Villanova student juggles prom and provincial championship

Prom is a rite of passage for many, but for one local student who had to weigh his high school prom with competing in a provincial javelin championship, the community rallied to ensure he didn’t miss either.

“Someone told me they missed their prom,” said Kalman Chyz, who didn’t want to miss his, but the grade 12 Villanova student needed a plan to make it work out.

A javelin thrower, Chyz needed to be in Ottawa for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) provincial championships Saturday but the prom was Friday night.

“Asked my mom if I could do both and she started looking into plane tickets to get me to Ottawa,” he explained.

With the help of a travel agent a plan was pitched but there was a bit of hesitation.

“When I was in my grade 12 year I also qualified for OFSAA. It was also in Ottawa, except I chose not to go to prom,” said Mike Baren, head coach of the school’s track and field team.

He doesn’t regret his decision but nevertheless shared his story for the top ranked javelin thrower in the province.

“I didn't want him to do it just because I didn't want him in that situation just in case something went poorly, but if I can trust any athlete to do it, it would be him,” Baren said.

Chyz went to prom much to the delight of his date Mackenzie Delisle.

“He was still all in. He was there for the pictures. The party. We all had a good time. By the time we left it was like perfect time for him to go and win,” he said.

Chyz’s mom picked him up at 1:30 a.m. and drove to Toronto.

“I slept in the airport, in the car,” he said.

The flight out of Toronto left at 7 a.m., and his event got underway only two hours later at 9 a.m.

“Once we landed she said, ‘We gotta run’ and we're running through, cutting people off,” said Chyz. “Got in the cab. She said, ‘Take me to the Terry Fox Centre and the faster you get us there the bigger your tip is.’”

Chyz arrived at 8:15 a.m., changed out front of the venue and warmed up. He competed and won the gold medal with a throw of 56.61 metres.

“I'm very proud of him,” said Baren.

Chyz is thankful to coach Baren, his throws coach Denise Hebert, and especially to his mom.

“At one point I questioned skipping out on OFSAA and just going to prom for the whole night but she found a way to do both. Thanks to her I got there and got the gold,” said Chyz, who’ll be vying for another OFSAA gold as the baseball team heads to London, Ont. tomorrow — with no travel agent required this time around.