CENTRE WELLINGTON – The Centre Wellington U17 Riverhawks boys box lacrosse team will be heading to London for the Ontario Summer Games, competing against the province’s top teams.
The games will take place at multiple locations across the city and include various sports. The box lacrosse venue is the Earl Nichols Arena and the games run from Aug. 1 to 4.
An opening ceremony is set for Aug. 1 at the Western Alumni Stadium on the Western University campus.
“It’s such a big honour to go to something like this,” coach Chris Redwood told the Advertiser.
His team of 18 players and two goalkeepers secured its spot at the games by ranking fifth in its league and in tournament play.
With this rating the boys went into the qualifiers having to play nine games, ending with the fourth spot out of 10 teams.
“There’s no easy games now … everything is going to be difficult, but that’s what you would expect at this type of competition,” Redwood added.
The U17 boys will go to the games along with five other teams and play each team once. The top two teams will play for gold on Sunday, while the third and fourth teams will play for bronze.
“Every game is crucial … it gets pretty intense,” Redwood said.
The Riverhawks will play against the second ranked Whitby Warriors on Aug. 2.
Redwood and his coaching staff have been with this team for three years. His assistant coach, Doug Hastie has been coaching for 43 years.
“He’s a pioneer; he actually coached me in junior,” said Redwood.
As the players prepare for the 27th edition of the Ontario games, Redwood shared his appreciation for the sport.
“The game of lacrosse has really grown … this is a great opportunity for these kids for moving to the next level,” he said.
According to the coach, the players are all “gearing up” and excited for the upcoming weekend.
The four-day event is free and open to the public to attend.
London was awarded the 2024 Ontario Summer Games by the ministry of tourism, culture and sport through a competitive bid.
The days will be filled with 18 sports and over 3,500 participants, with athletes aging 12 to 18.
The standings in the lacrosse division are: first place Orangeville Northmen, second Whitby Warriors, third Clarington Gaels 1, fourth Centre Wellington Riverhawks 1, fifth Guelph Regals and sixth Halton Hills Bulldogs.
