Football BC's The Huddle Newsletter
November 2009 | Issue #10  Governing Body for Amateur Football in BC

BC Football Hall of Fame now online

This past Friday the dream of the late Bob Ackles, former President and CEO of the BC Lions, became a reality when the BC Football Hall of Fame opened their virtual doors by launching their brand new website at bcfootballhalloffame.com.

It was Ackles' dream to develop the BC Football Hall of Fame as a way of honouring and celebrating the achievements of all those who helped build the great game of football in the province of British Columbia. Ackles, who was a prominent football executive in the CFL, NFL and XFL, always recognized the importance of growing the game at the grassroots level and giving back to the local community. Upon to his return to the BC Lions in 2002, Ackles established the annual Orange Helmet Awards Dinner - an evening that celebrates the cream of the crop in amateur football in BC and an event that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for amateur football in the province.

True to the style in which Bob operated on a day-in, day-out basis, the BC Football Hall of Fame is designed with the football community in mind first and foremost. The BC Football Hall of Fame encourages and invites fans to nominate individuals who they feel should be honoured with an induction - be it an athlete, team, media, builder or pioneer.

For more on Bob's lasting legacy, visit the BC Football Hall of Fame website.

 

Skeetchestn & Sk'elep First Nation 6-on-6 Junior Player Development Weekend Notebook - October 24 & 25 in Kamloops 

By Brian Olthuis, Camp Coordinator and Coach
Football BC Vice-President of Programs

On the weekend of October 24-25, under beautiful sunny skies and 13 degrees C temperatures, the Junior Player Development camp took place at the Sk'elep School of Excellence with two First Nation Bands - Sk'elep (Kamloops) and the Skeetchestn Indian Band. 

Skeetchestn is located approximately 25 minutes from Kamloops and is located on Deadman's Creek just off of the Trans Canada Highway. The children from Skeetchestn were transported to and from Kamloops in a 15-passenger van driven by First Nation youth worker Frank Antoine.

The players participated were provided with two lunches, one dinner and nutrition breaks throughout the camp. Camp organizers would like to thank the generous support of Subway, Old Farmers Market and Safeway for all their support. Each of the three sponsors had football connections in the form of former high school players, high school students of coaches or individuals involved in support sport. The players were also supplied with stainless steel water bottles by a First Nation business, the Q'wemtsin Health Society, to help ward off the evil H1N1.

Josh Sacobie, from youth football development at Football Canada, was a special guest and a great addition to the camp. Josh grew up in a First Nation community and had a successful CIS football career with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. He was an excellent role model for the Aboriginal youth.

Josh flew in from Ottawa and, in addition to helping with the camp, attended high school and community football games during the late afternoons and evenings. Josh was also thoroughly impressed with all the football facilities in Kamloops and at the skill level demonstrated by the players he watched over the weekend.

In addition to Josh and the 19 players aged 10-14 at the camp, six girls and 13 boys, there were seven NCCP trained and/or certified coaches from Kamloops, a nutritionist, a first aid attendant, a bus driver and an equipment manager as all part of the camp.

The camp also garnered attention from a local television station. After the game, there were horns honking and kids smiling and all agreed that the event was a fantastic event. A Heritage Grant was provided which gave financial support to the camp to allow visits to both schools to promote the event, staff stipends, meals, venue costs and equipment transport.

We look forward to hosting many more events in this region in the near future.

Inaugural BCCFA 9-man championships less than two weeks away

A new chapter in BC football will be written in just under two week's time when the BC Community Football Association hosts their first-ever 9-man championships on Saturday, November 14th at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, BC.

Teams representing four of the six leagues within the BCCFA, including the Vancouver Mainland Football League, the Vancouver Island Football League, the Southern Interior Football League, and the North Football League, will be vying for a chance to be crowned 9-man champions in their respective divisions. There are three 9-man divisions that will see a community champion crowned: Pee Wee, Junior Bantam, and Bantam.

As of this writing, Prince George (Pee Wee) and two teams from Vanderhoof (Jr. Bantam, Bantam) have clinched a spot in their respective divisions and are awaiting the playoff results from the VMFL, VIFL and the Southern Interior to find out who they will be playing against on championship day.

Tickets for 9-man championship are just $5 for adults and $2 for fans between the ages of 13-18 and fans 65-or-older. Admission is free for children under the age of 12. Tickets can be purchased at the gate on game day. The Pee Wee championship kicks off at 11:00am, followed by the Junior Bantam championship at 1:30pm and the Bantam championship at 4:00pm.

For fans interested in attending the semi-final games in the Pee Wee and Junior Bantam divisions, they will be taking place this weekend in the Metro Vancouver area. In the Pee Wee division, the VIFL champions Victoria Hitmen will be facing the VMFL champions Cloverdale Lynx at Dennison Park in South Delta at 1:00pm on Saturday, November 7th. In the Junior Bantam division, the Richmond Raiders and the Cloverdale Cougars of the VMFL will do battle at Cloverdale Athletic Park at 5:00pm.

Raiders crowned Cullen Cup Champions, Canadian Bowl up next

For one quarter of play, the South Surrey Rams looked like they would make this past Saturday's Cullen Cup Final a competitive one. Then, the Vancouver Island Raiders took complete control.

Trailing 14-13 after the opening frame, the Raiders caught fire posting 21 points in the second quarter and adding another 16 unanswered points in the second half en route to a convincing 50-14 win over the Rams earning their fourth consecutive Cullen Cup championship and a berth at the Canadian Bowl to be played on Saturday, November 14th.

"We talked all year about wanting to win every single game," head coach Matt Blokker told the Raiders team website following the win. "We put the pressure on ourselves by talking out loud about goals. Now, we've done what we wanted to do and I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the players.

"To win a championship is a tough thing to do. Not many teams have done it and this team did it. We'll carry an awful lot of confidence heading into the nationals now."

The Raiders now have just one goal left on their task list and that's successfully defending their Canadian Bowl championship from last season. Counting this year, the Raiders have advanced to the Canadian Bowl in three of the last four seasons and in their two previous trips to the championship, they came away winners both times including back in 2006 when they hosted the Canadian Bowl at Caledonia Park and earned a 27-26 over the Edmonton Wildcats.

This year's final will be a re-match of that 2006 Canadian Bowl after the Wildcats defeated Ottawa Sooners in the InterGold Cup to earn their spot in the CJFL showcase event.

Kickoff for the 2009 Canadian Bowl is 1pm on Saturday, November 14th at Caledonia Park in Nanaimo, BC. Ticket information is available at the VI Raiders website.  

      

Reminder: Support minor sports concussion education by voting for Football BC

Football BC has submitted an entry for the Aviva Community Fund and we are asking all our members to help support our bid by visiting the Aviva Community Fund website and voting for Football BC's idea.

To search for Football BC's idea, simply visit the www.avivacommunityfund.org and search for idea ACF1756. You must register on the website in order to vote. Registration is simple and free.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Reminder: Support Football BC with a donation to the National Sport Trust Fund - BC Chapter

Football BC would like to encourage members and supporters who have the financial ability to make a contribution to support Football BC with a donation through the National Sport Trust Fund (NSTF).

To support Football BC, simply visit the NSTF webpage on Sport BC's website and click on Cash Donations. Fill out the information as required and select "Football BC - SR Bowl Program" under the Select a Project drop down menu.

Thank you in advance for your support. To discuss different methods that you can help support Football BC, contact us at communications@playfootball.bc.ca or by phone at 604.677.1025.

Reminder: Nominate the 2009 Community Coach and Scholastic Coach of the Year

Football BC is asking supporters of a Football BC member organization to send in nominations for this year's Community Coach of the Year and/or Scholastic Coach of the Year. The winning coaches will be honoured at the 2010 BC Lions Orange Helmet Awards Dinner.

Fully completed nomination forms and citations must be received by Friday, December 11, 2009. Nominations will not be accepted verbally or by phone. For detailed information and to download the nomination form, visit the Football BC website. 

      

Reminder: Order your tickets for the 2009 Subway All-Star Banquet Today!

Support and celebrate the 2009 BC High School Football season in style by purchasing a ticket or a table for the upcoming 2009 Subway All-Star Awards banquet.

The banquet will take place on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at the Delta Burnaby Hotel & Conference Centre. Tickets are only $60 each or $600 for a table of 10.

To order tickets, contact:
Lui Garcea
Banquet Co-Chairperson
Cell: 778.990.9299
E-mail: lgarcea@telus.net

 Mark Nykolaichuk
Banquet Co-Chairperson
Cell: 604.868.0394
E-mail: nykol@shaw.ca

      

Reminder: The Home Depot NFL Youth Coach of the Year

Football BC would like to remind all CIS players that nominations for The Home Depot NFL Coach of the Year are now being accepted. For more information or to nominate your high school or community coach, visit www.nflcanada.com and look for the nomination form under the ‘Programs’ section of the website. The deadline for submissions is November 5th.

      

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In This Issue

Quick Links

Local Football Action

Need a football fix? Visit these links to find an upcoming game in your community.

Partner Links and Resources

Upcoming Events

BCCFA 9-Man Championships

Saturday, November 14th
The inaugural BC Community Football Association's 9-man provincial championships will be taking place on November 14th at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, BC. Championship day will feature teams in three divisions (Peewee, Jr. Bantam and Bantam) vying for the opportunity to be crowned champions in 9-man football. The Peewee championship kicks off at 11:00 am, followed by the Jr. Bantam championship at 1:30pm and the Bantam championship at 4:00pm. Tickets are available at the gate on game day. For more information, visit the BCCFA website. 

CJFL Canadian Bowl

Saturday, November 14th 
The Canadian Junior Football League National Championship Game will be hosted in the province of British Columbia. This year's final will pit the undefeated Vancouver Island Raiders of the British Columbia Football Conference versus the Edmonton Wildcats of the Prairie Football Conference. For more information on the Canadian Bowl, visit the VI Raiders website or the CJFL website. Kickoff is 1:00pm at Caledonia Park in Nanaimo.

Subway Bowl All-Star Awards Banquet

Wednesday, December 2nd
Three nights prior to the Subway Bowl, BC High School Football will honour the best of the best in the 2009 season at the Subway Bowl All-Star Awards Banquet. The event will take place at the Delta Burnaby Hotel & Conference Centre in Burnaby, BC (located beside the Grand Villa Casino). Tickets are just $60 each (or table of 10 for $600) and can be purchased by contacting Lui Garcea (778.990.9299 or lgarcea@telus.net) or Mark Nykolaichuk (604.868.0394 or nykol@shaw.ca). For more information, visit the BC High School website. 

Subway Bowl

Saturday, December 5th 
The cream of the crop of BC High School Football will be crowned on December 5th at McLeod Stadium in Langley, BC. Championships for all divisions, ranging from Grade 8 to the showcase AAA Varsity levels, will be decided on this great day of football. Tickets are available at the gate on game day. For more information, visit the BC High School Football Association website. 

BCCFA 12-Man Championships

Sunday, December 6th
The BC Community Football Association celebrates the 42nd edition of their showcase 12-man provincial championships on December 6th at McLeod Stadium in Langley, BC. Champions in five divisions will be decided. The Atom championship kicks off the day at 9:00am followed by the Peewee at 11:00am, the Jr. Bantam at 1:00pm, the Bantam at 3:30pm, and the Midget at 6:00pm. Tickets are available at the gate on game day. For more information, visit the BCCFA website.

If you have an upcoming event that you would like to promote on Football BC's website and in our newsletter, send them to:

communications@playfootball.bc.ca.

Please include the event name, location, date(s) and time(s), as well as a short description.

 

 

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