While sporting events all over Canada have been shut down due to the treat of the novel coronavirus, the P.G. Dome has been a hub of indoor soccer activity this weekend.
Six co-ed teams and six men's teams are locked in a battle for the World Cup Indoor Soccer Tournament, which will continue through Sunday afternoon on the facility's two hardwood pitches.
"We only have six teams in each division, last year we had 17 teams," said tournament organizer Jon Lafontaine.
Because there are just 12 teams involved in the local tournament, Lafontaine said that makes the event small enough top proceed within the provincial restrictions which limits public gatherings to 250 people.
"If all 12 teams were here, we'd be sitting at 160 players, and we'll never have all 12 teams in this facility. The two bleachers hold only 15 people each and we're not flirting with that (250) number."
Lafontaine said with so many sporting events around the world being shut down to the COVID-19 outbreak all the teams were given the opportunity to pull out of the tournament with full refunds offered but none chose that option.
"On Thursday night we talked to the referees and the volunteers and everyone was comfortable moving forward at that point," said Lafontaine. "We've been disinfecting like crazy, trying to do our due diligence there."
Each team is guaranteed four games. The two pools in each divisions were re-seeded Saturday afternoon so the top three in each division will compete for the two respective titles. Semifinals start Sunday at 9 a.m., with the co-ed final set for 12:30 p.m. and men's final at 1:30 p.m.
Lafontaine said there was an influx of UNBC Timberwolves men's team players added to the tournament when an event they had planned to compete in this weekend was canceled because of the coronavirus threat.
"Every team kind of strengthened up right at the end there and some of the UNBC players are in the co-ed division as well," said Lafontaine.
The P.G. Dome held the Youth Indoor World Cup last weekend.
