Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Richmond Review · Page 15
sports 160 to gather for Islanders go for 4 in a row at Ice Breaker Thanksgiving soccer by Don Fennell
by Don Fennell
Sports Editor
Sports Editor
Seafair Islanders Bantam A1’s can achieve something this Thanksgiving long weekend few teams in any sport and at any level have ever done—win four consecutive championships. And the coaching staff led by Ryan Weber fully expects the host team at the 11th annual Seafair-Sandman Hotel International Ice Breaker Rep Hockey Tournament to be in the mix. The Islanders boast 10 returning players and three second-year players, 14 of those with A1 experience. And Russ Weber, one of the team’s two associate coaches with Jordan Oye, senses a keen desire to get the job done. “The three-peat was a case of very hard work and a group that knew they had skills and only had to apply themselves,”Russ said.“So the know-how is there and the players need again only supply the will and desire.” Russ said events like the Ice Breaker began as a way for teams to see their players in action early in the season. But they’ve since taken on even greater importance and in the past five years have been used to assess positioning for leagues and future tournaments as well as provide WHL teams with a first look at second-year players eligible for the Bantam Draft. As the tournament’s profile continues to rise, so too does the calibre of teams it attracts. Besides the host Islanders who are again regarded as one of the best in the province, the Bantam Division will feature three top-end teams from Vancouver Island in Victoria Racquet Club, Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo. “This makes us (and everyone else) better,” said Russ. There will be eight teams in each of the Bantam A1 and A2 divisions, as well as in each of the Peewee A1 and A2 and Midget A1 and A2 divisions and four teams in each of the Atom A1 and A2 divisions. Round-robin play begins Friday, with playoffs and finals to played on Monday.
They sport such monikers as Coyotes, Galaxy and United. And this weekend, they’ll be joining forces for a long-standing Thanksgiving tradition. Combining the energies of the local boys’ and girls’ associations, Richmond Soccer is set to host 160 teams from under-11 to under-18 who will play a total 359 games Saturday and Sunday. For the first time, the 2013 event will include metro select teams which have previously had to pass on the tournament because of regularlyscheduled matches which have been eliminated this year by BC Soccer—one of the event sponsors along with Soccer Link, Fresh Slice Pizza and Hayden Diamond Bit Industries. The presence of the select teams will certainly raise the overall skill-set at the tournament, but Richmond Girls’ Soccer Association executive director Stewart MacPherson (cochairing the tournament with Tania Webster) says
the focus is, as always, on fun. “Fun is always most important, and at an event like this it’s a great opportunity for kids to play out of their usual positions,” he says. Interest in the tournament has never been greater, with 18 more girls’ teams participating than in the 2012 event. “That’s a huge increase,” says MacPherson. “And we’ve got plenty of outof-town participation from towns like Penticton, Kelowna and Powell River.” MacPherson has been scrambling to find enough officials for every game, with 143 full-sized matches (11 per side) and 48 eight-a-side games Saturday alone. It means that every field in Richmond will be occupied. Each team in the competitive under-12 to under-18 stream will be guaranteed at least three games, with finals to be played Sunday. The under-11 and under-12 teams will participate in four non-competitive festival games with no scores being kept.
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