On Thursday, April 25 Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute (VCI) hosted the first ever Eastern Regional CrossFit competition, The 2024 VCI Throwdown, supported by Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA). 

The event was the first of its kind and saw over 100 students from nine different schools compete in teams of two, to determine who was the fittest team in Eastern Ontario. 

For those who are unfamiliar with the sport, CrossFit is a fitness program that produces measurable outcomes through lifestyle changes, centered on training and nutrition. Workouts consist of constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movements, and are most fun and effective among friends. All CrossFit movements can be modified to suit kids, teens, and adults of all ages and fitness levels. 

On Thursday, students competed in five different workouts throughout the day which included movements such as dumbbell snatches, wall ball shots, box jumps, burpees, deadlifts, running, rowing, heavy sandbag holds, overhead lunges with a dumbbell, goblet squats, push ups, thrusters, and the dreaded wall walks. 

VCI was well represented at the event with 8 teams. Three of those teams finished on the podium. Brayden Besner and Cody Horner finished first in the senior boy’s division. VCI’s Reid Cunning and Garrett Cunning finished 5th and Deklyn Campbell and Gabriel Dor finished 10th in the 13-team division. Julian Croteau-Zyb and Cedric Fortin from Franco Cité, took 2nd place, while Ethan Box and Luke Gerein from North Grenville took 3rd place. 

In the senior girl’s division, VCI’s Kyra Jones and Bianca Fumigali finished in second place, while Koree Yach and Shaylynn Middlemiss from Arnprior won first and Regan Wynot and Eva Fader finished third, in the 11-team division. 

In the junior boy’s division, VCI’s Tanner Albright and Logan MacKinnon finished 3.5 points away from a podium position, in forth place while the other VCI team in that division made up of Alek Kerr and Isaac Remarais Ho finished in seventh out of 12 teams. Riley Stampkecokie and Jacob Bellavance from St. Peter finished first, Samuel Marleau and Luke de Cotret from Academie de la Seigneurie finished second and Louis Turgeon and Hugo Rozon from Le Sommet finished third. 

Lastly, in the junior girl’s division, VCI’s Layla Dagher and Olivia Howes-Duval finished second in their 11-team division while Anna Wyman and Cara Emberg finished 8th. Maélie Proulx and Danie Laflèche from ESCRH finished in first place while Eriann Box and Addyson Lekx-Toniolo finished in third place. 

Overall, the event was well attended and well supported by various member of the community. I would like to thank the following sponsors for helping with this event. Primal CF for their generosity. They leant almost all the equipment that was used at the competition at no cost, to support the growth of the sport and student wellness.  Asselin Independent Grover, Gauthier Auto glass, Wever financial, Ouimet Farms Adventures, Theoret-Martel Insurance Broker, Herb-o-dem, Burroughs construction, Sport Experts, Lalonde Physiotherapy, G. Dupont construction, The Vankleek Hill Sports Club, 13 Jack Consulting, Pond Rocket, LMNT, Mike’s Waste Disposal, and Vankleek Hill Chiropractic Center. 

Organizer Dan Tremblay would like to thank all of the volunteers who helped judge the competition.

Without them, we could not have had the type of event that we did. Also, my colleagues, student volunteers, and administrators, who helped out during the event. They were all wonderful and made sure that everything went down without a glitch,” Tremblay said.

He also thanked all the students who participated in the competition from different parts of Eastern Ontario.

“Congratulations on being the first group to participate in this competition, for having the courage to compete, and for showing extreme sportsmanship with other competitors and with your teammates throughout the event,” Tremblay said.

Submitted photos