Viewpoint Leave it to Weaver: No shortage of local sports action these days!

EDITOR Taylor Weaver

It’s almost that time of year when the hockey sticks get put away and the bats, gloves and golf clubs come out, but man oh man, it’s a great time to be a sports fan in the Border City!

It’s also a great time to be a sports reporter as there’s an abundance of exciting stories to be told.

Let’s start on the volleyball court with the Lakeland College women’s volleyball team.

This veteran squad has done what head coach Austin Dyer described as “completely unheard of” and went 65-3 in sets this season.

They swept at the provincial championships last weekend in Red Deer and are currently competing for a national title in Nanaimo in the CCAA volleyball championships. To top it all off,

The fee reductions will result in families saving an average of $395 to $573 per month for each child under six from the average comparable fees as of March 31, 2021.

“Today is a major achievement for families in Saskatchewan,” said Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould.

“By working together, Canada and Saskatchewan have achieved our shared goal of affordable child care three years ahead of schedule. We are continuing to focus on achieving other important targets through the Canada-wide system, such as space creation and support to early childhood educators, to ensure that every family has access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive child care.”

This parent fee reduction is the third fee reduction since the

Dyer was named the CCAA coach of the year yesterday morning. But more on that on Page 14.

Now to the ice!

The Lloydminster Bobcats secured a spot in AJHL playoff action and start their best-ofseven series against the Bonnyville Pontiacs on the road this weekend. But more of that on Page 15.

The Lakeland College King’s Energy Rustlers Hockey Club is back on home ice for Game 2 of semi-final ACAC women’s hockey championship action at the Russ Robertson on Saturday night for a 7 p.m. puck drop.

These ladies finished third overall in their first season competing in the ACAC and have come a long way since winning the Alberta Female Junior Hockey League title last year.

The Holy Rosary High School Raiders senior girls and seniors boys curling teams also recently returned from zones in St. Paul where they both won silver med- signing of the CanadaSaskatchewan CanadaWide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement in August 2021.

The agreement includes a federal investment of nearly $1.1 billion over five years for regulated early learning and child care programs and services for children under the age of six in Saskatchewan.

A total of 19,790 regulated child care spaces are operational in Sas als! Of the nine medals the Raiders were competing for last weekend in the North East Zone, they claimed a total of five, but more on that next week. Great job everyone! katchewan across 144 communities as of December 31, 2022.

Of course, there’s an abundance of other big games currently taking place, these are just a few on my radar that I felt like sharing my thoughts on.

It’s mentioned in the sports story on Page 14, but Rustlers CCAA volleyball is actually being live-streamed on YouTube throughout the tournament and can be found by searching CCAA women’s volleyball on YouTube.

As much as I’d love to, I couldn’t make it to Nanaimo to watch the action unfold live, so streaming it will be my plan!

The 12-hour Play it Forward charity hockey game is also quickly approaching with funds raised supporting the purchase of a new Care-A-Van for Border City Connects. The goal is $70K; let’s show our support!

Through the agreement the governments are also providing funding for free training and education to increase the number of early childhood educators, wage enhancements of up to $5.00 per hour, and a range of grants for regulated child care facilities.

“These subsidies help families like mine because my wife and I both work and we have two kids,” said Sanjay Patel, a Saskatoon parent whose children attend a regulated family child care home.

“I’ll probably be saving around $500 to $600 a month compared to last year with this most recent reduction in parent fees. This is going to help my family out a lot because we’ll have more money left over for other things our family can use.”