One of South Surrey’s longest running high-school tournaments is back on the court this week, albeit in a slightly scaled down format.
The Peace Arch News Classic – which features junior and senior girls volleyball teams from around the province – has been staged since the late 1980s, with games spread out between local host schools. This year, the tournament features 16 teams – down from last year’s 18 and 24 in earlier years – and will be hosted at just one school, Semiahmoo Secondary.
“It’s a little easier to just do it at one school this year, with a tighter schedule,” said longtime tournament organizer Gord Houchen, who also coaches Semiahmoo’s junior girls squad.
The PAN Classic begins Friday afternoon and wraps up Saturday night.
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Participation numbers are down slightly due to a glut of other competing tournaments in the area, Houchen said. A memorial tournament was held last weekend at Seaquam Secondary, and this weekend, the Red Serge Classic in Port Coquitlam will draw some of the top senior girls quad-A teams across the Fraser River.
“It’s always a really busy time of year,” Houchen said.
However, the field will still be a competitive one at Semiahmoo. Among teams set to compete are Houchen’s junior crew – which just wrapped up an undefeated regular season – as well as Earl Marriott Secondary’s junior team, and senior squads from Fleetwood Park, Fraser Heights and Tamanawis.
“We’re a fairly strong team – we’ve been in a lot of senior tournaments this season, so we’ll be competitive,” Houchen said of his young group.
From outside of Surrey, Vernon’s W.L Seaton Secondary, Vancouver’s Magee Secondary and Unity Christian from Chilliwack will also be among those competing this weekend. Though stopping short of making any predictions, Houchen did say he expected Magee to be a tough test for opponents.
One team that won’t be in the field for the second year in a row is Semiahmoo Secondary’s senior team. Last year, the Totems were accidentally double-booked and played at another tourney instead, and this season, the school – which historically has been one of the province’s best at the senior girls level – doesn’t have a senior girls team.
Houchen figures that having Semi back in the fold in future years – as well as finding an open weekend on the calendar – will go a long way to enticing more teams to take part in the tournament.
“I don’t remember the last time Semi didn’t have a senior girls team, but we have a strong junior team, and (former senior coach) Paisley (Poelzer) is coaching the Grade 8s this year, so we’ll build it back up from there,” Houchen said.
Last year’s tournament was won by the Seaquam Seahawks, who defeated Fraser Heights to successfully defend their PAN Classic crown, after also winning the tournament in 2016. In 2016, the Seahawks – who also won in 2011 – defeated Semiahmoo.
In the past, local squads have had plenty of success at the event. Elgin Park won it all in 2014, and Holy Cross took top spot in 2015 with an upset victory over Cloverdale’s Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, who were among the province’s top-ranked teams at the time.
On Friday, games begin at 2:30 p.m. at Semiahmooo Secondary.
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