The Martlet

Getting a jump on “stay active” New Years resolutions wasn’t difficult for soccer players taking part in the Bays United Indoor Winter Classic, held at Oak Bay Rec Centre from Jan. 5 to 11. The round-robin tournament guaranteed each team four games, and a high level of competition.

“This tournament was definitely beneficial for players coming back from their Christmas breaks,” said Conan Pagan who plays for the Gordon Head Soccer Association.

“This tournament is a week prior to my next official soccer game. Even though indoor soccer is different to regular soccer, it still gives players some exercise.”

Each game was played on Oak Bay Rec Centre’ s artificial turf. The men’s division was composed of four leagues, while the women’s division was composed of two — all based on levels of competition and age restrictions. Several divisions featured a number of UVic students currently playing in the local Vancouver Island Soccer League.

The tournament’s structure allowed for unlimited substitutions during the two 16-minute halves that made up each game. The competition was tight, with roughly three teams in close pursuit of first place.

The tournament adopted FIFA soccer rules, with exceptions including extra out-of-bounds areas (such as the roof or any dividing curtain), the fact that slide tackles were not permitted and the fact that the referee’s decisions were final and there would be no appeal process.

“The tournament was run pretty efficiently,” said Pagan. “However, a team did not show up, which created fewer teams to play against. They could have been harder on registration, but there were a fair amount of teams in about six divisions.”

Overall, most considered the tournament a success.

“[It] offered something to do because there was a break in this soccer season,” said Pagan. “It was hard to find a good pick-up soccer game.”

Lakers 2 took home top honours for the Men’s Competitive Division, while Prospect Lake Prem took home the honours in the Women’s Competitive Division.

Dirty Sanchez took home the gold in the Men’s Recreational Division with Gordon Head 2 winning the Women’s Recreational. The Fernwood Dragons captured the Men’s Over-35 title, while Henderson walked away with the Men’s Over-48 title.