Revelstoke will soon be bustling with soccer players and their families.
The Little Bear Soccer tournament will be hosting 115 teams, from as far as Edmonton, during the weekend of September 7 and 8.
The tournament began in 1998 when volunteer Alan Chell was coaching his stepson, Kyle Buhler's team who was 13 at the time. After frequenting a lot of tournaments throughout British Columbia and Alberta, Chell noticed that most of these tournaments were geared toward top-level teams.
Chell realized that there would be a market for mid-level teams from smaller communities, and also noted that there weren't many fall tournaments.
This realization was put into action, and the Little Bear Soccer Tournament was born. At the time Chell was coaching U13 and with the help of Dave Kandola, who was coaching U11, they invited U11 and U13 teams. They also named the tournament Little Bear because the men's team had a well-established tournament known as the Big Bear.
The first Little Bear tournament hosted nine teams, and expanded each year thereafter, with this year's 115 teams marking an all-time high.
Chell says he hopes the tournament showcases Revelstoke, helps the tourism economy and provides local teams with an opportunity to play in a home tournament. Providing opportunities for local youth to serve as referees was also noted as among the event goals.
The popularity of the tournament and all that Revelstoke has to offer has led to teams travelling as far away as Whitehorse in years past. Hotels and campgrounds are fully booked for this year's tournament.
Chell estimates that there will be approximately 1,500 players and close to 3,000 people in town for the tournament.
Local volunteer and soccer parent, Sasha-Emily Walsh has been busy helping organize the large-scale event. Walsh noted Chell's dedication as paramount to the tournament's success, as well as other key volunteers: Kendra Von Bremen and Jennifer Ratelich.
"Things really happen because of the dedicated volunteers," said Walsh.
More information about the field locations and schedule can be found on the Revelstoke Youth Soccer Association's website.
