When Sid Compston, sport chair of soccer for the upcoming BC Seniors Games, heard the games were coming to the West Kootenay, he knew he wanted to get involved.
“I thought this would be the event to do,” said Compston, who is actively involved with soccer in Castlegar.
After organizing many tournaments, coaching with Kootenay South and refereeing, Compston is optimistic about the tournament.
“It’ll be awesome,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Taking place at Twin Rivers Park, the fields will be split into two full-size soccer fields.
“We’ll make it big enough for a U13 or U15 to play on,” he said, noting they won’t be as big as FIFA standards.
The final numbers of teams aren’t in yet, but Compston has been told that 101 participants have been signed up so far. It will depend on how many teams sign up as to how the format works, but the preliminary rounds will likely be a round robin.
If they need more field space, Stanley Humphries Secondary School will be used, he said.
The tournament will take place during the entirety of the games, starting at 7 a.m. and finishing in the early evening.
“Here we can do two or three teams because we’re representing the zone,” he said.
When the standings are in, winners will be presented in a ceremony.
“The medals will be presented right here,” Compston said of Twin Rivers Park.
Once Compston receives the final word regarding the number of teams, he’ll book the referees, make up the schedule and get it out to the teams, paint the lines and make sure back-up fields are booked.
As the coach of the U12 Kootenay South girls, he said the team will be volunteering during the games, retrieving stray balls.
He’s heard of other people interested in volunteering, but specifically he could use more field marshals.
“It’s always nice to have an extra pair of eyes,” he said.
For more information on the BC Seniors Games or how to volunteer, visit bcseniorsgames.org.