Bradford school set to host OFSAA tournament in June

Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Bradford West Gwillimbury. (Steve Mansbridge/CTV News Barrie)

Planning has begun for Bradford West Gwillimbury as one of the local schools prepares to host a significant province-wide high school soccer championship.

Holy Trinity School in Bradford West Gwillimbury has been selected to host the Girls AA Soccer OFSSA championship. The event is expected to bring students from 20 different schools from across Ontario and their families to the community for the three-day event.

"For Bradford, it's an opportunity to embrace the small businesses that all suffered through COVID and allow them to have a little bit of an economic boom for a weekend," says Denny Deoliveira, a teacher and coach with the school. "I think it allows our community a return to normalcy."

More than 650 female athletes are expected to partake in the tournament, which has been cancelled for the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"OFSAA is going to be awesome because a lot of our students are going to be out there, our rec and leadership program, we have a health and wellness program that's going to one on one with physiotherapy on-site, " Deoliveira says. "Student-athletes and teachers have all struggled, so it's an opportunity to just come back to normal."

Tryouts started four weeks ago, with overall planning expected to take the next few months.

The tournament begins on June 2, with the champion crowned on June 4 at 3 p.m.