The CFLOAA Annual Golf Tournament sponsored by Manulife was held on August 4th at the Hylands Golf and Country Club on the South course.  The event was again co-ordinated by CFLOAA Board member Gary Page, everyone enjoyed the golf and, most of all, the camaraderie. 

Pat Stoqua’s foursome took top spot again this year with a 63 (9 under). Maybe there is some hope for next year as they were 10 under last year. Besides being good athletes two of Pat’s foursome are members at Hylands so there is a home-course advantage!

This was the 1st year that there were prizes for a LOFT foursome (Lack Of F-ing Talent). The Hamlin 4-some were very good sports about being the inaugural winners. 

The individual hole prize winners were:

• Longest Successful Putt (Hole #12) – John Turner (Duke Ellingson foursome)

• Longest Drive (Hole #14) – Greg Clarke (Stoqua foursome)

• Closest to the Pin on (Hole #7) – Tim Robinson (Stoqua foursome)

Everyone was pleased that Jeff Avery (CFLOAA President and MC) and Dan Dever (CFLOAA Treasure) were able to join us this year after both being on the injured list in 2022. Tony Gabriel came in from Oakville and played with former teammate Peter Stenerson. Bill Hatanaka joined us from Toronto and was in a foursome with Jim Piaskoski, a member of the famed 1973 defensive line ‘Capital Punishment’.

Two of the foursomes were again entered by sons of their late fathers who played for the Rough Riders:

• Sam Lavoie-Poirier son of Joe the Fox, and

• Jeff Steck son of Benny of Benny Steck IGA.

The raffle was very successful thanks to Dick Dinelle selling so many tickets. Prizes for the raffle included items donated by the Redblacks, the BLG Law firm, Eagle Creek Golf Club, Cedarhill Golf and Country Club, and Richard Hanoski of Ottawa-Carleton Mortgage. Again, this year the $20 raffle tickets could be purchased by Cash, Debit or Credit. 

Funds from the Raffle go to support the football programs at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, and to the Support Fund of the CFL Alumni Association. The Support Fund offers financial support to CFL alumni who are experiencing financial hardship due to a medical condition or the sudden loss of income.

Bob McKeown spoke about the successful 1973 50-year Reunion as he was the main organizer. He talked about their amazing season opening with 4 losses before going 11-1 the rest of the year and winning the Grey Cup. Bob said again that it was a team of character made up of many characters. He went on to describe the mixed emotions of connecting with so many former teammates and their families and learning about each of their unique stories about their lives in recent years.

A good time was had by all! View photos at https://www.cfloaa.com/golf-tournaments.