On Thursday, December 2, 2010, the Senior Girls Volleyball Team from John Watkins Academy travelled to Middle Arm on the Baie Verte Peninsula to compete in the 2A Girls Volleyball Provincial Championship. There were 8 teams at the tournament. Division 1 teams included Gill Memorial Academy (Musgrave Harbour), M.S.B. Regional Academy (Middle Arm), Labrador Straits Academy (Forteau), and Belanger Memorial (Doyles). Division 2 teams included John Watkins Academy (Hermitage), St. Peter’s Academy (Westport), Cloud River Academy (Roddickton), and St. Lawrence Academy (St. Lawrence).
After round-robin play, the top two teams in each division competed in cross-over playoffs to gain a spot in the championship match. In the first semi-final, Gill Memorial defeated John Watkins Academy 2 games to 0, and Cloud River Academy defeated Labrador Straits Academy 2 games to 0 in the second semi-final match. After a very exciting championship match, the Cloud River Academy Girls Volleyball Team was once again crowned provincial champs as they defeated Gill Memorial 2 games to 1. The Cloud River Timberwolves are definitely a powerhouse in girls’ volleyball in the province as they won the 2A title in 2008, the 3A title in 2009, and 2A title this past weekend.
The John Watkins Academy Rebels were very pleased to make the semi-finals and to finish as one of the top four teams in the tournament. However, the highlight of the tournament for the girls was winning the Provincial 2A Girls Volleyball “Team Sportsmanship Award” for being the most spirited and sportsmanlike team at the tournament. This award was chosen by the other teams and officials at the tournament who recognized the exceptional sportsmanship of the John Watkins Academy Rebels both on and off the court. Sportsmanship is a very important part of school sports as the ‘Team Sportsmanship’ banner is worth the same number of points (100) in the Sports Stars Program as winning the championship banner. In addition, Jade Ryan won the individual sportsmanship award for her team.
The John Watkins Academy Senior Girls Volleyball team would like to sincerely thank all the residents and businesses of Hermitage-Sandyville and Seal Cove for their continued support in their fund raising efforts.
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