[Back to CIAU Index Page]Final Eight 2003 at Halifax Metro Centre
Last saved: 2000/03/15 16:51:33 GMT by ac200
 
 
  Friday March 14      Saturday March 15     Sunday March 16      
2 UBC 76    
  1:00  G1  Guelph 60  
Guelph 90    
        4:30 TSN  G7  Guelph 54  
3 Alberta 66      
  7:00 G2  Alberta 55
6 Saint Mary's 59  
        3:30 TSN G10 Carleton Ravens 
4 Laval 77     2003 
  3:00 G3  Laval 54.     CIS Champions
5 McMaster 69      
        8:00 TSN  G8  Carleton 57
1 Carleton 63      
  9:00       OT  G4  Carleton 57
8 ..  UPEI 60      
 
  UBC 74  
11:30  G5  Saint Mary's 74  
Saint Mary's 78    
      Noon        OT2  G9  UPEI Panthers
McMaster 80       Consolation
1:30          OT  G6  UPEI 82 Champ
UPEI 88  
  Friday March 14      Saturday March 15     Sunday March 16  
  Attend:  11,568      Attend:   10,009      Attend:   5,910    Total:26,963 
Final Eight TEAM SHOOTS at Metro Centre (tentative) 
THURSDAY 
(I hour ) 
FRIDAY 
(normal morning sched) 

9:00 
10:00 
11:00 
12:00 
1:00 
2:00 
3:00 
4:00 

 Alberta
 Guelph
 Laval
 UBC
 Carleton
 McMaster
 Saint Mary's
 UPEI 

8:00 
8:30 
9:00 
9:30 
10:00 
10:30 
11:00 
11:30 

 Guelph
 UBC
 McMaster
 Laval
 Saint Mary's
 Alberta
 UPEI
 Carleton

F8 Rosters

Playoff Format

The 4 major conference champions are automatically invited to the Final Eight.Three additional berths are awarded. The Final 8 tournament host conference is awarded a second entry. The 12-team Canada West conference receives 2 berths. The 16-team OUA conference receives two, one for each of OUA East and one for OUA West. In addition, there was a lottery for an 8th berth that will rotate among the conferences. 32 ballots were put in a hat (12 CW, 16 OUA, 4 QU) with AUS excluded because it already has a host berth. CW got the pick in 2002 and sends a third team. In 2003 OUA has the third one. Each conference decides its winner(s) in its own way, often based on tradition and the geography of the conference. 

The Atlantic conference in 1999 returned to a 6-team single knockout tournament,  usually held at Halifax Metro Centre. Teams seeded 3 thru 6 meet in a pair of Friday night quarterfinals. The winners advance to face the 1 and 3 seeds. The lower advancing quarterfinalist faces the #1 seed, while the higher advancing faces #2. The Final is held Sunday. Since AUS is the host for 2002 and 2003, both of its semi winners advance to theFinal8. 

Quebec's four teams have a 3-team playoff. #2 hosts #3 in a single semi game, with the winner playing #1 in a best-of-3. 

Ontario's OUA West and OUA East each hold a 6-team single knockout to declare a champion. 6 plays 3 and advances to play 2, while 4 plays 5 and advances to play 1. OUA East plays its tournament over 3 days at a host school. OUA West plays its over several days, like W/S/W with the game hosted by the highest seed in each pair. We do not know how they will select the third entry in 2003, but suspect it will be an additional game matching the two Division runners-up. 

Canada West now has three 4-team divisions. Each holds its own playoff, with a best-of-3 semi hosted by 2, then the winner meeting 1 in a best-of-3 hosted by 1. The three Division winners then meet in a 2-day Final Four, joined by a wildcard team. With 3 berths for 2002, the two semi winners advance to the Final8, while the losers meet to determine the third rep. 

CIAU Final8
Tournament Pass (10 games)

.... Adult $80
.... Senior/Student $60
.... Youth (u-12) $35

Admission for each Double Header
.... Adult $18
.... Senior/Student $14 
.... Youth (u-12) $8
Ticket Orders: (902) 451-1221 

Seats: 
Lower Bowl halfcourt sections are 
7, 8, 9, 21, 22, 23.
Corners are 6, 10, 20, 24.
.... There isn't a bad seat in the house.
One of the corners is designated No Alcohol.
Be sure to ask about it if you like to sip a
cold one while watching the games.

Metro Centre Seating

[Metro Centre Seating ...gif 11kb]

 Here is a simple seating plan of the Metro Centre. Use it to select your preferred locations before calling in to order tickets.

 Some prefer watching basketball from the corners, like Sections 4 and 5.

 Seating Rows:
Lower Bowl: A-S
Upper Bowl: A-V

 Row V is quite high, yet still a good place to watch championship basketball in a full house.
 
 
 
 

Staying downtown?

For out-of-town fans going to Halifax, here is a little map that shows the locations of the major venues for the Tournament; the Metro Centre, and The Halifax Sheraton. It shows the location of downtown hotels near the Metro Centre. All are first-class.

(These maps are a couple of years old. Some names may have changed but the places are essentially the same. A pub or hoterl may have a new name, but odds are you'll find the same bartender there.)

[Hotel Map ...gif 11kb]

A secret to picking a good location is to study the pedways and tunnels, the coloured lines on the map. If the weather is bad, (it seldom is in Halifax) you will be mostly indoors, under cover.

 You can stay at the Prince George, and be totally indoors for the three days of the tournament, by taking the tunnel to the World Trade Centre, then escalators up to the Metro Centre.

From hotels connected through Scotia Square you can now walk directly in to the World Trade Center and Metro Centre through a new tunnel under Duke Street, opened in 1996.

The passage from WTC to the Metro Centre is through an office corridor that may be shut down after hours. If it is closed, you can easily step outside and re-enter through a nearby door to continue on your way.

Don't ask about amenities. The hotels all have their own, and the area is crammed with eating and drinking spots. Check out Argyle and Grafton Streets to begin.

A block left on Granville Street is NS Sport Heritage Museum. Worth a visit, if you want to get outside and get some fresh air. While there you can shoot some baskets, play a bit of one-on-one, or shoot some pucks at a Tony Esposito.