The 2nd annual Sandher Fruit Packers Summer Solstice Soccer Festival, hosted by Richmond United FC, wrapped up Sunday with over a thousand kids and their families making trips across the province to Hugh Boyd Fields to play a weekend of soccer.
With teams from the U8’s to U13s, RUFC was well represented in all age groups and experience levels, while groups from as far afield as Vancouver Island and the Okanagan made long trips to the Island City, racking up hotel nights, Night Market visits, and the requisite fish and chips lunches.
The SFP ‘cherry pink’ sponsor t-shirts could be seen all over the city across the weekend, but also served as a regular ‘away shirt’ during games when team colours clashed.
Those looking for on-field snacks were lined up at the La Sella pizza truck while Seafair Mall was packed with folks looking for a shawarma or Subway sandwich between games.
Joe Preswick Personal Real Estate Corporation, A & A Wong’s Insurance Services, and Boast Financial Services stepped up as silver sponsors of the tournament, but Sandher Fruit Packers took the gold sponsorship spot as part of their ‘Sandher Feeds Canada’ program.
The Okanagan based agriculture company chose RUFC for its first step into philanthropy as a thanks for the opportunity Canada has given their family since patriarch Bill Sandher arrived in the country from India in 1987 as an 18-year-old fruit picker.
Fast forward forty years and Bill and his sons Prabtaj and Gurtaj now run a significant orchard farm and packing plant, with products in Canadian kids’ school lunchboxes from coast to coast – and beyond.
“We know Richmond is a great agricultural region,” said Prab when asked about the sponsorship. “It’s also a thriving multicultural community where many families are taking their first steps towards being Canadian, and others welcome their new neighbours looking for a better life.”
“This is the first of what we hope will be many occasions we can give back some of the help that was given to us, whether it’s a weekend of soccer, or food in kids bellies, Canada helped us be in a position where we can help Canada right back.”
A post shared by Richmond United Football Club BC (@rmdunitedfc)
Richmond United FC has been running the summer festival for two years, to compliment its massive Thanksgiving Festival, which has been running for over three decades and last year attracted over 260 teams to the city.
The club estimates the fall event, which takes up every available piece of field space in Richmond over three days of a long weekend, brings some $12 million of economic activity to the city.
“We couldn’t do it without the help of the city of Richmond,” said Club President Barry Wosk. “They prep the fields, bring out goalposts, help with parking and recycling and even sent a crew out at 5:30am to mark fields. Richmond is truly becoming ‘tournament city’.”
Registration for the fall/winter season is now open at RUFC.
Reporter