Taber Christian High School gearing up for Zone Championships

By Cole Parkinson
For Taber Times

With the calendar flipped to November, Taber Christian High School is gearing up for a big sporting event. Come mid-November, the school will be hosting the 1A South Zone Championship and the entire school is starting to get amped up.

“Taber Christian High School is extremely excited to host the 1A South Zone Championship on November 16-18,” said Phil Vriend, athletic director at TCHS. “As a school that is recently established it is really an honour and a privilege to host such a large sporting event, and have so many incredible athletes compete in our new facility. It is great to have the support from the Town of Taber in helping provide bleachers for the fans, and we are excited to be able to host so many.”

While this tournament has traditionally been held in Lethbridge at Lethbridge College, this year sees teams come to Taber for their shot at vying for Provincials. Vriend explained the decision to change locations was due to a recent decision to have more focus on the schools participating in the tournament. 

“In the past, this tournament has been hosted at Lethbridge College, but recently the decision was made by the Southern Alberta School’s Athletic Association at member schools of the South Zone to create a more close-knit and exciting athletic experience for our athletes,” he added. 

Come the middle of the month, many teams will be hitting the road to Taber and while TCHS is hosting another Taber team will also be in the tournament — the St. Mary’s Celtics. When teams do hit the court, there should be some familiarity between them as all have come face to face over the last several weeks.

“Many of the teams that will be coming to this tournament have faced each other in league and tournament play, having extremely exciting close matches. It is really exciting to have two Taber teams compete in this tournament, and their shot at qualifying for the Provincial Tournament in Vegreville. Eight teams will be competing, and only the team who wins the 1A South Zone Championship will get to compete in the Provincial Tournament, facing off against the best 1A schools in all of Alberta,” added Vriend. 

To keep up to date with the tournament, visit http://www.southzonevolleyball.com/index.html