With spring here, minor sports are kicking off in Olds and the Albertan has gotten insight into several of the changes they face.
“This year we have more participants than we have had in several years with 340 registrations. Our largest age groups are our U-6 and U-9,” said Blake Machan, president of the Olds Minor Soccer Club.
The U-6 soccer club has 10 mixed teams including one in Bowden. The other largest age group is U-9 which has nine teams with two Bowden teams.
Machan said there are many changes this year, like moving the U-6 teams from their elementary school fields to Deer Meadow and Imperial Fields.
Machan also said the U-15 team that participated in Tier 3 as a part of Calgary Minor Soccer last season has moved up to the U-17 division.
Only one soccer tournament is set and it is for the U-9 wind-up in June at the Deer Meadow fields.
While the soccer club has seen a huge increase, Josh Zanolli, president of Olds Minor Baseball, said its numbers are on par with last year.
“We’re just over 210 (players), so very similar numbers to what we’ve had in the past,” said Zanolli.
Zanolli said the baseball schedule is done on a monthly basis so there aren’t any tournaments lined up yet but if any are held, they would be hosted at O.R. Hedges field.
Minor lacrosse is expected to have a 90 per cent return of players from last season with new players joining teams as well, according to Olds Lacrosse Association president Sally Dolinski.
“There's a few new players; there's around 20 new players around the association,” Dolinski said.
There is a big change coming to the Olds Lacrosse Association this season. The tykes will now be playing a regular league play rather than the festival style.
The change impacts all of the Alberta lacrosse associations.
“That means instead of them playing like two games, every three weekends, now they play one or two games every weekend, against different teams,” Dolinski said.
Last year and previous years, all the tyke teams went to one location one weekend and then took two weekends off.
“I believe it’s just to give the kids more of an opportunity to feel what it’s like to play regular league play,” Dolinski said.
The lacrosse association will be hosting a mini tyke festival on June 15 at the Sportsplex. All of the mini tyke teams will come there for their year-end festival.
“There’s no first or second place but they all get to come and participate and have some fun lacrosse for the minis,” Dolinski said.
Dolinski also said that they are looking into getting food trucks for the festival but nothing has been booked yet.
Dolinski said that the lacrosse association is planning on having a fundraiser in May and is set to be a part of the parade in July.
