Sports
Thanksgiving soccer classic marking 25th anniversary
Welcoming the Colorado Rockies and Miami
Marlins, Major League Baseball expanded for the first time in 16 seasons; Toronto
Blue Jays won the World Series on Joe Carter’s walk-off home run; and the
Montreal Canadiens became the last Canadian team to date to win the Stanley
Cup.
Locally, Richmond FC kicked off its inaugural
Thanksgiving Soccer Tournament which has gone on to become an annual tradition.
The year was 1993.
This weekend (Saturday, Oct. 7 and Sunday,
Oct. 8) the 25th version of Richmond FC’s annual soccer classic will be played
on 20 fields throughout the community.
With 108 teams (including 20 from the host
club) from around the province, and from as far away as Quesnel, Powell River
and Kamloops, this will be one of the largest sporting events in the city this
year. In all, some 1,700 players, 200 coaches, 70 referees and countless
volunteers will participate.
“As one of the longest-running soccer
tournaments in B.C., and because of the (prior efforts of) pioneers like Jim
Lamond and Rogers Barnes, I feel personally attached to making sure it’s successful,”
said tournament director Tania Webster.
Webster is proud that so many teams look
forward to playing in the tournament year after year. And she says it’s equally
rewarding to see former players, now parents themselves, returning as coaches.
Representative of the game’s grassroots, the
tournament affords Bronze, Silver and Gold Division teams an opportunity to be
in the spotlight.
“It definitely provides an early-season
opportunity to spend two days with your team, and a good spot for bonding,” said
Webster.
Another unique feature of this weekend’s
tournament is that the last kickoff is no later than 4 p.m. Webster said
Thanksgiving weekend is an important one for many people, and this helps
families to spend as much time together as possible. Further, there will be a
collection during the tournament for the Richmond Food Bank.
Webster extended a special thank you to the
City of Richmond’s parks department and, in particular, Sammy Morizawa. She
said without their contributions, and those of the volunteers and sponsors (Karen
Mori Associates Ltd., Metal Building Group, JT Sports, McArthur
Glen, Pilgrim Painting, Lehigh Hanson-Heidelberg Cement Group, Freshii and
Campbell, Froh, Rice and May), the tournament couldn’t take place.
2 Hours of free financial consulting
Jai Xin Planning Ltd.
C$120.00 C$0.00
Use any of our home staging service and get a second month rental for free!
MiiX Interiors
C$500.00 C$0.00
Get 10% off any order
Phantom Screens Lower Mainland
C$200.00 C$180.00
