Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to rise today to commend coaches, sponsors and organizers for hosting the Paul Stipdonk Memorial Soccer Tournament in Fort Simpson last weekend. Paul Stipdonk was a long-time Northerner and teacher in Fort Simpson. Paul loved working with the youth in the sport of soccer. He spent many hours of his personal time coaching, fundraising, refereeing, organizing and developing new tournaments and travelling to events.
With Paul’s passing away this past August, the Mackenzie Recreation Association asked the family if they could rename the youth soccer tournament in his name. The family was very much honoured and felt a lot of pride to have this tournament named after him. This is the fourth tournament that has been renamed to recognize outstanding individuals in the Mackenzie region. The other three tournaments are the Connie Loutit Memorial Soccer Tournament, the Scott McAdam Badminton Tournament, and the Lawrie Hobart Memorial Volleyball Tournament in Fort Smith.
This is Fort Simpson’s third year hosting the indoor soccer tournament for under six, under eight, under 10 and under 12 teams. The idea was developed by Michael Botermans, Paul Stipdonk and Shane Thompson, great contributors to the sports in our North.
This year the tournament saw teams from Fort Providence, Fort Liard, Fort Simpson, and the coolest thing was that for the first time there were teams from Wrigley and Trout Lake. The tournament is a bit different than the other ones hosted in the region. The teams are co-ed. The concept is for the youth to have fun, enjoy this sport, develop their soccer skills and make new friends over the weekend. There are no losers, no banners and no medals. This year everyone received soccer balls with Paul’s name on it and shin guards for all the athletes that did not have them. Fun and safety is a priority of the tournament. The categories all played round robin formats. There was around 135 youth ranging from the age of three and a half years old to 12 years old, 40 first-timers and four with disabilities.
A number of teams brought coaches and assistant coaches for the weekend. There were 35 volunteers, 350 hours of volunteer time and eight youth coaches and chaperones. The sponsors of the tournament, and I would like to thank them: Mackenzie Recreation Association, Village of Fort Simpson, Bompas Elementary School, Thomas Simpson School and students, PR Contracting, MACA, the Regional Youth Sport Events Program.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
