KAMLOOPS, BC – The 38th annual edition of the Kamloops Youth Soccer Association’s flagship tournament––the Slurpee Cup––will see 160 teams competing in the longest running youth soccer tournament in the interior of the province.
The tournament, sponsored by 7-Eleven, is open to boys and girls select teams in the U11 to U18 age groups.
The total number of teams entered is a slight reduction over the 2015 tournament when 167 teams took part. The drop in numbers is the result of a KYSA board decision to discontinue offering a “Silver” division in the tournament. The executive decided to eliminate the lowest tier of the event in an effort to have all the matches played on the best fields in the city. In tandem with dropping the Silver Division, the KYSA resolved to appoint a referee and two assistants to every match in the U13 age group and above. In previous events, games in the U13 and U14 divisions did not have assistant referees.
Matches begin Saturday, May 21st at 8:30am and continue throughout the day with the majority of games being played at McArthur Island. Similarly on Sunday, May 22nd, games will start at 8:30am and run through the early evening. Games on the Victoria Day Monday begin at 8:00am and run through to approximately 3:00pm.
Teams from throughout British Columbia have entered this year’s tournament as well as numerous teams from Alberta. Edmonton and Calgary-based clubs have been big supporters of the Slurpee Cup for many years.
Each team will play four, 60-minute games during the 3-day event.
“We have many teams return to play in the Slurpee Cup year after year because it’s a well run tournament and the quality of the facilities in Kamloops,” says KYSA President, Graham Cope. “We must thank the staff in the Parks, Recreation and Culture department for the remarkable job they do to ensure our visitors and our own teams get to play on quality surfaces and for making the facilities look great for the event. They are truly supportive of the ‘Tournament Capital” concept and they’re a great partner to the KYSA.”
Schedules, results and standings can be found at the tournament web site: kysacup.kysa.net