The Leader-Post from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada • 20

C2 Leader-Post Sports Monday, April 14, 2003 VOLLEYDALL TEAM HANDBALL Sport studies sanctioning; Quotable they it By IAN HAMILTON Leader-Post The unofficial Saskatchewan high school team handball championships were held on the weekend at the Sport-Plcx. It could soon become official If Warren Poncsak has his way. Poncsak, the executive director of the Saskatchewan Team Handball Federation, said Sunday his association may try to get the sport sanctioned by the Regina High Schools Athletic Association. That would make it an intercollegiate sport like football and basketball. We havent made a formal decision, but I think it would be a natural, Poncsak said.

There are tons of schools involved and tons of kids involved. I understand teachers could say, Great. Another sport I have to administer, or, Another sport I have to show up and be an adviser for. But hopefully, the sport can be accepted. The sport is young in Saskatchewan; its only a generation old.

Its the No. 2 sport in the world behind soccer. Once kids play, they like it The championships featured 16 mens teams and 14 womens squads. Nine Regina schools Balfour, Campbell (two teams), Johnson, LeBoldus (two), Miller, ONeill, Riffel (two), Sheldon and Winston Knoll (two) Once play, Warren were represented in the men's pools. The women's side also had nine Regina schools entered Balfour (two), Campbell, Johnson, LeBoldus, Miller, RilTel, Sheldon, Usher and Winston Knoll (two).

Estcvan, Kipling and North Valley all had entries in both the men's and women's pools. Poncsak said the Regina schools compete in an exhibition schedule after the Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League season primarily because the team handball teams are rife with basketball players. The sport is not overly expensive, but Poncsak said finding facilities is a big concern. He noted a certain number of schools would have to participate in a league in order for the sport to get RIISAA sanctioning. (Making it a high school sport) would be huge, said Winston Knolls Dave Sadowski.

There are a lot of schools that would play. People who dont play any other sports would love it Were looking at the details of it to see if its a good fit, Poncsak said. Obviously, (RHSAA officials) control that. The sport wouldnt die without (sanctioning), but if it happens, Saskatoon automatically would say, Hey, weve got to take a look at that. A number of Regina athletes have done that themselves.

kids like Poncsak Winston Knolls Joni Ager hadnt even heard of the sport two years ago; now she's a regular. When I first started going to high school, people said, 'Do as much as you can In high school In terms of sports, said Ager, who also played for the Wolverines senior girls basketball, volleyball and softball teams. I enjoy sports and this is something I can do. I may not be able to play it in university, but I really enjoy it because it'4 something new." As popular as team handball is in high school, its not a sport thats played at the university level. But as Poncsak pointed out, those who play team handball on provincial teams have better chances to go to nationals than those who play any sport for universities.

Its not a university sport, but its a young sport, noted Balfours Erica Schmidt, who plays for Saskatchewans juvenile and junior teams. If you go to Quebec, they start playing team handball when theyre five years old the age when we start playing basketball. (A surge in interest in team handball) will come. Over the years, maybe there will be university teams, too. In Sundays womens A final; Schmidt and Krista Euteneier each had three goals as Balfour 1 beat Winston Knoll 1 8-5.

In the mens finals; Sadowski scored eight goals for Winston Knoll 1 in its 17-12 victory over Campbell 1 for the A championship, and North Valley beat Campbell 2 11-8 to claim the crown. CHARLES MELNICKLeader-Post Leagh Schmiedge (6) and Shannon Usher (11) of the Regina Rads double-team Mallory McCormick (right) of the Regina Havoc. Red captures title after long, hard battle 0OT Bhtasasgc SoftbalflBasebalHFastbal acrosseand ohrTo lit BASEBALL Jays demote Huckaby TORONTO (CP) The Toronto Blue Jays designated catcher Ken Huckaby for assignment Saturday and recalled outfielder Reed Johnson from triple-A Syracuse. Huckaby will be assigned to Syracuse if he clears waivers. The Blue Jays also optioned outfielder Jayson Werth and pitcher Justin Miller from single-A Dunedin to Syracuse.

Huckabys spot on the team has been tenuous since Greg Myers, a left-handed hitting catcher, was signed in the offseason. The 32-year-old played in just three games this season, all of them starts by ace Roy Halladay, and had one hit in 10 at-bats. ffSFSl S5 1745IHAMILT0N By MURRAY McCORMICK Leader-Post The Saskatchewan Volleyball Association's juvenile womens championship was as much about surviving a long weekend as it was about winning medals. The first match was played at 9 a.m. on Saturday and the final point of the 32-team womens competition was recorded Sunday at 9 20 p.m.

In between, parents, fans and supporters endured the highs and lows that seem to be an integral part of a championship weekend. The championship closed with Saskatoon's JCVC Red beating the Regina Radz 26-24, 26-28, 16-14 to win the gold medal in the womens Tier I final late Sunday evening at Campbell Collegiate. Red pulled out the win after trailing 13-12 in the third game of the match. The victory sparked a tearful celebration by Red that capped a rewarding weekend. Im really tired but Im pumped," said Rebekah Klotz, a diminutive power hitter with a huge vertical leap for the Red.

We just played like we do. We knew if we played with heart, thats what it would take. There was also some additional motivation for the Red. The Red advanced to the final with a semifinal victory over the Saskatoon RCVC Impact. Klotz said that win was even sweeter because six players from the Red left the club last year to join the Impact.

One of our goals was to beat those teams, Klotz said. Impact are our rivals in Saskatoon and we wanted to show them that we are still a good team without them. The Radz rolled into the final with a 25-15, 18-25, 15-5 victory over the Regina Volleyball Club Havoc. The Impact rebounded from the semifinal loss to beat the Havoc 25-23, 25-21 in the bronze-medal match. The members of the Radz were disappointed with the result in the final but pleased with the outcome of the weekend.

Its better to be in the final than be in eighth place," said Shannon Usher, who commutes from Moose Jaw to play with the Radz. You always want to make the top eight We worked hard and we tried our best. Usher has logged a lot of kilometres in pursuit of a medal at the provincial championship. She doesnt regret a moment of the long trips. I really wanted to play with this team, said Usher.

Its really worthwhile to practise with them every day. We got second in the provincial championship and now we can look at the national championship and hope we do well there. The Canadian open juvenile championships are May 9-10 in Saskatoon. Lanigan Blue finished first in Tier II. The Colonsay Tier Central Storm topped Tier III and Kyle was first in Tier IV.

On the mens side, the Yorkton Mighty Ducks defeated the South West Vipers 25-22, 25-21 in the Tier I gold-medal match. The Prince Albert Smashing Bananas defeated Sasktoon Gold 24-26, 25-15, 15-11 in the bronze-medal match. The White City Green Giants finished first in the Tier division with a 25-15, 25-22 victory over Nipawin Johnnys. AIR CANADA CUP Harvest looking at world of opportunity By GREG HARDER Leader-Post The Yorkton Harvest is hoping to celebrate one landmark occasion by establishing another. It was 10 years ago this month that Yorkton then called the Parkland Mailers captured a national midget AAA hockey title at the Air Canada Cup championship.

Yorkton will look to duplicate that feat when it represents the Prairies at the 2003 tournament, which begins next Monday in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. It opens up a world of opportunities, offered Yorkton head coach Ryan Hoffman. The exposure (the players) are going to get to NCAA people and junior A people and (major) junior people across the country, its unparalleled. And not only that, a lot of these guys will never get another opportunity to play for a national championship.

It certainly is special and the guys are really enjoying it Yorktons success has also promoted a sense of redemption for the midget club, which has frequently been an afterthought in the league rankings since its championship season a decade ago. When we (Hoffman and assistant Lee Rusnak) came in here three years ago it was tough to get kids to come here to play, explained the head coach, whose team finished fourth in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League this season at 26-15-1-2. When you have a little bit of success its easier to recruit and it just kind of snowballs from there. With the success we had this year, we have kids calling us and thats a nice problem to have and a feather in our cap. Were real proud of the job we've done here.

Tlie Harvest is also pleased to be representing its home province, which has a distinguished history at the Air Cana- da Cup. Saskatchewan has won eight national crowns since 1980, including last years title by the Tisdale Trojans. The Regina Pat Canadians have captured a province-high four titles, the most recent coming in 1999. Saskatchewan has a great reputation there, noted Hoffman, whos also a scout for the WHLs Calgary Hitmen. With that comes a little bit of pressure in that we dont want to go there and stink the joint out.

We want to do our league proud and our province proud and show that we deserve to be there. I think well do fine. After beating the Saskatoon Contacts in the final of the SMAAAHL, Yorkton advanced to the Air Canada Cup by winning a four-team western qualifier in Thunder Bay. Yorktons competition at the national tournament comprises the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars (host), the Calgary North Stars (Pacific region), Waterloo Wolves (Central), College Antoine-Girouard Gaulois (Quebec) and St.

Johns Maple Leafs (Atlantic). Hoffman believes a combination of depth and top-end talent will make his team competitive against Canadas elite midget squads. The Harvest is led by a No. 1 line which had all three players in the top 10 in league scoring this season Clayton Geiger, Chris Korchinski and Michael Holmes. Dustin Nehring is the leader on defence while Justin Mrazek of Regina provides quality and experience between the pipes.

We have as good a chance as anyone, Hoffman said of the tournament. We do a good job of keeping our goals-against down and if you play good defensive hockey you always have a chance to win. Yorktons first contest at the Air Canada Cup is Monday against St. Johns, Nfld. All Saturns come with a 5 year or 100,000 km Powertrain Warranty.

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