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SportsOakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2011 25 By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF None of the 87 championship bannershanging on the wall were actually wonin the place affectionately known as The Dungeon. The wood-paneled walls are more reminis- cent of Mike and Carol Bradys living room than a gymnasium. And despite a full complement of lights and two three-by-15-foot windows pre- sumably to let sunlight in its like a perma- nent state of dusk inside the four walls. Of course, the lighting is finally appropriate now that the sun is setting on the St. Thomas Aquinas gymnasium. Built in the early 60s, the gym has played host to countless basketball and volleyball games over parts of six decades, first as Gordon E. Perdue Public High School, then the Raiders home since 1990 when the Halton Catholic District School Board purchased the building to open its second Oakville high school. Aquinas hosted its last league game in the gym Monday when the Raiders senior boys bas- ketball team rolled to a 57-24 victory over the M.M. Robinson Rams. Ill miss the old, dark, dingy gym, said Colin McGillicuddy, who spent 11 years at Aquinas and is now principal at rival Holy Trinity. I always thought it gave us an advan- tage. The numbers would seem to back up McGillicuddys beliefs. It has been more than seven years since the senior girls volleyball team lost a home game. And, in the gyms swan song, Raiders teams have gone a combined 32-3 in league play this year. Look at all the banners, said Aquinas point guard Andrew Chown, following the final buzzer Monday. This place definitely has a lot of histo- ry to it. The Raiders have a legacy of winning. Yet, for all their success, the Raiders biggest games were played elsewhere. Halton finals were always contested at Sheridan College and provincial championships at various locations around Ontario, denying the Raiders their home court advantage. But the origins of all of the tri- umphs can be traced back to the Aquinas gym, where teams gath- ered early in the morning to pre- pare. Because we just had the one single gym, scheduling was always a challenge, said Peter Szpakowski, the schools current head of physi- cal education, especially when the fall seasons were ending and the winter teams were starting. You would have 10 teams trying to use one gym. That often meant practices as early as 6 a.m. or as late as 7 p.m. Szpakowski coaches both the junior and senior girls volleyball teams and for Raiders play final game in The Dungeon The Frank Sabatino Memorial Tournament will celebrate its 10th anniversary when the Minor Oaks Hockey Associations annual house league tournament is held this weekend. The tournament has grown from an eight-team all-Oakville format in 2002 to a 48-team event that will draw teams from across the province this weekend. In fact, the tournaments popu- larity has caused organizers to add a new division this year, a non-con- tact peewee white division. The peewee white grouping will feature 16 teams, as will the atom and pee- wee red divisions. Teams from as far as Aurora, Windsor, London and Ottawa will participate in this years tournam- net, as well as the usual participants from Brampton, Mississsauga and Oakville. Games will be played at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, Joshuas Creek Arenas and River Oaks Recreation Centre, beginning tomorrow (Friday). The three-game round robin will conclude Saturday night, with the semifinals and finals slated for Sunday at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. A skills competition, always a highlight of the tournament, will be held from noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. Once again, the Sabatino tour- nament will carry out various fundraising activities on behalf of the Oakville Hospital Foundation. Monies raised will be donated to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospitals Palliative Care service for cancer patients and their fami- lies. The tournament is held in the memory of Frank Sabatino, a for- mer MOHA director and convener who passed away in 2001. Sabatino tournament celebrating tenth anniversary ONE OF A KIND: Wood-paneled walls, a rubberized floor, dim lighting and cramped quarters have always distinguished the St. Thomas Aquinas gym, which hosted its final league games Monday. St. Thomas Aquinas teams enjoyed plenty of success in the old, dark, dingy gym Look at all the banners. This place definitely has a lot of history to it. Aquinas student Andrew Chown See New page 26 NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER