The B.C. Indoor Soccer League is inviting men's and women's teams to kick for some serious cash.
From March 11-13, the BCISL will be holding its 25th Annual Men's Tournament and its 15th annual Women's Blackburn Cup at the Northern Sport Centre fieldhouse. Based on a 12-team men's draw, prize money will be $4,500. And, if six teams enter the women's event, the purse for that will be $2,000.
The registration deadline for both tournaments is Tuesday.
The $6,500 up for grabs is the most ever offered by the BCISL, which wanted to celebrate these milestone years in style.
"We wanted to make it bigger and better," said BCISL director Gaetano Mauro. "There's an unlimited amount of players you can bring in to your team. These are open tournaments and that way you get quality and a very high level of play."
The tournaments are being sponsored by Honda North.
On the men's side, two teams from the Yukon and two from Kamloops have already registered to play. In past years, clubs from those regions have often found their way into the championship game.
"Yukon has always had a very competitive team, and Kamloops is a hotbed for good soccer," Mauro said.
The men's tournament got its start at the College of New Caledonia and later made its home at the Roll-A-Dome. It's now in its fifth year at the NSC and is a showcase event for the BCISL.
"It's just all about the soccer in Prince George," said league president Patrick Russell. "The out of town teams that come in for this, that's one of the things that I really get excited about. We know that this is going to be some of the highest-level soccer that we can do indoors, outside of the professional arena.
"We look forward to seeing some of the varsity teams in there," Russell added. "UNBC will come in, [Thompson Rivers] of Kamloops will come in. It's a little warmup for them, just to test themselves out to see where they're at."
Registration forms can be found on the BCISL's website (www.bcisl.com). For more details, contact league administrator Rob Niedermayer at (250) 562-4261 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Entry fees are $500 for a men's team and $400 for a women's team.
