StFX teams eager to maintain winning streak
/Teams and events to get excited about in 2017-2018
As the first year of your university life begins, many new and thrilling opportunities await. One such includes university sport. Sporting events at StFX combine unbridled passion and excitement, bringing together students of all years to cheer on our beloved X-Men and X-Women. The quality of play is an enormous step up from the high school days, ensuring first-rate competition between teams.
A must-attend sporting event in your freshman year is StFX’s football games. The X-Men Football team begins their quest for a third straight Loney Bowl championship on Friday September 1 at their home opener against the Mount Allison Mounties. The following week is another noteworthy game as our StFX X-Men take on their arch rival, the Acadia Axemen. The best day of the year, however, is Homecoming, taking place this year on September 30. The X-Men will be kicking off their battle against the Saint Mary’s Huskies at 2 pm. The day is sure to be action packed and memorable, as Xaverians, past and present make the trek down to Oland Stadium to fill the bleachers for the game. Just remember to stay hydrated as you will be sure to lose your voice cheering for our team.
For those wanting their rugby fix, it just so happens that StFX has one of the most dominant female rugby programs in Canadian university history. Coming into this year as recent National Champions, these ladies have reeled in 5 national championships since 2006. They have won 18 of the past 19 AUS championships. Suffice to say, you do not want to miss these ladies tear it up on the field. Their season gets started Friday, September 8 against SMU at home, followed by a matchup against the 2015 AUS champs, Acadia, on the Saturday the 23. The X-Women rugby team’s homecoming match will take place on Sunday, October 1 at 2pm against UPEI.
Interestingly, in AUS soccer play, both the men and women play on the same days back to back. This gives fans double the excitement to watch the reigning AUS champion X-Women, as well as the semi-finalist X-Men, play. Their first home games kick off on Sunday, September 10 versus SMU. These matches will be a great opportunity to fight off that hangover and watch some high quality footy.
Photo: goxgo.ca
Cross country running has always been a strength at StFX and with the addition of three time Olympian Eric Gillis to its coaching staff, this should only continue. The men’s team is coming off a sixth straight AUS title, which they begin to defend at the UNB/STU Invitational on September 16 along with the women. October 14 is StFX’s own Invitational, where students are encouraged to bundle up in school colours and cheer on our team. Many more sporting events get underway later in the fall semester with Track and Field commencing November 25, regular season Ice Hockey on October 6-7 and basketball tipping off on the weekend of October 25 with our own invitational tournament.
Due to the upcoming Special Olympics’ 2018 Summer Games at StFX, our athletic facilities are subsequently and thankfully being renovated. This summer, the main Oland Centre gym underwent about 1 million dollars of revamping, and the Oland Stadium bleachers have received half a million dollars to be replaced. Soon enough, proud StFX spectators’ experiences will be even better with the new coming facilities, which will be more comfortable, and more importantly, accessible. This is an exciting time for all at StFX, with these upgrades greatly enhancing our experience in athletics.
This is only the beginning of what will be an entertaining year of sport at StFX. Athletic societies, Intramurals and house hockey cups are all around the corner as well, ensuring a plethora of events for students to observe and partake in.
