By Irek Kusmierczyk
In the end, neither the school board nor the athletic association could stop Tom Macmillan, and his best friend Tim Clark, both 17, from racing into the provincial cross-country finals and leading Lisgar Collegiate to its first-ever National Capital team championship.
Macmillan and Clark, Grade 12 students at Lisgar, finished first and second respectively in the senior boys division of the National Capital Secondary Schools Athletic Association cross-country championship Oct. 26. This result qualified them for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ championship in Brampton Nov. 4.
Lisgar’s senior boys team placed first in its division, while the junior boys team and junior girls team held onto second place, qualifying them for the OFSAA championship. Anne Fyfe and Eilish McConville also made it to the OFSAA meet in the senior and midget girls categories respectively.
At the OFSAA competition, McConville placed 45th and Fyfe 39th. The junior boys finished 8th, the junior girls came in 18th and the senior boys ended up in 14th place — thanks in part to Clark and Macmillan finishing 62nd and 75th respectively in the 270-runner field.
At one point, it looked as if the boys wouldn’t even get a chance to compete in Brampton.
“They told us after our second race this season we might not be able to race (in the post-season),” says Clark. “We were disappointed because it was our goal to make it to OFSAA and it was going to be demolished.”
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the NCSSAA sent a memo to school principals Oct. 20 reminding them that, according to OFSAA and school board regulations, all teams that make it to post-season and provincial competitions need to be supervised by teachers, retired teachers, or members of the administration. Lisgar’s team had none of the above.
Like most public school teachers in Ontario, Lisgar’s cross-country coach, Peter Niedre, withdrew his extra-curricular services after the province enacted the controversial Education Accountability Act (Bill 74). This act forced teachers to spend more time in the classroom. As a result, teachers say they have no time for extra activities.
The media has called it an informal protest against the government.
“It’s tough to understand, especially because a bunch of the teachers would love to be (coaching) these sports,” says Macmillan. “I don’t know what the (Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation) wants, but I suspect there’s a lot of pressure on the teachers not to do these activities.”
Whatever the reasons, students are being forced to come up with ways to save their programs.
Macmillan asked his parents, Katie and Graham Macmillan, to volunteer as supervisors. That got them through the season, but they couldn’t participate in post-season races without a teacher.
The athletic co-ordinator for the NCSSAA, Sue Fleming, says the rule has always been there. She says OFSAA rules were adopted by the regional athletic association and the school board, because competitions at higher levels need to be supervised by a teacher who is aware of the educational philosophy.
Lisgar’s principal, Angela Spence, rescued the team by hiring a supply teacher with physical education experience to attend the meet. Spence wouldn’t name the teacher.
For the OFSAA competition, the team brought Marg Terret, a retired teacher, who was once the head of physical education at Colonel By secondary school.
From the start of the season, fate had conspired against the Lisgar team. But as true champions, they rallied around each other to overcome the obstacles.
“The fact that we did everything ourselves made it all stand out,” says Macmillan. “It made it our victory.”
Macmillan says the team ran its own practices and seniors often mentored the younger runners. It also posted flyers around the school to get students to join.
Clark says the team is grateful to the Macmillans for volunteering their time.
“They stood up to let us have our season,” says Clark. “They saved our season, because without them we wouldn’t have a team.”
Katie Macmillan has taken time off from her consulting business to coach the team and take care of administrative tasks like completing permission forms. She says she doesn’t know how many hours she and her husband have put in, but admits it is a lot.
“The kids had worked so hard for many years,” she says. “We felt it was something we could do because they put so much into it.”