Winter championship season less than a week away

OTTAWA (CIS) – The 2012 CIS winter championship season gets under way in less than a week.

The action kicks off on Thursday, Feb. 23 at the University of Montreal where the top varsity swimmers in the country will battle for CIS supremacy. The national meet runs until Saturday, Feb. 25, with finals set for 6 p.m. every night.

The CIS wrestling championships are also scheduled for next week. Lakehead University hosts the event in Thunder Bay, Ont., on Feb. 24-25. The preliminary bouts go on Friday, followed by the medal round on Saturday.

CIS championship season runs until the end of March and also includes women’s volleyball in Hamilton (March 2-4), men’s volleyball in Kingston (2-4), indoor track and field in Winnipeg (8-10), women’s hockey in Edmonton (8-11), women’s basketball Regionals in Saskatoon (9-10) and Ottawa (9-10), men’s basketball in Halifax (9-11), curling in Welland, Ont. (14-18), women’s basketball Final 8 in Calgary (17-19), as well as men’s hockey in Fredericton (22-25).

Below is a complete CIS winter championship schedule, including TV and webcast information, participating teams and media contacts.

2012 CIS WINTER CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

SWIMMING

- Dates: February 23-25 (Thursday-Saturday)
- Host: University of Montreal
- Location: Montreal, Que.
- Venue: CEPSUM Pool
- Finals: 6 p.m. ET daily
- Season awards: following meet
- Webcast: SSN Canada (preliminaries & finals)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/swim/index

WRESTLING

- Dates: February 24-25 (Friday-Saturday)
- Host: Lakehead University
- Location: Thunder Bay, Ont.
- Venue: LU Fieldhouse
- Finals: Saturday, Feb. 25, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Season awards: following meet
- Webcast: Medal round on SSN Canada (preliminary round TBD)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wrest/index

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

- Dates: March 2-4 (Friday-Sunday)
- Host: McMaster University
- Location: Hamilton, Ont.
- Venue: Ivor Wynne Centre (Burridge Gymnasium)
- Championship final: Sunday, March 4, 4 p.m. ET
- All-Canadian Awards Gala: Wednesday, Feb. 29, 6:30 p.m. ET
- Television: Cable 14 Hamilton (championship semifinals, 5th place, bronze, final)
- Webcast: SSN Canada (all games)
- Teams already qualified (as of Feb. 16): McMaster, Montreal, McGill
- Remaining berths: Canada West (3), OUA (1), AUS (1)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball/index

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

- Dates: March 2-4 (Friday-Sunday)
- Host: Queen’s University
- Location: Kingston, Ont.
- Venue: Athletic & Recreation Centre (ARC)
- Championship final: Sunday, March 4, 4 p.m. ET
- All-Canadian Awards Breakfast: Thursday, March 1, 9:30 a.m. ET
- Television: TBD
- Webcast: SSN Canada (all games)
- Teams already qualified (as of Feb. 16): Queen’s, Trinity Western
- Remaining berths: Canada West (3), OUA (1), RSEQ (1), AUS (1)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball/index

TRACK & FIELD

- Dates: March 8-10 (Thursday-Saturday)
- Host: University of Manitoba
- Location: Winnipeg, Man.
- Venue: Max Bell Field House
- Finals: daily
- Season awards: Thursday, March 8, 11 a.m. CT
- Championship awards: following meet
- Webcast: TBD
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/trackfield/index

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

- Dates: March 8-11 (Thursday-Sunday)
- Host: University of Alberta
- Location: Edmonton, Alta.
- Venue: Clare Drake Arena
- Championship final: Sunday, March 11, 6 p.m. MT
- All-Canadian Awards Gala: Wednesday, March 7, 7 p.m. MT
- Webcast: SSN Canada (all games)
- Teams already qualified (as of Feb. 16): Alberta
- Remaining berths: RSEQ (2), Canada West (1), OUA (1), AUS (1)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/index

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL REGIONAL #1

- Dates: March 9-10 (Friday-Saturday)
- Host: University of Ottawa
- Location: Ottawa, Ont.
- Venue: Montpetit Hall
- Championship final: Saturday, March 10, 6 p.m. ET
- Webcast: SSN Canada (all games)
- Teams already qualified (as of Feb. 16): Ottawa
- Remaining berths: OUA (1), Canada West (1), AUS (1)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb/index

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL REGIONAL #2

- Dates: March 9-10 (Friday-Saturday)
- Host: University of Saskatchewan
- Location: Saskatoon, Sask.
- Venue: Physical Activity Complex (PAC)
- Championship final: Saturday, March 10, 7 p.m. CT
- Webcast: SSN Canada (all games)
- Teams already qualified (as of Feb. 16): Saskatchewan
- Remaining berths: Canada West (1), OUA (1), RSEQ (1)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb/index

MEN’S BASKETBALL

- Dates: March 9-11 (Friday-Sunday)
- Host: Atlantic University Sport
- Location: Halifax, N.S.
- Venue: Metro Centre
- Championship final: Sunday, March 11, 4:30 p.m. AT
- All-Canadian Awards Gala: Thursday, March 8, 7 p.m. AT
- Television: TBA (semifinals & final)
- Webcast: SSN Canada (all games)
- Teams already qualified (as of Feb. 16): -
- Remaining berths: AUS (2), Canada West (2), OUA (2), RSEQ (1), at-large berth (1)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mbkb/index

CURLING

- Dates: March 14-18 (Wednesday-Sunday)
- Host: Brock University
- Location: Welland, Ont.
- Venue: Welland Curling Club
- Finals: Sunday, March 18, 2 p.m. ET
- All-Canadian Awards Gala: Sunday, March 18, 6 p.m. ET
- Webcast: no webcast
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/curling/index

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FINAL 8

- Dates: March 17-19 (Saturday-Monday)
- Host: University of Calgary
- Location: Calgary, Alta.
- Venue: Jack Simpson Gymnasium
- Championship final: Monday, March 19, 7 p.m. MT
- All-Canadian Awards Gala: Friday, March 16, 6:30 p.m. MT
- Television: TBA (semifinals & final)
- Webcast: SSN Canada (all games)
- Teams already qualified (as of Feb. 16): Calgary
- Remaining berths: OUA (1), Canada West (1), RSEQ (1), AUS (1), Regional winners (2), at-large berth (1)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb/index

MEN’S HOCKEY

- Dates: March 22-25 (Thursday-Sunday)
- Host: University of New Brunswick
- Location: Fredericton, N.B.
- Venue: Aitken University Centre
- Championship final: Sunday, March 25, 8 p.m. AT
- All-Canadian Awards Gala: Wednesday, March 21, 7 p.m. AT
- Television: Rogers Sportsnet (round-robin game #6 & championship final)
- Webcast: Non-televised games on SSN Canada (game #6 and final TBD)
- Teams already qualified (as of Feb. 16): UNB
- Remaining berths: AUS (1), OUA (3), Canada West (1)
- Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mice/index

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