Revelstoke championing co-ed adult soccer at 2nd annual tournament

Revelstoke championing co-ed adult soccer at 2nd annual tournament

Published 4:49 pm Thursday, June 4, 2026

There are only two big rules at Revelstoke Drop-In Soccer: bring cleats and no slide-tackling.

Holding their biggest tournament yet this weekend, this passionate group of local footballers is into their second season making the sport as accessible as possible in a competitive setting for adults of any gender, from anywhere in B.C.

Their community tourney returns Saturday and Sunday, June 6-7, on two fields at Queen Elizabeth Park and is reeling in teams from not just Revelstoke but also Salmon Arm, Vernon, Invermere, Nelson and Calgary.

Last June, co-organizers Emma Mains, Mike Murphy, Clay Bryant and Sarah Erikson rallied to pull off the first adult soccer competition in Revelstoke since around 2019. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, the decades-running Big Bear Classic was the traditional tournament older players looked forward to each September, with both men’s and women’s matches.

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Though the pandemic spelled the end for Big Bear, what didn’t stop was Revelstoke’s footballers gathering Thursday evenings at Queen Elizabeth Park for pick-up soccer. Running since 2011, the games grew from hardly enough players for two teams, to four full lineups representing men and women across a range of ages and skill levels.

“Most nights, we usually have at least 30 people,” Mains, who’s been playing soccer since age six or seven, told Black Press Media. “There’s no age restriction or bracket. It’s kind of neat in that way.”

After years of pick-up soccer success, she and other athletes met in 2025 to discuss bringing Big Bear back. Rather than simply reboot men’s and women’s fixtures, they opted for a mixed-gender tourney that “captured the same welcoming, community-focused atmosphere that has made Thursday nights so special over the years,” the organizers explained.

When Revelstoke first hosted the new event in June 2025, four or five teams representing ages 18 to 40s were fielded and players came all the way from Williams Lake. It was a humble start compared with this June, but filled a gap for local adult teams that usually didn’t get to compete against wider talent around the B.C. Interior, right here in town.

“There’s been a lot of really great feedback,” Mains said. “We don’t have the opportunity to play in the Revelstoke setting against other teams often.”

Now heading into the tournament’s second year, “we’d love to see the community come out to support the event, reconnect with old teammates, and enjoy a great weekend of soccer,” Revelstoke Drop-In Soccer said by email.

The response to this new competition in just the last year has been overwhelming for the organizers, thanks to the more casual and mixed-skill-level nature of the games.

“The co-ed keeps it very firmly in the recreational concept, where everyone’s just there to have a good time, but it’s still competitive,” Mains explained. “It really makes it quite welcoming if you’re a still-developing body or fully-grown adult.”

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Teams are already decided for this weekend’s tournament, with approximately 150 people expected to play, but registration officially opens 8 a.m. this Saturday at Queen Elizabeth Park.

Games kick off at 9 a.m., with the last matches starting 6 p.m. Sunday matches then begin between 9 and 9:30 a.m. and wrap up a few hours later, with final games hitting the pitch around 3 p.m.

Keeping players nourished and hydrated off the field will be the BurgerTing Food Truck and a beer garden.

As for keen footballers who missed the registration cutoff, “they’re welcome to drop in,” Mains encouraged, noting there’s a chance for sideline spectators to fill in for no-shows. “I just hope everybody swings by throughout the day (Saturday and Sunday).”

For local adults looking to play more regularly, Revelstoke Drop-In Soccer will continue holding its Thursday evening scrimmages at Queen Elizabeth Park — open to anyone interested — until around mid-October.