Tag: cross-country

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Junior Tigers Update: October 7, 2021

VOLLEYBALL:
Since our last post, the Tigers have played several volleyball games. Last week, the Grade 7A team participated in the inaugural Tiffany Li Memorial Tournament at WPGA. The four teams participating (Collingwood, Crofton House, WPGA, and YHS) were closely matched and each of the round-robin matches were hotly contested. Although they came up short in the win column, the Tigers fought hard through the early stages of the tournament. In the playoff portion, YHS lost to eventual winner WPGA, before defeating the Collingwood Caveliers to claim third place. 

This week, the Grade 6 Tigers took to the court at Collingwood School for their first-ever volleyball game. The team was very excited and displayed a high level of ability by controlling the ball with three touches many times throughout the match. The future looks very good for this group of volleyball players, and they will have another opportunity to show their stuff next week at Crofton House. The Grade 7B team also got their first taste of match play as they travelled with the Grade 7A team for their league matches at Southridge School. The scores were close, but unfortunately, the Tigers fell victim to the Storm. Both Grade 7 teams will look to bounce back at their next match at Mulgrave School on October 27. 

CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING:
The first race our amazing Cross-Country runners participated in was the Vancouver Spirit Run at Jericho Beach Park on Sunday, September 26th. Seventy tigers ran the race, with incredible success and positivity (despite the rain and the cold).

Only a few days after our first race was the Cross-Country Running Festival hosted by WPGA on Wednesday, September 29th. The girls made up for the fact that parents were not allowed to attend by cheering each other on so loudly that it sounded like a York House event. Congratulations to the 80 Tigers who ran the race!

Saturday, October 2nd was the Ocean Athletics Festival of Cross-Country at Crescent Park in South Surrey. Forty-five Tigers participated in our first clear weather event. The Yorkies are growing in stamina and strength with each race and their coaches couldn’t be more proud!

COMMUNITY SPORTS OPPORTUNITIES
Every year I receive a number of emails from community groups who are looking to make contact with our students. Some of the groups have a long history with YHS athletes, while others have fostered ties to YHS through coaching opportunities. Here are a few community sports opportunities that I endorse if you have a child looking for additional activities outside of the walls of YHS:

SMASH Volleyball:

  • Late fall skills and games
  • Mondays or Thursdays
  • Early November
  • Grades 4 – 7 at Shaughnessy Heights United Church (1550 West 33rd Avenue)

Split Second Basketball:

  • Skills Training
  • 3 on 3 games
  • High Performance
  • YHS Specific Training Groups

Real Basketball League:

  • Introductory programs (Grade 1-3)
  • Skill Development
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Senior Tigers Update: September 29, 2021

The Tigers are Roaring Back!
Inter-school athletics is back after a one-and-a-half-year hiatus due to COVID-19. While inter-school competition has returned, safety guidelines and other health and safety-related concerns are leading to a gradual and prudent approach to competition. York House is committed to providing competitive opportunities for our student athletes in a safe and sustainable environment.

YHS students are excited to be able to compete and as a result, participation on our teams is very high. Our fall athletic season is a very busy season. York House offers volleyball, field hockey, swimming, and cross-country running. Our teams are up and running and the season is off to an excellent start.

SENIOR VOLLEYBALL:
Our Senior Tigers are the defending AA Provincial Champions having won the title in the fall of 2019. Our current team is young and promising and off to a great start. They chalked up several wins at UBC losing only to eventual tournament champion South Delta Secondary and a close match vs. Little Flower Academy. This week, the Tigers avenged that loss to Little Flower with a convincing 3-1 win in our league game. The Tigers have also defeated West Point Grey Academy (WPGA) 3-2 and St. Pat’s 3-1 in league games thus far.

JUNIOR (GRADE 9-10) & GRADE 8 VOLLEYBALL:
Volleyball continues to be the most popular sport at YHS. Our Junior and Grade 8 teams have large rosters and are competing in local tournaments and league games. To accommodate the level of interest in volleyball, we are also offering some training days where all Grade 8, 9 and 10 volleyball players can participate with a focus on skill development and participation.

VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY:
Our Varsity Tigers are our most competitive team and includes players from Grade 9-12. YHS are the current bronze medalists from the last AA Provincial Championships in the fall of 2019. This talented team is off to a great start with a 4-1 victory over Little Flower in their first league game. Their schedule gets busy in the coming weeks with league games vs Crofton House and the ISA Championships in mid-October.

SENIOR AND JUNIOR FIELD HOCKEY:
Due to the popularity of field hockey at YHS, we offer more. Our Senior Team consists of all other players from Grade 9-12. We compete in our independent league against non-varsity teams. This week, our Senior Team played an exciting first match against Crofton House that ended in a 1-1 draw. League games continue in the coming weeks and they too have an ISA Tournament later in October.

Our Junior Team (Grade 8-10) is a training group that practices each week and will play a couple exhibition games vs other local Junior Teams.

SWIM TEAM:
Our YHS Swim Team are the defending AA Provincial Champions having won the most recent BC title back in the fall of 2019. This year’s team is young and working hard at weekly practices to achieve their best at upcoming meets which include the ISA Championships and the Vancouver Sea to Sky Zone Championships later in October.

CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING TEAM:
This year’s Cross-Country Team is also working hard at weekly practices to achieve their best at our weekly independent school meets at Jericho. Meets take place on Tuesdays at 3:00 pm. Two upcoming events include the ISA Championships and Vancouver Sea to Sky Zone Championships later in October.

Questions About Extracurricular Athletics?
With the return of competitive sport after such a long lay off, many people may have questions. YHS Athletics typically run ‘coffee mornings’ for parents to ask questions about extracurricular athletics at YHS. In the absence of these opportunities, please feel free to Ask About Athletics and Mr. Jackson and I will do our best to reply in future weekly updates.

Question: Why does YHS offer specific sports only during specific times of the year?
Answer: High school sport in BC is governed and sanctioned by BC School Sports (BCSS). All member school schools are committed to following BCSS rules and regulations. BCSS has set seasons of play with various sports designated in each season. For example, field hockey is a fall season sport. A school can not officially run a field hockey team and compete outside the BCSS designated “season of play” for field hockey. This applies to all BCSS sports. Because of these designated seasons of play, there would be no other high school field hockey teams to play at other times during the year. Finally, some sports are not considered school sports in BC. For example, softball is not a sport under BCSS and very few schools in BC, if any, offer competitive softball programs. Softball is a community club sport.