Ava Dumont-Bruce gets ready to kick the ball forward for her Jack Kemp Community School Jaguars during an LPSD mixed soccer tournament at Rendell Park School last Thursday. The grades 5-6 Jags took on the Winston Churchill Wildcats. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
There was no better way to celebrate school sports week in Saskatchewan at the Lloydminster Public School Division than a soccer tournament for elementary school players.
The annual event was hosted by Rendell Park School last Thursday with mixed teams of Grade 5-6 athletes and coaches shrugging off the chilly weather.
That’s the way it was for the Jack Kemp Jaguars and their coach Tenille Woods cheerleading from the sidelines.
“We played last week when it was raining out. This is warm for us. It’s a lot of fun,” said Woods.
Rendell Grade 5 teacher Ryan Sklapsky did a lot of running around himself as a referee and organizer as the school’s Education Athletic Council rep.
“This is our wrap-up tournament,” said Sklapsky, who notes school sports week is basically a celebration of athletics.
He says it’s to celebrate LPSD athletes who participate in school sports and celebrate teachers and coaches who volunteer their time to give kids a chance to compete in a friendly competition.
“It would have been nicer to get some better weather, but at least we’re not trying to shovel the field like we did a few years back,” he said.
“We’ll take the wind and we’ll take a bit of cloud. It’s better than two feet of snow.”
Sklapsky says the tournament is also an opportunity for students to get out of class for an afternoon and have some fun.
Fun is what it’s all about for Ryan Mather, principal at Queen Elizabeth School and coach of the Knights.
“It’s about playing soccer and participating and some competition as well. It’s a great chance for kids to have some fun,” he said.
It was even more fun going against the Barr Colony Bulldogs coached by his son, Noah, who teaches Grade 3.
“You know what, he’s doing a great job,” said Mather Sr. about his son.
“His team at Barr Colony is playing super hard.”
It was fun for Noah, too, noting he wasn’t out to upstage his dad.
“The kids like to always go and say hi to both Mr. Mathers at the end of it,” he said.
“But it’s a cool opportunity for our kids to get in an LPSD tournament and get to play with each other and play against other kids across our school division.”
A trophy is also awarded to the overall winner, but that’s secondary to the gist of the tournament.
“Mainly it’s just to have fun, get the kids involved,” said Mather Jr.
Sklapsky says following the soccer tournament, elementary schools will transition to triple ball, which is a form of volleyball.
“After that, we have a variety of sports after Christmas. We have three-on-three basketball, badminton, volleyball, cross-country skiing and track and field,” said Sklapsky, with more sports hosting to come at Rendell.
“It’s good for the kids to come out and have some friendly competition with some of their hockey buddies or dance buddies or swimming buddies they see outside of the school and get a chance to wear the school jersey with some pride,” said Sklapsky.
