Opening tip-off for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s basketball championship is still a day away, but for the eight teams vying for CIS hoops supremacy, the “grind” has already begun.
“It’s pretty much all business once you check into the hotel on Wednesday,” said Elliot Thompson, a Carleton graduate who appeared at the national championship in each of his five years with the Ravens.
With “official” practices set for Thursday at Scotiabank Place, all eight teams were scheduled to be in town by Wednesday night, according to the tournament’s logistics lead John Wilson.
Some, including the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and University of Victoria Vikes, even booked practice times for Tuesday at Carleton.
“Everybody wants the prime time, so it’s first-come first-served almost,” Wilson said earlier in the week, adding he’d give priority to Carleton’s men’s and women’s teams on Wednesday.
Despite being the host team, the Ravens will treat this year’s CIS Final 8 just like any other. They will stay at a hotel, they will travel to and from Scotiabank Place via bus, and they will see very little of their family and friends.
“It’s kind of like a road trip in a way,” Thompson said.
At previous tournaments, Thompson said he would rarely see his family for any more than 10 minutes at a time. Maybe “here and there in the lobby,” he said, but that’s about it.
And this is true for most teams.
“It’s all basketball all the time,” said James Derouin, head coach of the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. “The days go by in like 20 minutes. There’s really not a lot of time for anything else.”
If it doesn’t conflict with their schedule, Derouin said he’d give his players the option to spend parts of the day at Scotiabank Place to watch other games.
Although the Gee-Gees play at 2:15 p.m. on Friday, some of their players will likely head back to the venue at night to watch Carleton’s game, Derouin said.
The Ravens view things a little differently.
They will rarely, if ever, watch other teams’ games, Thompson said. When they’re not playing, pretty much all of their time will be spent at the hotel.
“We’re basically resting all day, watching game tape on the team we’re going to play and just worrying about that game,” Thompson said. “We’re not really doing anything else.”
For the Gee-Gees, the days will look something like this: morning practice at Scotiabank Place, back to the hotel, team meal, rest, back to Scotiabank Place for the game, back to the hotel, another team meal, video session at the hotel, and then off to bed.
Neither the Gee-Gees nor Ravens’ coaching staff will set a curfew for their players. At this level, there’s really no need to.
“You’re kind of just expected to do whatever makes you play well,” Thompson said. “If you think staying up till 3 and watching a couple movies makes you play better, then do it. If it’s getting to bed early and getting a good meal, which most of the time it is for guys, then do it. You’re just expected not to do anything stupid.”
As per CIS regulations, all teams will be staying at the Ottawa Marriott, which has been designated as the “championship hotel.”
Whereas the first two weeks of March are typically a little slow, the Marriott is almost at capacity for the coming weekend as a result of the tournament, according to director of sales and marketing Markus Fisher.
From the hotel’s standpoint, they will be providing three buffet-style meals per day in a banquet room — not unlike the system Ravens players usually make use of at Carleton’s residence cafeteria.
They will also give teams access to meeting space with TVs and DVD players, though in previous years, Thompson said the Ravens often just crammed into one room for video sessions.
“We recognize they’re here to compete at a high level,” Fisher said. “There are requirements on their part that we need to attend to.”
Each individual team is responsible for paying its own hotel fees, while the host organizing committee has partnered with Leduc Bus Lines to offer complimentary bus service.
Many of these logistical matters have been in the works for around three years, according to the tournament’s event director Bob Rumscheidt, and now they’re coming to the forefront.
The ultimate goal, of course, is to minimize distractions and ensure the weekend itself runs as smoothly as possible for the players. And according to Thompson, it almost always does.
“Once you go to the hotel on Wednesday, it’s like you’re separated from the outside and just there to start grinding.”
