By Joel van der Veen

LOREBURN — Close to 300 students from around the area competed in the east sectional high school track and field meet at Loreburn Central School this past week.

Sunny skies abounded as the school welcomed students from Davidson, Loreburn, Kenaston, Outlook, Elrose, Beechy, Lucky Lake and Outlook’s Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute (LCBI) on Wednesday.

Teacher Lloyd Tulp, the event’s key organizer, said the event was a success thanks to the efforts of students, coaches, teachers and community volunteers who kept things running smoothly.

Tulp, who served as coach for Loreburn, said he was pleased with the athletes’ performances, saying, “All my athletes gave their very best, and that’s all I could ask for.”

He said they had heard compliments on the condition of the school’s track; staff members had worked to resurface it after it was subject to vandalism on Sunday night. Tulp said drivers “tore up the inside track.”

The meet kicked off around 10 a.m. with students meeting in the Loreburn gym, but the day’s events gradually fell behind schedule. The track events finished at 3:30 p.m., 45 minutes late, while field events continued till around 4 p.m.

“When you have that many athletes, usually it goes that way,” said Tulp, noting that lots of students competed in multiple events, and adding that organizers may consider starting 15 or 20 minutes earlier next time around.

One student from Outlook High School sprained his ankle during the afternoon, and Tulp said other students had the usual soreness associated with such events.

“Other than that, we have been injury-free,” he said. “Dehydration hasn’t been too bad, we’ve been trying to get everybody to drink lots of water.”

Tulp expressed particular appreciation to staff from Outlook, including Cindy Tulp, Shannon Stephenson and Eli Dingle, and to Sun West School Division athletic commissioner Miles Bennett, who served in the starter’s position all day.

He also expressed his gratitude to the teachers, EAs and students from Loreburn, including Shea Boyle, who volunteered as a timer alongside the track throughout the day.

Many students from Davidson, Loreburn and Kenaston made an impressive showing; all but two of Davidson’s athletes are eligible to compete in the district track meet in Outlook on May 29 and 30.

For the full story, including results from all top winners and local competitors, please pick up a copy of the May 25 edition of The Davidson Leader.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — A community minor football team based in Davidson, also featuring players from Loreburn, Kenaston and Imperial, began its second season last week.

Coach Blair Frederickson said the aim of the team is to provide local players with lots of experience on the field, in the hopes that it will pay off when they hit the field with Davidson School’s junior football team this fall.

“There’s no substitute for game experience,” he said. “The kids are excited to go play against guys from the city.”

The Davidson Huskies play in Saskatoon Minor Football’s six-a-side league, competing at the Saskatoon Minor Football Field at Gordon Howe Park against teams from Saskatoon, Hanley, Hague, Outlook, Clavet and Martensville.

The team consists of 19 players in grades 7 and 8. This is their second year playing in the city league; they will play every Thursday for eight weeks and end their season with a jamboree at the end of June.

Coaching the team along with Frederickson are Garrett Bailey, who teaches at Davidson School, and Kenaston teachers John Jamieson and Evan Pasternak.

The team practises twice a week at Davidson School but is operated as a community team, explained Frederickson, who also teaches in Davidson and plans to retire at the end of the year.

Last year, the team won its first three games before being moved into a different skill bracket, after which they finished the season with a 2-2 record.

“It gave the kids an extra eight weeks of football,” said Frederickson, adding that the added experience was beneficial and helped make a big improvement with the junior team last fall. “They’re able to see more potential here with getting themselves on the field more.”

He also said the added field time would eventually pay off with the senior team, which struggled last year and failed to acheive a single win. Another factor that season was the lack of Grade 12 players, as Davidson’s senior class for 2014-15 consists entirely of girls.

Senior players Andrew Read and Morgan Manz are assisting the coaches with the community team. They, along with Kieran Boehm and Addison Ouellette, made up the group of four local players that attended a skill and ID camp at Outlook High School on May 2, organized by Football Saskatchewan, with coaches and reps from the Saskatoon Hilltops and university teams in attendance.

Football has grown rapidly in Davidson after beginning from a clean slate in 2011. Last year, Davidson School’s junior team attracted 15 players from here and Kenaston, while the senior team attracted about 20 players.

Frederickson said the teams would have their annual training camp in mid-August, although organizers are looking at holding a spring camp in early June.

“I’m trying to turn this town into a football town,” Frederickson said with a smile. “I’m hoping that these young guys . . . will step in and keep the program going here.”

Playing with the Huskies from Davidson this year are Blake Allan, Jacob Heinrich, Clay Murfitt, Derek Schmiedge, Joshua Warkentin, Riley Berry, Gabriel Charette, Nathan Chomyshen, Keegan Shaw and Addison Wightman.

The team also includes Jackson Firby, Brennon Haffner, Cole Sanderson, Trystan Stacowich and Carson George, all from Kenaston; Weston Davidson, Travis Griffin and Carter Lemcke, all from Loreburn; and McGuire Scheidt, the sole player from Imperial.

By Joel van der Veen

KENASTON — It’s down to the wire for junior badminton players in the district, but regular play between local schools has given them a solid foundation leading up to the end of the season.

Juniors from Davidson, Loreburn and Outlook met at Kenaston School on Thursday afternoon to face off in the last exhibition match of the regular season.

The four schools will compete in pre-sectionals this Tuesday, followed by sectionals on Thursday.

The junior district championships will be held at Kindersley Composite School on Saturday, April 25, while Rosetown Central High School will host the senior districts the same day.

Over the past month and a half, the four schools have hosted each other’s junior players in exhibition matches, allowing them to make the most of the short season.

The schools in Kenaston, Davidson, Loreburn and Outlook take turns serving as host, allowing students time on the court to take part in boys and girls singles, and boys, girls and mixed doubles competition.

Grant Abbott, a retired teacher who coaches the six junior badminton players from Loreburn School, said the program has been beneficial for them.

“The juniors are getting lots of games because of the exhibition program,” he said. “The whole process is to develop their skills . . . then they can put those skills into practice.”

Dodge Long, a Grade 9 student who plays in the singles division, had to miss the exhibition games last week as he got ready to compete with the Zone 5 bantam hockey team at the Sask First Bantam Tournament in Regina.

Abbott highlighted him and Grade 7 student Alyssa Glubis, also a singles player, as two of his most promising competitors.

As the coach of the Prairie Central district badminton team that took home gold from the 2014 Saskatchewan Winter Games in Prince Albert, Abbott said he’s also keeping an eye out for young players who could develop their skills and possibly join the team in 2018.

Evan Pasternak and Brian Johnston coach the junior badminton players from Kenaston School, with a total of 18 students taking part, an impressive number given the school’s smaller size.

Pasternak said that group represents a significant portion of the school’s students in grades 7 through 9, but added that the program didn’t get underway until mid-March.

“It’s been a bit of a learning process due to us starting a little bit later,” he said, adding, “We haven’t reached our potential . . . (but) the kids are improving and they’re having a lot of fun.”

Despite the group’s struggles, Pasternak said he can envision some of their players reaching the district level if they can maintain a high standard of play this coming week.

Ian Osmond coaches the Davidson junior badminton players, a group of 11 students. In addition to the weekly exhibition matches, they have also competed against players from Craik.

“For those who have shown up consistently, there’s definitely been progress,” said Osmond, adding that he has worked to build consistent teams but also switches up the partners sometimes.