Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would take the opportunity to talk about a great event that happened this past weekend in Fort Simpson. On Friday, I was able to go home to be part of the Connie Louttit Memorial Soccer Tournament. The tournament was developed about 13 years ago to give youth from the Mackenzie region another opportunity to play soccer and to meet other athletes from the other communities, all important part to youth development. Unfortunately, one of the huge supporters of this tournament passed away and the Mackenzie Recreation Association decided to ask the family if they would be willing to name the tournament after her. The family was honoured, and ever since, the tournament has been named the Connie Louttit Memorial. This past weekend was the 11th annual tournament. This weekend, the tournament had teams from Detah, Ndilo, Fort Resolution, Hay River, Whati, Behchoko, Fort Liard, Whitehorse, Fort Simpson, and athletes from Nahanni Butte, Enterprise, Jean Marie River, Wrigley, and Fort Smith, who were placed in various teams throughout the weekend.
There were over 160 athletes ranging from the ages of 11 to 52, and you guessed it, the 52-year-old who was trying to play with these young people was myself. Unlike the Paul Stipdonk Tournament, this tournament is competitive, soccer with winners and losers. The amazing part of the tournament, all the games were competitive and a lot of great sportsmanship was shown throughout the weekend. All finals were very close, including a shootout between Behchoko and Fort Liard in the 14-and-under division. The games started at 2:00 p.m. on Friday and ended Sunday at 2:00 p.m. There were over 33 hours of soccer over the weekend. This involved a lot of coordination of the teams, staff, facilities, and officials. Unfortunately, I can't name all the volunteers and that, or I’d be here for the next hour or so, but I would like to thank all of the volunteers, staff, and coaches for helping out. However, I do need to think three special individuals for all their hard work. They are Nathan McPherson, Ashley Gillis, and Jacqueline Thompson. They were there from 36 hours to 40 hours over the weekend. As well, Jessica VanOverbeek, the executive director for the Mackenzie Recreation Association who continues to show support for this tournament. I can say I'm very happy and comfortable passing the torch to these young people who have taken it to the next step. Mr. Speaker, I would seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member's statement. Thank you.
--Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks, colleagues. As you can imagine, it involves a lot of coordination, especially for food for all these athletes. A big thank you to Bernie Leader and the Thomas Simpson Secondary School students who ran the concession all weekend, and the women's group for doing the meal packages for the athletes. There were a lot of smiling faces after each meal. I'd be remiss if I do not thank the sponsors of this tournament. They are the Mackenzie Recreation Association, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, the Village of Fort Simpson, Thomas Simpson Secondary School, P.R. Contracting, and The Soccer Shoppe from Whitehorse. In closing, I'd like to thank my children and my soccer children for allowing this old guy to be part of the team and play in the tournament for the past three years. For the record, we did win the co-ed division. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Laughter
