October Snapshots: A roundup of local athletes’ action

Ottawa City Soccer Club hosted the second leg of its Kickin’ in the Capital tournament in early September, with 110 competitive girls’ soccer teams playing in divisions from the U10 to U18 age groups on Sept. 8-9. The area’s best regional-level teams concluded their East Region Soccer League campaigns the following weekend with the ER Cup finals at Millennium Fields. The newly-merged sibling club of Cumberland United and FC Capital United were front and centre at their home pitch. Perfect at 18-0 with a 111-7 goal differential in the league play, the Cap U U15 boys’ were unbeatable in Cup play as well and made it all the way to the runner-up spot at the Ontario regional league championships in October. Cumberland won the U18 boys’ Cup and a league title, while the brothers battled one another to penalty kicks in the U15 boys’ final. St. Anthony’s doubled up on Ottawa City to win the U13 & U14 boys’ Cups, though it was Cap U that won the U14 boys’ league with just a single loss in 14 matches. St. Anthony’s was unbeaten to top U13 boys’ league play. Gloucester won the youngest and oldest girls’ regional divisions (U13 & U17) in league play, while AS Gatineau won the U13 girls’ Cup. Gloucester also won the U15 girls’ Cup, though Cumberland was the dominant force in that age group with an 18-0 mark in league, an Ontario Cup crown and 4th-place finish nationally. Cumberland also won the U16 girls’ league and Cup, and went to kicks with West Ottawa in the U14 girls’ Cup final. Ottawa City won the U14 girls’ regional league.

Former Concordes head coach gets Speed Skating Canada promotion

David Morrison of the Gloucester Concordes was awarded a new position with Speed Skating Canada’s coaching staff as a manager, coach, and official in the area of athlete and competition development. He’ll work with athletes on long-term athlete development as well as with Speed Skating Canada’s external partners. Morrison has more than 33 years of speed skating experience and was the head coach of the Concordes from 1994-2013.

ORC rower snags silver at the World Rowing Championships

Christine Roper of the Ottawa Rowing Club won a silver medal at the World Rowing Championships. Roper sat in the fifth spot of a Team Canada boat in the women’s 8 that finished less than one second ahead of Australia to win 2nd place. She was the lone Ottawa athlete competing at the world championships for rowing in September.

Ottawa swimmers scoop medals at junior national swimming championships

Greater Ottawa (GO) Kingfish’s Regan Rathwell was tops amongst Ottawa performers at the Canadian junior swimming championships in Winnipeg. She won the 100 metre and 200 m backstrokes and also claimed a silver medal in the 1,500 m open-water race of the girls’ 13-14 division. Other medal winners included GO’s Louis Bertrand (bronze, boys’ 16-18, 3,000 m), and the Nepean-Kanata Barracudas’ David Quirie (bronze, boys’ 16-18, 1,500 m) and Colton Milne (boys’ 14-15, 200 m breastroke).

Todd Nicholson

Nicholson appointed as chair of Own the Podium

Canada’s Chef de Mission at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, Todd Nicholson, has been appointed the chair of Own the Podium, the not-for-profit strategy firm for Canadian sports. Before he was Canada’s Chef de Mission at this year’s Paralympics, Nicholson was a five-time Paralympian as well as the captain of Canada’s National Para Hockey Team for 15 years.

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House of Sport housing Canada’s first mental health for sports centre

Former Carleton Raven and University of Ottawa PhD candidate Krista Van Slingerland co-founded Canada’s first centre for mental health and sport, which opened in the House of Sport in September. University of Ottawa human kinetics professor Natalie Durand-Bush is also behind the initiative.

Ottawa’s top baseball prospect pitches for province at nationals

Top-prospect of Ontario’s 2020 class Benjamin Adams of the Ottawa-Nepean 16U baseball team won a national championship with Team Ontario over the summer. Adams pitched 6 2/3 innings against British Columbia in preliminary play, giving up only five hits in a 3-1 win.

Gee’s neck burdened by golds

Ottawa’s Derek Gee won four gold medals at the Canadian Track Cycling Championships last month. He swept the competition in the elite men’s endurance category, placing 1st in the omnium, the individual pursuit, the team pursuit and the Madison.

Ottawa para-table tennis star wins Canadian championship

Robert Cloutier of Ottawa won gold at the 2018 Canadian Para Table Tennis Championships. As a Class 3 competitor, Cloutier won all three of his matches, besting his opponents by a total of 9 games to 5 and outscoring his opposition 146 – 126.