Local hotels are booked solid with thousands of athletes in town for the OFSAA swimming championships.
“I really do have to say thanks to my committee and TWEPI. They came to our rescue really quickly,” said Danielle Parent, meet coordinator.
Parent is helping Windsor-Essex host the largest provincial high school swim meet on record, with close to 2,300 athletes from 299 schools, plus family and friends, all needing a place to stay.
With more than 600 asylum seekers sent to Windsor from Quebec since last summer, organizers were told at the last minute there was “no room at the inn”.
“I didn't realize they were going to take three hotels,” Parent said. “They were only telling us one, and then literally last week two more called and said sorry we're shutting you down and we're taking over the two hotels.”
With around 800 rooms lost, Parent was forced to dive in head first to find a solution.
“We filled Leamington and Lakeshore, they came to us last minute and some people are even staying at Airbnb's that they found,” she added.
“It was booked full,” said Kincardine & District Senior School swimmer Natalie Newton, who was inconvenienced by the cancellation. “We were very lucky to get two nights in a row, [in] multiple rooms.”
The two-day championship meet went off without a hitch Tuesday and is one of many events local fans can cheer on this week.
The men's basketball team at St. Clair is hosting the provincial championships starting Friday night. The Saints open at 8 p.m. against Conestoga.
“We’re 12-0 since the break,” said Co-Head Coach Matt Sykes. “We haven’t lost this semester which is scary but we’re obviously confident heading into this weekend and we’re on our home court.”
The program has won eight medals since 1967, including silver a year ago. A medal this weekend would be their first back-to-back since 1980.
“It’s a good time to be part of the college. We’ve had a lot of winning programs and we’re trying to be the next one,” Sykes said.
The University of Windsor men's hockey team is hosting game one of the OUA West finals Wednesday at the Capri Recreation Complex.
“It’s good to have everyone back in the lineup,” said Head Coach Kevin Hamlin. “Guys are having fun and I still think there’s another level we can get to and hopefully we get there.”
James Gravelle, men's head volleyball coach, is hoping for the same. His team hosts the OUA semi-finals against the University of Toronto Saturday night at the TLC.
“We are 10-1 here at home and we’re 1-1 against Toronto. They’re a really tough matchup, a great team so it’s going to be a great challenge,” said Gravelle.
Local fans can cheer from afar as the men's basketball team is in Ottawa Wednesday night for the OUA semi-finals.
“These guys are locked in,” said Head Coach Chris Cheng, whose team beat the University of Guelph by 19 points last weekend to advance.
“It’s been a real pleasure to coach them the past couple of weeks, just seeing them grow and be mentally together and engaged. It’s been a real privilege as a coach,” he concluded.
