A new 3v3 soccer tournament is joining the Manitoba Sunflower Festival lineup in Altona this weekend, bringing a fast-paced version of the sport to the heart of the community celebration.
The inaugural Sunflower Cup will take place Saturday, July 25, beginning at 1 p.m. in the park just east of the tennis courts.
Karl Enns, chair of the Altona Soccer executive board, said the tournament is designed to promote soccer, build community spirit, and draw attention to the organization’s Beautiful Project.
“We have been looking at doing some sort of soccer related tournament in the area,” Enns said. “And when they approached us, we thought this would be a great fit to promote soccer, to promote the project, but to promote, again, the community spirit.”
Fast-paced format offers different take on soccer
The Sunflower Cup will use a three-on-three format on fields roughly the size of a volleyball court, with hockey nets serving as goals and no goalkeepers.
Substitutions will happen on the fly, and the ball will quickly return to play when it goes out of bounds.
“It’s very fast-paced,” Enns said.
Games will feature two 10-minute halves, allowing organizers to move through the tournament relatively quickly.
“For those that are hockey fans will probably feel a little more at home watching this because it is a little more fast-paced than your standard 11v11 format,” Enns said.
Teams can include four to six players, allowing for substitutes, with women’s and men’s and mixed divisions planned.
The tournament is intended primarily for players 16 and older, although Enns said exceptions may be possible for younger competitive players or teenagers joining an adult team.
“This is going to be a competitive level tournament,” Enns said. “And so, be prepared for that.”
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Tournament supports Altona soccer project
Registration costs $25 per player, with Altona Soccer continuing to accept teams from the community and elsewhere in southern Manitoba.
The winning team will receive the inaugural Sunflower Cup trophy, designed as a soccer ball surrounded by sunflower petals, along with a 50-pound bag of sunflower seeds provided by Ronnie’s Seeds.
Enns said organizers hope the tournament will become an annual part of the festival.
“We want this to become an exciting thing that people are drawn towards, not just from our community, but from outside of our community to promote what we all can do and have right here in Altona,” he said.
The tournament is also part of Altona Soccer’s ongoing effort to raise awareness and funds for The Beautiful Project.
Enns said preparatory work is underway, while the larger push on the project’s soccer fields will move ahead once funding is in place.
“We are in fundraising mode and so these activities and stuff that we are having now during the summer focused around soccer is to draw attention to not only the beautiful game, which is where we pulled the title, The Beautiful Project, from, but then also just to draw attention to the project itself and allowing people to learn about it and to interact with us,” Enns said.
Spectators are also encouraged to stop by and watch the inaugural tournament during the festival.
“We’d love to see people not only compete and play, but come and watch and enjoy,” Enns said.
Enjoy the full conversation between Altona Soccer Board Chair Karl Enns and CFAM host Zack Driedger below: