Latest news with #Lo-Ellen
Ottawa Citizen
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame announces 2025 induction class
Article content As longtime administrator for the Sudbury Secondary Schools Athletic Association, Dave Makela has been on hand while students ran to record-smashing times, surpassed decades-old scoring totals and made multiple trips to the top of the podium. Article content But as he reflected on his career this week, it wasn't necessary the awards and accolades that stood out for the life-long Sudburian, but those moments in between that truly brought home how he and his colleagues were making a difference in the lives of young athletes. Article content Article content 'I can recall a monsoon rainstorm football game between Lockerby and Lo-Ellen at Queen's Athletic Field,' Makela told The Sudbury Star. 'Those of us in the crow's nest were so concerned about the kids and their safety — and they were singing. They loved it.' Article content Article content 'I don't know how I'm going to make it through the speech at the hall-of-fame dinner,' Makela said with a chuckle. 'I'll probably just tell a joke and go sit down.' Article content However he decides to acknowledge the honour, Makela and his fellow inductees will surely receive a warm reception when the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame officially adds five new individual members, as well as one team as the Norm Mayer Dynasty recipient, during its annual banquet at the Caruso Club on June 4. Article content Committee chair Randy Pascal announced the latest inductees during a media reception at Eddie's Restaurant on Wednesday morning. They also include Olympic-medallist figure skater Meagan Duhamel and the speed-skating duo of Alex and Florence Hurd in the athlete category, longtime hockey coach and manager Bob Parker in the builder category, veteran hockey scout and coach Doug Bonhomme in the administrator category, and the Sudbury Hardrocks/Sudbury Spartans football franchise. Article content Article content 'It's hard to feel anything but incredibly thankful,' said Makela, whose High School Sports column has graced The Star's pages for many years. 'To be able to live, play, grow up and work in the town you were born in, it's a privilege not many in this world get to live — and I have lived it. Article content 'It's rewarding, but a little uncomfortable, to be honest. I'm used to working in groups and it's not usually about an individual, it's part of a team. You're on an organizing committee, an appeal committee, an executive, so to be singled out like this is kind of uncomfortable for me, but I'll take it. I really enjoy the process and I think it's great, what the hall of fame is doing here. They're rewarding people who have put a lot of their lives into programs. All I tried to do when I got hired was repay the confidence people placed in me — not only selection committees, but coaches in my life growing up. No one got more out of sports in life than I did as a youngster, so it's just an incredible privilege to be able to repay that support in a job you do for a living.'
CBC
15-04-2025
- Science
- CBC
Sudbury robotics team makes Canadian history with double qualification for world championships
For the first time ever, a Canadian team has qualified for both the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) world championships in the same year. About 30 students from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School in Sudbury are now in Houston, Texas, to compete in the world championships. "I never really saw myself that much in robotics until I came to Lo-Ellen," said Grade 12 student Maija Nener. FTC involves smaller robots and smaller team sizes, which student Kate Brett said makes it "easier for under-resourced teams and younger students" to get started before moving on to FRC. The FRC robots are much larger — about 120 pounds. "It's different every year, but the main trend is they have an object they need to pick up and place on another object, while having to compete against other teams," explained fellow student Lane Boyuk. The games This year's game is water-themed, called Reefscape. The robotics teams are awarded points based off the tasks their robot completes. "So they pick up little pipes called coral, and they can place them on a reef," explained Brett. Then there's also balls on the reef called the algae and they can take those off the reef and score them in a net high up." It took the team about two months to design and create the robot they're taking to Houston. Brett said the team's qualification for the championships is special because they earned an engineering inspiration award for teaching other schools about FTC and FRC, helping to build STEM and robotics knowledge in northern Ontario. All three students said they plan to pursue mechanical or general engineering after graduation, crediting their school's robotics program with sparking their interest. "There's no money, but there's definitely honour and a bunch of awards we can win that will help us keep our program running in future years, and just the experience of competing on the world stage," said Boyuk. The championships wrap up this weekend with results expected next week.
