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U of A Athletics bids on 6 CIS championships
Matt Gutsch
The events Athletics has targeted to host are: women’s basketball (2011 and 2013), men’s hockey (2013 and 2014) and men’s soccer (2013 and 2014).
“We are bidding to host these championships to give our teams the best possible opportunity to compete on the national stage where they would receive support from the U of A student population, as well as their friends and families,” said Vang Ioannides, acting director of Athletics. “At the U of A, we have set a goal to host one CIS championship per year, and we hope that this slate of bids will help us to achieve that goal.”
The U of A has hosted 34 CIS championships in the past, and will next act as a championship host for the 2012 women’s hockey tournament. Evergreen and gold teams have won 12 CIS titles while competing in Edmonton.
The last time Alberta hosted the CIS women’s basketball championships was during the 2000 and 2001 seasons, where the host Pandas finished fourth (2000) and second (2001).
“The women’s basketball championship is a significant bid, because it will either mark the last CIS championship in the Main Gym (2011), or the first in a new, state of the art facility, the GO Centre (2013),” said Ioannides.
Historic Clare Drake Arena has served as the location of the University Cup championship tournament eight times, most recently in 2005 and 2006 when the Golden Bears won back-to-back national championships. The 2005 CIS men’s hockey championship was played before 10,000 people at Rexall Place.
“If we are awarded men’s hockey in the 2013 season, it will correspond with the Golden Bears 100th anniversary, and what better way to celebrate than an opportunity to win on home ice,” said Ioannides.
Alberta is also looking to repeat CIS home championship success with the Golden Bears soccer team by bidding for the 2013 and 2014 national championships. The Golden Bears last hosted the nationals in 2006, winning the gold medal, the program’s first championship win in Edmonton.