It’s going to be a big weekend for the beautiful game in Humboldt.
The Sask Cup Rural Championships (formerly Provincial Championships) will take place at Glenn Hall Park and the football field at Humboldt Collegiate Institute (HCI) with competition in the U9, U11, U13, U15, U17, and U19 divisions.
There will be around 30 soccer teams from ten different communities that will be taking part, including Melfort, Kindersley and the host Humboldt Hurricane squads.
President of Soccer Operations for the Humboldt District Soccer Association Joel Spence says this will mark the first time Humboldt will host an event of this magnitude.
“A pretty big deal that way as far as putting Humboldt on the map as fara as provincial championships goes, we’ve competed just about every year, but it’s always been at the bigger centre.
Spence added that this year Humboldt submitted a bid to host the event and after securing hotel space for the travelling teams, they were awarded the right to host the event. He added they’re looking f
“A little bit of challenge, just because we haven’t hosted the tournament, any tournament at all in the last 15-20 years.”
U9, U11, U13 games will be held at Glenn Hall Park while the U15, U17, and U19 action will be at the HCI Football Field.
Recently the Hurricanes competed in the Saskatoon Lakewood tournaments and posted strong showings. The U13 Girls secured a gold medal victory, while the U13 Boys, U15 Boys, U17 Boys and U19 Boys all ended up with silver medals.
For Humboldt to host the Sask Cup Rural Championships, Spence says they’ve had to rely on the Humboldt District Soccer Board to make it all possible but taking care of a number of tasks.
“Getting the lines painted, to get nets arranged where they need to be, get the field space secured, booking the local hotels for the travelling teams coming in.”
Spence said that parents have also chipped in with a concession stand, a raffle table and 50/50s.
The soccer extravaganza begins on Friday at 3:00 with the last game beginning approximately at 8:00 pm. On Saturday, the first game starts at 8:45 with games all day. The finals will be held on Sunday afternoon.
There’s no admission all weekend, so fans are welcome to come down to the pitch to cheer on their favourite teams.
