The Third Invitational Walking Soccer Tournament was a fun event that featured competitive and recreational levels of play.
It was held recently at Arbutus Meadows in Nanoose Bay and organized by Vanisle Walking Soccer group of the Parksville Golden Oldies Sports Association.
The tournament drew teams coming from Victoria, Parksville, Vancouver and Coquitlam. Organizer Rob Jonas said the popularity of the tournament is increasing every year.
“Due to the rapid growth of walking soccer in British Columbia, we were able to offer a two-tiered event with both competitive and relaxed levels of play,” said Jonas, who first introduced this modified non-contact soccer to PGOSA in 2015. “It was a great day.”
This year’s tournament was also different said Jonas as it did not have a winner. Although the teams were competitive, the objective said Jonas was to have fun.
“We all won by having a day of walking soccer with fellow senior players,” said Jonas. “And the relaxed squad of new-to-the-game players had a ball.”
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Jonas said they look forward to hosting the next tournament and also enter other walking soccer leagues events in the near future.
For those interested in walking soccer, Van Isle plays from September to March indoors at Arbutus Meadows Arena on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The game moves outdoor at the Parksville Community Park from April to September, usually from about 12:30-2:30 p.m. on Monday and Thursday afternoons. For more information on walking soccer, go to: https://vanislewalkingsoccer.org/
Jonas invites anyone to come and try the game. All players are required to be members of the Parksville Golden Oldies Sports Association. If you’re interested in becoming a member and for more information about PGOSA, you can go online at https://pgosa.org/index.php
The current cost to play indoor walking soccer for all the fall sessions includes two sessions each week Tuesdays and Thursdays. To play for 90 minutes the cost is $100 and two 60-minute sessions weekly costs $80, which is equivalent to $5 a session. There’s also a $5 drop-in fee for any session as a PGOSA member.