{"id":715772,"date":"2026-06-05T02:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T02:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/715772\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T02:11:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T02:11:10","slug":"revelstoke-championing-co-ed-adult-soccer-at-2nd-annual-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/715772\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelstoke championing co-ed adult soccer at 2nd annual tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

Revelstoke championing co-ed adult soccer at 2nd annual tournament<\/p>\n

Published 4:49 pm Thursday, June 4, 2026<\/p>\n

There are only two big rules at Revelstoke Drop-In Soccer: bring cleats and no slide-tackling.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s and women\u2019s matches.<\/p>\n

READ: Revelstoke scores $60K to kick off FIFA fun at local park and arena<\/a><\/p>\n

Though the pandemic spelled the end for Big Bear, what didn\u2019t stop was Revelstoke\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost nights, we usually have at least 30 people,\u201d Mains, who\u2019s been playing soccer since age six or seven, told Black Press Media. \u201cThere\u2019s no age restriction or bracket. It\u2019s kind of neat in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s and women\u2019s fixtures, they opted for a mixed-gender tourney that \u201ccaptured the same welcoming, community-focused atmosphere that has made Thursday nights so special over the years,\u201d the organizers explained.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t get to compete against wider talent around the B.C. Interior, right here in town.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of really great feedback,\u201d Mains said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the opportunity to play in the Revelstoke setting against other teams often.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now heading into the tournament\u2019s second year, \u201cwe\u2019d love to see the community come out to support the event, reconnect with old teammates, and enjoy a great weekend of soccer,\u201d Revelstoke Drop-In Soccer said by email.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe co-ed keeps it very firmly in the recreational concept, where everyone\u2019s just there to have a good time, but it\u2019s still competitive,\u201d Mains explained. \u201cIt really makes it quite welcoming if you\u2019re a still-developing body or fully-grown adult.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ: Revelstoke jockeys regional soccer event in record year<\/a><\/p>\n

Teams are already decided for this weekend\u2019s tournament, with approximately 150 people expected to play, but registration officially opens 8 a.m. this Saturday at Queen Elizabeth Park.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Keeping players nourished and hydrated off the field will be the BurgerTing Food Truck and a beer garden.<\/p>\n

As for keen footballers who missed the registration cutoff, \u201cthey\u2019re welcome to drop in,\u201d Mains encouraged, noting there\u2019s a chance for sideline spectators to fill in for no-shows. \u201cI just hope everybody swings by throughout the day (Saturday and Sunday).\u201d<\/p>\n

For local adults looking to play more regularly, Revelstoke Drop-In Soccer will continue holding its Thursday evening scrimmages at Queen Elizabeth Park \u2014 open to anyone interested \u2014 until around mid-October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Revelstoke championing co-ed adult soccer at 2nd annual tournament Published 4:49 pm Thursday, June 4, 2026 There are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":715773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,79004,561,82],"class_list":["post-715772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-okanagan","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}