By Steve Hubrecht
The Clash of the Titans was once again a titanic success.
The annual soccer tournament brought droves of young athletes to the Columbia Valley, filled the region to a bustle, and gave youth a chance to learn both on and off the field.
The tournament was held on May 24 and 25 in Invermere and Windermere.
A total of 70 soccer teams, both girl squads and boy squads, participated in a range of age categories from U11 (under 11 years old) up to U18 (under 18 years old). Each team included 15 to 22 young soccer players, meaning the tournament featured up to 1,540 athletes in total, including the hometown team — the Columbia Valley Titans.
Of course the kids don’t come alone — parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, coaches, managers, referees and various other volunteers came too — arriving in the valley from all over the Kootenay region as well as from Calgary and other parts of Alberta. All told, several thousand people flooded into the valley for the weekend event.
“It was certainly a good influx into the community,” tournament chair Joanne Gray told the Pioneer. Those coming for the tournament spend money on accommodation (Gray noted that 185 rooms had been booked for the weekend at Panorama Mountain Resort, the tournament’s official accommodation partner), on restaurants, on groceries, and often spend on a bit of shopping.
Gray knows from attending other soccer tournaments in the past as a parent, that each visiting family can easily spend about $1,000 in the host community. Multiply that $1,000 by the number of young athletes in town and it adds up to “a pretty good economic benefit for the valley,” said Gray.
That benefit comes a few weeks before the summer tourist season truly hits high gear, giving valley businesses a spring shoulder season boost.
On the soccer side of things “it went well,” said Gray. Of course, organizing all the games for 70 teams, spread across two communities requires “a lot of logistical patience,” conceded Gray. “But the volunteer committee we have for the tournament is outstanding … it’s actually a fun tournament to do because of the people involved.”
Clash of the Titans has been running for more than a decade and a half (minus a break during the COVID-19 pandemic), and keeps growing each year.
“People, especially from Calgary, love coming here. We also have no problem getting referees to come, which sometimes can be tricky for some tournaments. Not for us,” explained Gray. This year, one referee even came from Prince George to work in the tournament.
The event is a chance for young soccer players to hone their skills and teamwork (several Columbia Valley teams won gold in their age categories), but it is also an opportunity for personal growth. Gray said she is particularly proud to see some of the Columbia Valley Football Club (CVFC)’s older teenage athletes help out with the tournament, as well as help the club’s younger soccer players outside the tournament (switching their own soccer practice times, for instance, so they can coach the smaller kids).
“It’s great to see it go full circle like that,” said Gray.
This year for the first time, Clash of the Titans organizers gave out a ‘Beyond the Bench’ award to recognize outstanding coaching during the tournament. A total of 112 nominations for the award were received from tournament participants, parents and volunteers. “I was not expecting that many,” said Gray.
The award went to Creston U16 girls coach Dan Schiffet. He garnered 36 nominations and “I actually started to tear up reading them,” said Gray. “It’s clear he has a lot of compassion for his athletes.”
When Gray and other organizers presented the Beyond the Bench award to Schiffet at the end of the U16 girls championship game (which the Columbia Valley Titans won in a penalty shootout), Gray explained that “the whole Creston team broke out crying and piled on in one massive team hug, like a beehive.”
Gray thanked local parents, volunteers, businesses and everyone else who helped out at this year’s Clash of the Titans. Helping out “is really ingrained in this community” and it really shows during the soccer tournament, she said.
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