Burlington, Ont. – With the start of the OUA season officially here, it won’t be long until the fall edition of Banner Season hits the courts, the fields, and everything in between, and it all gets underway on October 6th.
2023-24 Banner Season | Fall Championships
The first banners being doled out in 2023 will be those for the OUA tennis, with the Toronto Varsity Blues serving up the season’s first championship festivities at the Mayfair Club from October 6th to 8th.
While no additional banners will be awarded that weekend, the right to compete for one the following weekend will be on the line at the quartet of OUA Baseball Qualifiers from October 6th to 7th. Carleton (East Regional), York (Central Regional), McMaster (West Regional), and Windsor (Far West Regional) will host the four qualifying events across the two days, with each group’s victor then advancing to the OUA Baseball Championship from October 13th to 14th at Bernie Arbour Stadium.
There will be more than bats being swung that weekend; however, as OUA golfers will also be hitting the links and swinging for their shot at the OUA Golf Championships. Wilfrid Laurier, champions on the men’s side four years ago, will welcome the conference’s golf contingent to Grey Silo Golf Club from October 14th to 15th.
Just two weekends later, OUA victors will be crowned across five different sports, including a quartet on Saturday, October 28th. Two of the events, the Women’s Rugby Championship and Field Hockey Championship, will have their participants and hosts determined following the respective regular season and playoff results, as the highest remaining seed will host each finale.
The other two, meanwhile, will feature races galore, as the host Ontario Tech Ridgebacks welcome teams to the waters at the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines for the Rowing Championships and the Waterloo Warriors bring the Cross Country Championships to the university’s Columbia Ice Fields (North Campus).
Rounding out the banner-laden weekend will be the three-day Lacrosse Championship from October 27th to 29th, wherein the defending champion Queen’s Gaels will see their conference competitors converge at Tindall Field.
All eyes will be on the pitch the following weekend, with the highest remaining seeds set to host the Women’s Soccer and Men’s Soccer Championships, respectively, on Saturday, November 4th.
A different kind of football will then take centre stage a week later, with the 115th edition of the Yates Cup Championship being decided on the gridiron on November 11th. The Men’s Rugby Championship will also see its trophy lifted on November 11th at the home of the highest remaining seed to close out the penultimate weekend of OUA championship play.
The final entry of the fall’s Banner Season will take place at the Montpetit Hall pool, wherein the Ottawa Gee-Gees host the Water Polo Championship from November 24th to 26th.
Further information on the OUA’s winter championship schedule to follow.
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