21 February 2011
To all teams and members of Touch Football
Ontario
- Everyone should be aware of the circumstances
regarding the Hamilton TT….In no way did we expect to lose the Hamilton
Bowl.
- I received information from President of H.T.F.L., Kieran
Boyle, that the prospect of holding the Hamilton Tournament was in
trouble financially. They had used league money in the past to
fund the tournament which they did not want to do again as the Mohawk
Fields that are used are expensive He advised that the
dates were still available but would let me know if they were good to
go with the Hamilton tournament.
- Realizing that it was not a likely a go, we moved the
Burlington tournament up to May 14th & 15th
to get
away from rainy weather that in past wouldn’t allow us to use certain
field
complexes. That allowed for a tournament elsewhere for June 4th
& 5th and our usual three week space between
tournaments.
- Realizing we might need an alternative to Hamilton, I
checked out Oshawa and Mississauga. Both cities were definitely
interested but needed to check field availability which initially
looked good
but couldn’t confirm right away.
- With no immediate confirmation from Oshawa or
Mississauga, I went back to Kieran suggesting support from TFO in the
amount of $750 and allowing for the possibility of the 2012 National
Championships to be held in Hamilton. Kieran said he would have to
check with his committee, which he did, and decided it wasn’t enough
and he couldn’t be sure of June 4th & 5th as
he had booked May 28th& 29th. Kieran
later confirmed they couldn’t get June 4th and 5th.
I
advised that, if necessary, to keep Hamilton on board, we could use
the May 25th & 26th dates despite having only
two weeks between tournaments. Kieran stated he would let me know
on Sunday. On Sunday, he said thank you but it would not be a
go. I advised we had an alternative and would have to take it! I
suggested that next year is another possibly for the Hamilton
tournament to be reinstated.
- A few days prior to the Sunday, I received a go ahead
for field availability from both Oshawa and Mississauga. As the
Hamilton
site was definitely out, I thanked Oshawa for considerations and
proceeded
to go ahead with Mississauga/Brampton option which has an 8 field
complex.
Steve Morrell will chair this tournament.
- I should add that John Schiebel, the well esteemed
President of MTFL and member of Touch Football Ontario, was
instrumental in helping
us derive the field locations and complex through the city of Brampton.
John
has shown a great deal of interest in our Trillium Tournaments as well
as
holding a Trillium Tournament.
Many Thanks John Schiebel & Steve Morrell.
Best Regards,
Ed Laverty
President, TFO