Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club

New BELC Governing Documents Ratified

At the 2022 AGM, held on November 1st, the BELC membership unanimously ratified a new set of governing documents. The proposal, put forth by the Constitutional Committee, has completely overhauled the previous Constitution and By-Laws originally ratified in 2009. The newly ratified BELC Governing Documents are separated into Constitution, By-laws, and Policies and Procedures. Each section provides varying levels of structure to the BELC, and dictates different methods of amendment. This allows for needed changes to be made, while still ensuring the basic foundation of the club is secure and the rights of the members are preserved.

The Constitutional Committee was formed by the Board of Directors in March of this year, with the objective of reviewing the Constitution, and presenting a proposal for a new version to the membership. Following the events which led to the Special Meeting of the Membership on October 4th 2021, at which the membership voted to relieve the former Board of Directors of their duties, many concerns had been raised about the document. The committee was chaired by BELC Secretary Matt Bowman, and included Dean McLeod, Dave Succamore, Bob Bartlett, and Kathryn Lockyer.

After the proposed BELC Governing Documents were ratified without amendment by the membership at this year’s AGM, Bowman said he was “proud of the work our committee did and I think the end result will move the BELC forward in a strong, positive direction.” He also added though “This document isn’t perfect. It’s important to continually review it and look for ways it can be changed for the better.”

The newly ratified Documents can be found here.

Excelsiors Capture Provincial Title

This past weekend, the Jr. Men’s Field Excelsiors fought hard to capture the OJMLL provincial “b” division championship title. After a slow start to the season, and a few injuries, our Excelsiors finished the season with a 3-7-2 record, placing them seventh heading into playoffs. After beating the Hamilton Bengals 9-5 in the morning, our guys earned a spot in the division final. That afternoon the Excelsiors hoisted the provincial title with a 13-8 win over Innisfil.

The BELC is extremely proud of all the young men who played, and the coaches who led them through this season. With a young team, (many of whom put on an impressive showing at the Founder’s Cup as well), the future is bright for the Brampton Excelsiors Jr. Men’s field lacrosse team.

Finally, a special thank you to GM and head coach Jason Fancett for taking on this program part way through the year, assembling the players and getting everything together in time for the start of the season.

Canada Summer Games

This statement was been issued on behalf of the BELC and BMLA following the announcement that lacrosse will be excluded from the 2025 Canada Summer Games.

Lacrosse was being played on this land long before it was discovered by Europeans. “Canada” was not even a thought in anyone’s mind. When Europeans did arrive, the indigenous people shared their creator’s game and it became so ingrained in the colonies’ culture that since 1859 it has been recognized as Canada’s national summer sport. At every level of the sport, from minor right up to world championships, many of the most dominant stars come from our own backyard. This is why it is so upsetting to the lacrosse community to receive news that lacrosse has once again been cut out of the Canada Summer Games scheduled for 2025.

That it was ever removed from this nation-wide celebration of sports in the first place, and allowed to remain absent for so long, should be a stain on our national pride. However, after the fantastic showing at this year’s games, to have it once again removed is not only disheartening, but insulting. This is sending a clear message to the thousands of young athletes across the country who play lacrosse that the Canada Games Council does not care about them. This is especially insulting to the Indigenous communities, an already marginalized group who are not even allowed to represent themselves at the games, whose cultures are deeply rooted around the sport and all it means.

Many of the players who are now missing out on an opportunity will go on to proudly represent either Canada or Haudenosaunee in world championships, in the NLL, in the PLL, and in one of Canada’s most Prestigious Championships, the Mann Cup. For an organization supported by federal funding, to tell the athletes playing our national summer sport that they don’t deserve to stand alongside so many other sports, is simply wrong.

The Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club and Brampton Minor Lacrosse Association are calling on the Canada Games Council, Brampton’s MPs, and the Honourable Pascale St-Onge to reconsider this decision and ensure that our National Sport has the representation it deserves in the Canada Summer Games.

Yours in lacrosse,

-Glenn McClelland, BELC President
-Chris Lowe, BMLA President

2022 AGM

The 2022 BELC AGM will be held on the evening of Tuesday, November 1st at 7:00 pm. The meeting room upstairs at the Susan Fennell Sportsplex has been booked for the occasion (this is the same room last year’s AGM was held in). As well, guests and members will be able to attend virtually through Zoom. Everyone in attendance through Zoom is asked to sign in with their full name for attendance recording purposes.

This meeting will be open to the public, however only members of the BELC may vote, motion, nominate Directors or suggest constitutional amendments. For members unable to attend, please inform President Glenn McClelland if you wish to send in a proxy vote either through the Board or another member.

Nominations And Elections

A special note has to be made regarding the election of Directors this year. As an entire new slate of Directors was elected in 2021 each member of the Board has been asked to consider either standing for re-election this year, or step down if they so wish. This will ensure that going forward election terms are staggered with a potion of the Board being elected each year. When this is decided, the Directors who have volunteered will be posted so that all members are aware ahead of time.

Nominations will be accepted from now until the time of elections. Members may complete a Director Nomination Form and submit it to the President or Secretary, or nominate from the floor at the time of elections. The BELC Board may be comprised of a maximum of 15 elected Directors (this does not include Honourary Life Directors). If this limit is exceeded, the nominee(s) receiving the fewest votes will not be elected.

Constitutional Amendments

Members may submit a suggestion for an amendment to the constitution and By-Laws but completing a Constitutional Amendment Form and submitting it to the President or Secretary. 2022 is a special year for this however as an entire new Governing Document will be presented to the membership for consideration and ratification. It is asked that members first review the proposed new documents and take part in the town hall meeting to give feedback, before submitting suggestions for amendments. More details on this will be emailed directly to members.

Summary

2022 AGM to be held Tuesday November 1, 7:00 pm in the upstairs meeting room at Susan Fennell Sportsplex. Virtual meeting available as well, public and members invited to join.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88463108325?pwd=WUpMcStuZ0diMVRsbHBIRUhSeWE2Zz09

Several Director positions will be up for election, the specific Directors volunteering for this will be posted at a later time. Nominations for new Directors will be accepted right up until the start of elections. Amendments will be accepted, though members are asked to review the proposal for new Governing Documents instead.

Director Nomination Forms, Constitutional Amendments Forms and an up to date copy of the Constitution and By-Laws can all be found here.

Excelsiors Capture Fourth!

Our Jr. B Brampton Excelsiors fought hard all week to capture fourth place at the 2022 Founders Cup this past week, hosted right here in Brampton. Through five games in as many days, the Excelsiors finished the round robin with a 2-2-1 record.

After opening their tournament with a big win over the Saskatchewan SWAT, they fell the following day to the Coquitlam Adanacs, who would go on to earn second place in the finals. On day three, our boys bounced back tying the Onadoga Redhawks in what was arguable one of the best games of lacrosse in the tournament. On the fourth day of competition, as all the teams were starting to feel the tournament fatigue, the Excelsiors pulled of an exciting win over the Edmonton Warriors, who they would go on to face again in the finals. Brampton ended their round robin play with a one goal loss to the undefeated (and eventual champions) Nepean Knights.

This record was good enough to land them in third heading into the finals to play for the bronze medal. Though they played their hearts out through three periods of intense back and forth lacrosse, the Excelsiors lost by a single goal to Edmonton, finishing fourth place over all. It was not the result anyone was hoping for, but after a season plagues with injuries and missing the OLA playoffs, this team came together, putting on a fantastic display of lacrosse, to show what they could really do!

Following their final game, the organization honoured and thanked Cole George, Alex Tingay, Frazer MacKenzie, Max McDonald and Dalton King, the team’s five graduating players, for their hard work and dedication to the Brampton Excelsiors, as well as head Coach Todd Wilfong for guiding this team through the organization’s first ever Founder’s Cup.

Finally, a very big and heart felt thank you to all the volunteers who have spent years planning this tournament, working with pandemic delays, and rushing around on game days to ensure everything ran smoothly. Also to the referees who worked day after day through the heat and pressure of a national championship, and to the minor officials off floor who sat in uncomfortable time boxes all day to make this event happen. It was a great team who all did their parts and brought Brampton the first of two back-to back national lacrosse championship. Many of the same volunteers move onto the Minto Cup this week, being hosted at the CAA Centre here in Brampton!

2022 Jr. B Brampton Excelsiors Fourth Place Founders Cup — 2022 Jr. B Brampton Excelsiors

Founder’s Cup Around the Corner

The 2022 Founder’s Cup is just around the corner and the BELC is proud to be finally hosting this tournament after two years of delays! This year’s tournament will see six Jr. B teams from across Canada compete to hoist the historic trophy and be named the top Jr. B team in the country.

As the host of the Founder’s Cup, the Brampton Excelsiors are automatically in the tournament. Our boys will be joined by the Coquitlam Adanacs representing British Columbia, the Edmonton Warriros representing Alberta, The Saskatchewan SWAT representing Saskatchewan, the Onadoga Redhawks representing First Nations Lacrosse Association and the yet to be crowned winner of the Ontario championship between Windsor and Napean.

The opening ceremonies will take place on Monday, August 15th with games getting underway at 12:00 pm on Tuesday, August 16 with The Ontario champion playing Coquitlam. Brampton will play later at 7:30 against the SWAT, with the Warriors and Redhawks between those two at 4:30. Round Robins games will be played at Century gardens with the finals taking place at Brampton Memorial Arena.

Check out the Founder’s Cup 2022 website for schedule, details and streaming information.

Deadline for Golf Registration

The registration deadline for the 2022 Jeff Teat/Hugh Ward Memorial Golf Tournament is fast approaching! Everyone looking for a great day of golf while supporting the Brampton Excelsiors, be sure to contact Keith Slinger or Brent McCauley by this Friday, May 27th. This is the registration deadline to golf (as well as our Jr. A Excelsiors‘ home opener!).

We are also currently looking for more items to add to our silent auction as well. If you would like to donate an item, please contact Keith of Brent.

We look forward to seeing everyone on the 11th!

BELC Statement in Response to MSL Proposal

At 4:00 pm on May 19th, BELC President Glenn McClelland received a communication from MSL Commissioner Doug Luey stating a response was needed by noon the following day. This communication proposed that Brampton be left out of the 2022 MSL season and be admitted in 2023 as a seventh team with all the details to be decided later by the MSL General Managers. Not only did we find this proposal and its restrictive time unacceptable, but once again, it ignored the final decisions of the OLA. It is clear this is essentially a proposal to add Brampton as an expansion team, giving up everything we have fought for, and defying everything the OLA Board of Directors have repeatedly ruled on. Had the MSL leadership not failed to acknowledge multiple attempts at communication from the BELC and the OLA Board of Directors ruling since August 2021, these issues could have been resolved months ago. If including Brampton in the 2022 season is going to cause difficulties with scheduling and TV contracts, the fault of that rests squarely on the league’s leadership and the choices they have made.

At the 2021 BELC AGM, our membership gave the newly elected Board of Directors a very clear directive – to make sure the Brampton Major Excelsiors play this season. We have no intention of backing away from that mission. Our Board has always been dedicated to finding a reasonable solution. Whatever that resolution may be, it will include the Brampton Excelsiors playing in the 2022 OLA sanctioned Sr. A season.

O’Toole Inducted into Brampton Hall of Fame

On Tuesday night, Jr. A Excelsiors head coach Pat O’Toole was inducted into the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame. With a very impressive resume we could not be more happy for Paddy, few people are as deserving of this honour.

Pat O'Toole Brampton Sports Hall of Fame — Pat O’Toole at his induction ceramony with BELC President Glenn McClelland and Treasurer Ron Evans

During his career, Paddy has won championships at nearly every level. Early on he captured two Founders Cup titles, being named the MVP of the series in 1992. In Senior lacrosse he hoisted the Mann Cup a total of four times, twice with the Excelsiors (as both a player and a coach). Outside of the CLA O’Toole also won two NLL championships as a player and then helped coach the Rochester Knighthawks to a three-peat championship from 2012-2014. On the world stage, Paddy had the honour of being part of the first World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, capturing the title as part of Team Canada in 2003.

In addition to his multiple championship Pat has also won numerous awards and set a number of records including most Mann Cup saves, most Mann Cup goals by a goalie, most career saves in the NLL, most goals, assists and points by an NLL goalie and many others.

Perhaps the most influential notes of Pat O’Toole’s career however come in his work with minor lacrosse. Not only is he a former President of the BMLA, but he has spent countless hours volunteering, coaching and giving back in every way he can not just to Brampton lacrosse, but to communities across North America. Through the BMLA Paddy oversaw the donation of equipment to indigenous communities to help keep the spirit of the game alive. The influence he has had, and difference he has made in minor lacrosse has been incredible.

Thank you Paddy O’Toole for everything you have done for lacrosse. We couldn’t be more proud to call you a Brampton Excelsior!

Jr. B Excelsiors Improve to 3-0

Saturday night, the Jr. B Excelsiors hosted the Halton Hills Bulldogs for their home opener and with a 12-10 win were able to improve to a 3-0 record. The Bulldogs lead 2-1 after the first, but the Excelsiors popped in six straight goals to start the second and didn’t look back.

In an exciting 60 minutes, Fraser MacKenzie and Matt Pereira each had hat tricks while Chris DaSilva put up a goal and seven assists for an impressive eight points on the night. Kyle Sterritt, Cameron Sterritt and Curtis Ward also each scored goals while Logan Reyes contributed two assists.

Earlier in the afternoon, the BELC was also proud to host the annual Clark Lyons alumni game, raising money for the Jr. B’s. Fifteen alumni had a blast being back out on the floor and celebrating Brampton lacrosse. Thank you to everyone who took part and came out to watch!

Clark Lyons Brampton Excelsiors Alumni Game

The Jr. B Excelsiors’ next game is Friday May 6, 7:00 pm in Newmarket where they will look to improve to a 4-0 record. The, on Sunday May 8th, at 2:00 pm, the Excelsiors are back at home to host Mississauga. Come out and cheer the team on for their Founders Cup run!