Olds' two junior lacrosse teams will hit the local pavement with an action-packed two days as they open their home season this weekend with barbecues, raffles and beer gardens at the Sportsplex.
The Olds Mavericks, who snagged the provincial Junior B Tier II title last year in their first season, will feel the High River Heat next Saturday (May 13) afternoon. The Mavs have a 3-1-0 record so far this season, with the only loss coming against Lethbridge, their provincial playoff rivals from last year.
The Olds Stingers will face the Calgary Axemen on Sunday afternoon. Olds' Junior B Tier III team already played the Axemen earlier this season, crushing them in a 5-16 defeat on April 30.
Both teams will host a pre-game barbecue beginning each day at noon, a fundraiser that will double to make up for the Sportsplex concession, which will be MIA (missing in action) for the rest of the summer because of renovations. In addition the beer garden at the arena will be open.
Mavericks head coach Andy Sweetman, who also assists with the Stingers, said the group is going to try to put on a good show, between the barbecue and video board intros each afternoon before the game as well as hoisting last year's provincial banner.
Admission for the home opener, as well as any other games throughout the season, is free. Sweetman also said that Olds Community TV will stream several games live this year, either on YouTube or the OCTV website.
ìWe just want people to come watch lacrosse, get used to seeing what they see, and support the kids,î said Sweetman.
Olds will also play host to the Junior B Tier III provincial championships, July 14-15. All four teams in the league automatically qualify, so the Stingers will have a chance to capture the title on home turf.
In addition to hosting provincials, Olds will also feature a Senior C Showcase weekend this year. All eight teams (Blackfalds, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Vermillion, Airdrie, Calgary, Lethbridge and Okotoks) in the second-highest division will descend on Olds June 9-11 for an eight-game series. Both the Mavs and the Stingers will each play a regular season home game to add to the lacrosse-packed weekend.
"That's going to be a huge boost in Olds to have all these teams coming in, because each team has 20 players, plus wives and kids and girlfriends -- could be a very busy weekend in Olds, will be kinda nice."
While the Stingers will go straight to their playoffs, the Mavericks will have to qualify for the championships this year, but Sweetman is optimistic that will happen.
ìAs far as the rest of the year, we are looking forward to repeating,î said Sweetman. ìAs far as we can tell the rest of the league looks very similar to what it was last year, so we are very confident right now that we will hopefully be going back to provincials.î
The Olds Mavericks will face the High River Heat next Saturday (May 13), at 3:30 p.m., while the Olds Stingers will face the Calgary Axemen on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
