Tla’amin Nation’s soccer mini-pitch has been officially opened, with members of the community and representatives of the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer club in attendance.
The mini-pitch, which can also be used for basketball, is located next to the ayiš ?aye (cousin’s house) building on Highway 101. It features an orange playing surface, the colour of the Every Child Matters campaign, and has an aluminum enclosure to keep balls within the mini-pitch area.
Whitecaps legend Carl Valentine, the Major League Soccer club’s ambassador, served as master of ceremonies at the opening of the “amazing event” in the qathet region.
Elder Doreen Point provided a welcome and a blessing, and mentioned that the Tla’amin Strong mini-pitch would be an asset for the young people of the First Nation.
“This is a good opportunity for our Tla’amin youth,” said Point.
Hegus John Hackett said the mini-pitch was a great addition to the community.
“It’s going to keep our youth active,” added Hackett. “The real grand opening is seeing the kids there playing soccer and basketball.”
Hackett said there could be opportunities to host other youth from other communities.
“It’s an opportunity to show how beautiful our territory is,” added Hackett. “I’m so grateful that it’s finally here today and I want to acknowledge and thank everybody who was involved. I saw the blueprints of the mini-pitch in the springtime and it was so amazing.”
Whitecaps chief executive officer Alex Schuster said his club’s representatives were honoured to be welcomed on Tla’amin territory.
Schuster said when he was hired by the Whitecaps, there was discussion about changing things, both on the pitch, and how the club is connecting with communities and the role it can play to help grow soccer. He said an objective was to do things more important than soccer.
“This moment is a far bigger moment than all the wonderful, successful moments we’ve had as a club,” said Schuster. “We’ve won two Canadian championships and had successful moments, but this moment means for me, more than all that.
“We sometimes think in professional sports that winning a game is the most important thing, but we want to remind everyone in our organization, and everyone connected with our club, that this is by far the most important thing.”
Schuster said the Whitecaps would not be able to assist with projects such as the Tla’amin Strong mini-pitch without amazing partners, such as the Hope and Health organization, which was initiated to bring First Nations communities together in a positive way and inspire the children and youth in active play through the game of soccer.
Hope and Health co-founder and chief executive officer Deana Gill said the greatest honour was to be trusted as a partner. She said her organization came and did a community soccer camp last summer and understood the importance of the beautiful game to the Tla’amin community.
“It was less than a year ago, talking about the concept of a mini-pitch to having the opening ceremony,” said Gill. “It says a lot about your determination and your work ethic.”
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