Just For The Fun Of It

I was very saddened today to learn of the closure of the two CORUS Entertainment Radio Stations, and the closure of CKWS Television with the exception of less than a handful of people to, as CORUS put it in a statement “to cover breaking news of interest to Canadians”. My heart goes out to all those affected – both the on air personalities as well as the technical staff that make the events happen. My personal thanks to all of you for your lifetime commitment to making a difference in the lives of those around you in our city and the region. We all can be saddened by the outcome while still understanding the desperate financial situation GLOBAL finds themselves in.

My next reaction was a deep concern for our community, because these businesses REALLY were making a difference every year through their driving the Clothes for Kids Campaign, the Easter Seals campaign, and telling us nightly about the larger United Way Campaign, The Salvation Army Christmas Kettle and Christmas Hamper Campaigns, and all of the fund raising walks, golf, baseball and hockey tournaments. Thank you for shining a light on those organizations. I have been involved with some of those, along with sports organizations that relied on radio, television and print media to help “get the word out”.

I then get nostalgic for the way we were as a community for so much of my life, with strong and committed sports reporters. We had the nightly presence of Max Jackson and his sign off every night of “Remember, if you can’t play a sport, be one” that became engrained in our community personality. Doug Jeffries welcoming us with his “Good Evening”, as he shone his light into the corners of the sports community, to Mike Postovit’s “and that’s your look at sports” sign off after keeping us up to date. Those voices in print and television in Kingston have been silenced, and that is sad. The features on the passing of local people in the community and in sports were featured nightly, and gave us more background on their lives. We learned about milestones in organizations, registrations, playoff wins at so many levels, in so many sports, and for so many years. The light that CKWS and the radio stations shone in the corners of our community has been extinguished.

I have seen the sports guys and the news videographers hauling the equipment around to do interviews all over the city without any real outward complaint, because I know they loved what they did. Any of us that have been on the receiving end of a story or an interview, owe all of you so very much. July 18, 2024 will be remembered by all of you directly affected as a profoundly sad day. For all of us whose lives you positively affected over the years, we are so very grateful for the joy you brought into our homes and or lives every day. You became not just a part of our routine listening and viewing. You became a part of our family, and you were the fabric that bound our community together. THANK YOU! RWB

With only 61 Sleeps before Registration Day 2024 – Saturday September 7, 2024– we thought it would be appropriate to publish our answers to frequently asked questions about registration. Please contact us if there are questions you have that may not be answered here. Please note that all ages referenced are the age that the child will be on April 1, 2025.

1) What are the game nights for the upcoming season? Answer: Monday Nights – Biddy Division (boys 11-12) at St. Francis of Assisi; Graduate Division (boys 13-15) at Ecole Cathedrale; Tuesday Nights- Little Guys Division (boys 8-10) at St. Francis of Assisi; Wednesday Nights – Girls Division (Girls 11-14) at St. Francis of Assisi; Thursday Nights- Little Gals Division (girls 8-10)at St. Francis of Assisi. Graduate games start at 6:00 pm (3 games a night in one hour time slots), and all other divisions start at 6 pm with four games in 45 minute time slots.

2) I am going to be out of town on September 7 and you have no on line registration. How do I get my child registered?
Answer: If you are going to be away September 7 you can get someone else to start the registration process for you. They will need the name, date of birth, contact phone numbers, address and e mail address (if applicable) for your player, along with the $10 registration fee. They will be given a copy of the registration form that you will need to sign and bring with you to the player evaluation night. We must have a signed registration form before your child can participate in league activities. PLEASE DO NOT ASK MEMBERS OF OUR LEAGUE EXECUTIVE TO REGISTER YOUR CHILD FOR YOU. We are very busy on registration day looking after other details of the process.

2 a) Why don’t you have on line registration like other leagues? Answer: Having in person, first come, first served registration equalizes the opportunity for everyone in the community. We allow someone else to register your child as long as you make those arrangements, as a concession to those that may need to be unavailable at registration time due to work or other commitments.

3) Can we request to be on the same team as another player?
Answer: Due to the large number of requests we receive each year, and our growing number of registrations, we can no longer assure you that player pairing requests will be granted, with the exception of siblings in the same age group, and where a DEFINITE need to ride together has been established and communicated. It has been overwhelming for our volunteers to accommodate these large number of requests while trying to build fair and balanced teams. We believe that this approach keeps us in line with the practice of most other youth organizations. We see our program as a great opportunity for family members and players to meet new friends and neighbours from across our community, establishing friendships that may last for years to come.

4) Can we request to be on a specific coach’s team?
Answer: No, you may not request a coach. The only exception to this rule is if you are an assistant for that coach.

5) What happens if I miss the player evaluation night? Will my child be “cut” from the program?
Answer: While we hope that all players come out for evaluation night, no one that is registered will be “cut”. All will be placed on a team, and you will be notified what team and the team practice time in the days following our September 18 coaches meeting.

6) What do I do if I find out that my child has a conflict with another activity or decides they don’t want to play this season?
Answer: Please notify us as soon as possible by e mail ([email protected]), by phone (613 548-8790), through the web site or Facebook page. We will likely have a waiting list in each division of players that want to play, and a decision on your part will get one of them into the league.

7) How often will there be practices and what time of day will they be held?
Answer: In each division there will be one evaluation night practice in the week after registration following the schedule distributed at registration and that will be published here after registration day. In the week after the coaches meeting (September 23-26) there will be one practice with your team on the same game nights and time slots outlined in question one above. Once games begin there are no more practices.

Yesterday we had our golf tournament in support of the league operations and it was a great day for all involved. A total of 86 golfers took part in the event hosted by the Amherstview Golf and Country Club to enjoy a day of great fun, food, prizes and camaraderie on the course and in the clubhouse. There were many businesses that were extremely generous with their prize donations, and as soon as we have that list finalized, we will publish the list of donors here. Our thanks to the club for being such good hosts, and to Rick Hollywood, Heather Hollywood, Gloria DeMatos and Rob VanHeddegem for organizing the event and procuring prizes, and to Lyndsey Hawkins and Jackie Paterson for helping set up the prize table and look after the special draw. At the end of the day, $2820 was raised, and that will go a long way to helping cover our costs for the upcoming season. Well done everyone!

Saturday was our celebration event to kick off our 70th year of operation, and it was a big success! Below are a few photos from the day that included perfect weather and of course the support from the many volunteers that stepped up to make it all happen. Our thanks to Kelly’s Chip Truck, LionHearts Inc., the band Whiskey Smoke for providing entertainment, Mary O’Neill and McDonald’s Family Restaurants for the coffee, Coffee Way for the Donuts, Mio Gelato for the delicious Mio Gelato treats, Chris Payne and Bridget Walker Payne for the games area, Pam Hollywood and Jackie Patterson for the temporary tattoo station, Korra and Jessie for crewing the snow cone machine, Corey and Hayden Hollywood for their work making balloon animals, Susan Billings and Monique DaCosta for crewing the chips and water distribution, Luis and Liam DeMatos, and Heather Hollywood for crewing the registration booth, Gloria DeMatos and Walter DaCosta for guiding visitors through our walk down memory lane, and to Amber, Liz, Rick, Rob and Julie along with all the other volunteers that helped out throughout the day. Our thanks too to Chris Whyman, Kingston’s own Town Crier, Mayor Bryan Paterson, MPP Ted Hsu and Director of Education for the ALCDSB for giving up their Saturday to attend the event, and to MP Mark Gerretsen for sending his congratulations.

Neil from LionHearts sent this message to us this morning “Really appreciate you having us at the event. The donations will be used towards our student food box that goes out every other week to families that have been identified as food insecure, so we are very grateful for the contribution! Great meeting you as well! It was neat learning more about the league. It’s awesome what you guys are doing”

The event was a concept proposed by Shawn Hollywood, and nurtured over the last several months to what we had Saturday. Shawn did a great job bringing the day together, contacting all of our special guests, paying attention to details, supporting the volunteers and being master of ceremonies for the kick off to what we hope will be a very special season.

This week three members of the OUA Champion Queen’s Men’s Basketball team were selected in the Canadian Elite Basketball League Draft. Luka Syllas was drafted by the Niagara River Lions 11th overall, Cole Syllas was selected by the Brampton Honey Badgers 19th overall, and Michael Kelvin II was selected by the Ottawa BlackJacks with the 27th pick.
We wish all three of these young men success in the next phase of their basketball careers. They have demonstrated their love of the game throughout their basketball careers to this point and we all hope they continue to have that joy of playing in the years to come.

Registration for the SLC Summer Basketball Camps is now open! I know they fill up quickly. Search SLC Basketball Camp Grades 3-7, or SLC Basketball Camp Grades 8-12 to register.

Good luck, and our thanks to the college for organizing these outstanding camps again this year.

We will be placing an order for special golf shirts in black with our 70th Anniversary logo shown below on the left chest. They are 100% preshrunk cotton shirts, available in men’s and women’s sizes up to 2 XL. WE WILL BE PLACING AN ORDER ON WEDNESDAY MAY 1st, AND WE WILL NOT BE ORDERING AGAIN UNTIL LATER IN THE SUMMER. Cost is $25.00 per shirt. If you are interested please contact me through Facebook messenger or by the email on this page with your name, contact information and shirt size you are interested in. We will require pre-payment for the orders please, either by cheque, cash or e transfer. We should have the shirts by June 1st. Thanks! Roland

Yesterday we received a very substantial donation to our program from Zoe Yanovsky, owner of Chez Piggy Restaurant and the Pan Pan Chancho Bakery & Café. Zoe has been a coach in our league for many years, so she has seen first hand the importance of what we do. Thank you Zoe for believing in what we do! You are truly a difference maker in the lives of our players and their families through your commitment as a volunteer and as a supporter of what we do!