OTTAWA – The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) and Algonquin College today announced a partnership through which Algonquin’s Loggersports team will provide game-day entertainment services to the Ottawa REDBLACKS Football Club.
The Loggersports Team, based at Algonquin’s Pembroke Campus, participates in intercollegiate lumberjack skills competitions in a variety of traditional forestry-related skills.
“There’s great synergy between the Loggersports team and the story behind our REDBLACKS branding,” said Jeff Hunt, President of Sports for OSEG Sports, the parent company of the Ottawa REDBLACKS. “Our logo features a saw blade background that pays tribute to the founding of Ottawa as a lumber industry town; and our mascot is a lumberjack, inspired by the men who cut trees in the Upper Ottawa Valley and rode logs down the Ottawa River to the St. Lawrence and markets beyond. The Loggersports team respects that same heritage and I know their skills and showmanship will enhance our fan experience.”
Algonquin’s Loggersports Varsity Team is a member of the Canadian Lumberjacking Association and competes in two major tournaments each academic year, competing against colleges and universities from across Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. The team is made up of men and women who spend hundreds of hours training for competitions in events such as chain sawing, axe throwing, pole climbing and cross cut sawing.
“This is great exposure for our team members and an opportunity for them to demonstrate to a large audience what a wonderful sport Logger Sports is,” said Loggersports Coach Chris Ryan. “We’re thrilled and very proud to be the official Loggersports team of the REDBLACKS and we wish them tremendous success in this their inaugural season.”
About Algonquin’s Pembroke Campus
The Pembroke Campus is the largest of Algonquin College’s regional campuses and has a student population of about 900 full time students. Loggersports is the only varsity team at the campus and has existed for more than 25 years.
By: Barre Campbell
