Alumni Weekend was like a lot of weekends during the summer of 2009. Weather forecasts were largely tentative—promising cooler than normal temperatures and the likelihood of precipitation. Amongst HSRSA members was a single thought: ”Cool—no campfire ban!”

Early arrivals included Warner Clarke (66-70) & Beth (we got here early for a flat spot for Howard*) Katrina Angel (89- 90), Tim Collier (96-99) and Theresa, soon joined by Gord Fleming (84-88), Sarah and Heather Gillies (88-89). Tim, Theresa, Katrina, Warner & Beth managed a guest site gourmet meal of tandoori chicken while Gord and Sarah took off for an evening paddle.

Various alumni members arrived and set up camp. Some wandered down to Smokey Hollow to see the end of the week camp fire. Others remained at the guest site to have a “beginning of the weekend” campfire.

Chris Perez (00-03) arrived with home made marshmallows. The late evening involved some field testing of the toast-ability of Chris’ homemade marshmallows vs the commercial varieties and the various applications of both in the construction of Belgian chocolate ’smores.

A period of time lapsed between making ’smores and rising for breakfast. Most devoted this period to sleep. Breakfast included bottomless coffee, juices, seasonal fruit, various baked goods including Costco Mega-Muffins, spreads, and more marshmallows.

With the AGM moved to Sunday, many alumni and families took the opportunity to tour the camp, dodging incoming and outgoing scout groups. One of the outgoing scout groups dislodged Mark Daly (73-78), who committed (with some urging from fellow alumni) to return to join alumni weekend once he had gone to his cottage to shower.     

At some point, perhaps midday, breakfast merged with lunch while the sun continued to make intermittent appearances. Tim & Theresa became the masters of the BBQ and the guest site inhabitants settled into a lunch of ’dogs & ’slaw.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in camp, Ken Wrigglesworth (81-82, 85-86) reprised his “Trapper Ken” persona at the Trappers Cabin and gave an intense Trapper Ken kind of lesson to the folks who had ventured to that end of the camp with him. Photographic evidence posted weeks later on Picassa indicated that no appendages were lost during the demonstrations, although the transformation of coach Gord into a Slavic warrior looked pretty intense.

Alumni joined the camp staff at the hub for a steak supper on Saturday evening. Alumni in attendance had the opportunity to introduce themselves to the camp staff, and tell what the work they had done at camp.

The presentation of Bursaries happened after supper in the hub followed by the Hub & Cub later in the evening.

“Is this not the most exciting sports league on Earth?” asked eccentric league commissioner Kevin Bell rhetorically. “Yes, it is not!” he replied, probably not realizing that it wasn’t really the answer he was looking for.

“What happened in 2008 will stay in 2008” he continued with a wink. “It’s time to restore this great league to its rightful glory, and watch these two great rivals play a match that is certain to entertain and excite as only HSRCL cricket can!”

Heavy Sunday Rains threatened to scuttle the season altogether, with the Alumni Players’ Union demanding assurances that the field would be safe. “We’re, like, ten times older than our opponents as it is” said Alumni Captain and Player Rep Gordon Fleming. “If we fall, we may never get up again. Half of us already have different hips than the ones we were born with. I have to put my team’s safety first.”

The field was deemed acceptable for play mere moments from the scheduled first bowl, and the squads finally took their positions on the field. Stepping into competition for the first time in over a year is hard on any athlete, so no one was expecting the entertainment and excitement to start right away. Long time fans were not expecting it to start at all, but they, as always, kept their thoughts private.

The Alumni team entered the match as heavy underdogs. This is a team of veterans whose best days are long, long, long behind them, and none of them was expected to add much more to their individual lists of accomplishments. If this wasn’t enough, the team continued to have hard luck at the crucial position of bowler, with injuries and holdouts constantly draining the pool. Facing a staff team with a very deep bench, the odds were not in their favour.

As with any sporting event however, there are always intangibles that prevent anything from being a sure thing. Premier race car drivers crash, ace goaltenders have off-nights, star quarterbacks throw ill-timed interceptions. In today’s HSRCL Final, it would be the hard sucking sound coming from the bats of both teams.

At the end of the first innings, the score was 11-8 in favour of the Staff. This should not be mistaken for an indication of a tight contest with outstanding defensive displays or Halladay-like bowling. The story of this match was the bats, and the bats were as cold as a shaved Yak.

This continued through the second and final innings, with no player making any sort of case for match MVP. The match was played in record time and the score was a record low for both teams Alumni - 43, Staff -35. It would be nice to report that the Alumni Team staged a dramatic come-from-behind win, but there was no drama here. “Our strategy was simple - score more runs than the other team, and we did that today” said Fleming. “If anyone asks you about the fundamentals of the game, those are them”.

So, indeed, mothers of losers everywhere:  it’s whether you win or lose, not how you play the game.