challenge the Zone 3 champ for a berth at SOSSA,
Zone 4 will include DSBN Academy, Beamsville, Eden, Governor Simcoe, Grimsby, Heritage Christian,, Laura Secord, Sir Winston Churchill, Smithville Christian, St. Catharines Collegiate and Thorold.
