麻豆社区

Interest in flag football has been reawakened in the Yukon capital, thanks in large part to a tournament held last weekend.

"It seems like the interest is pretty high,鈥� organizer Matthew Kremer said of the three-day tournament that saw the final games take place at Vanier Catholic Secondary School.

"There was a lot of guys playing, and even more who came out and watched.鈥�

The opening games last Thursday night were held at Elijah Smith Elementary and L'茅cole 脡milie-Tremblay due to a scheduling conflict at the Vanier fields.

Approximately 60 players from various age groups took part in the Ridge Pub Fall Classic tournament, and that number is expected to jump even higher next year.

"That's nice to see,鈥� said Kremer.

The WhitHawks won the inaugural tournament with a 42-26 victory over the Giants Saturday afternoon.

Kremer, who played for the Giants, said his team had to beat the WhitHawks twice to claim the trophy. The Giants were knocked into the consolation bracket earlier in the four-team tournament.

"We had to come through the back door and beat them twice,鈥� Kremer explained. "We beat them the first game, but lost the second. They hadn't lost yet, so we had to beat them twice since it was a double knockout.鈥�

The Giants won the first of the two games 40-32.

All four teams, including the Jats and Seahawks, fielded competitive teams.

"They were close games, all of them,鈥� Kremer said.

Awards were voted on by players and handed out at the Ridge Pub in Granger following the tournament final on Saturday.

The WhitHawks, a team formed by Seahawks' fan Bill Whitty, will be the first name inscribed on the tournament trophy.

Kremer took home offensive MVP honours, Kaleb Dawe (WhitHawks) won defensive MVP, and Ben McPherson (Giants) was voted best quarterback.

Discussions were also held regarding bringing back the Whitehorse Flag Football League, which folded more than a decade ago.

"Lots of people said they would be totally interested in a league next year,鈥� said Kremer. "So we might have an opening tournament to start with and see what the interest is, and go from there. We're hoping there will be some other teams too, and maybe get it up to six, seven or eight even.鈥�

Kremer said he expects the opening tournament will be held in late August.

The now-defunct league fielded six teams in its heyday, and was popular because it fell between the softball and hockey seasons.

Teams would hit the field twice a week in September, and would play in two tournaments 鈥� the midseason KK Bowl and the end-of-season Snow Bowl on the Thanksgiving weekend.