WINNIPEG, MB – For the very first time, children and youth in Winnipeg’s inner city have a chance to play soccer in an organized summer league. The University of Winnipeg is launching the Jumpstart Inner City Summer Soccer League beginning in July and running through to the end of August to provide neighborhood youth with a free soccer experience in friendly competition. Approximately 160 youth between the ages of 8 and 17 have been training for two months leading up to the start of the season. They are coached and mentored by UWinnipeg Wesmen soccer players and coaches.
The League is supported through generous donations by Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart program and the Thomas Sill Foundation to cover costs including jerseys, shorts, socks, shin guards and soccer balls.
“This new League exemplifies what the Athletics Department here at UWinnipeg is all about. It’s about operating meaningful programming for youth in our community, it’s about participants having the chance to develop their sport and life skills and it is about giving the Wesmen student athletes the opportunity to be great role models,” said Grant Richter, UWinnipeg’s Director of Athletic Program Development and Community Liaison. “We are part of the cycle that leads to our community having great citizens into the future.”
Financial barriers prevent many inner city youth from participating in organized recreation and obtaining the numerous benefits associated with playing team sports. The new League gives many kids their first ‘team’ experience, introduces them to positive University role models and keeps them actively engaged during the summer period.
Any player who meets the League’s age requirements will be eligible to play. Players will be evaluated during skills camps, and teams will be assembled by League organizers so that the caliber of play is equitable. Players will be supervised by Spence Neighbourhood Association, Magnus Eliason Recreational Centre, the Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corporation, NEEDS (Newcomers Employment and Education Development Services Inc.) and IRCOM (Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba), Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg and West Broadway Youth Outreach.
The Jumpstart Inner City Summer Soccer Leagues League is operated by UWinnipeg’s Athletics Department, in close partnership with a Community Coalition of 18 youth serving agencies. The League is managed by Grant Richter and Wesmen soccer coaches, Mick Gale and Pedro Daza.
Efan Nasajpour, a professional basketball player in Iran and former Wesmen basketball great, is back on campus assisting with the management of the Inner City Soccer League as well as UWinnipeg’s Summer Basketball League.
This fall, UWinnipeg will begin construction of an indoor, multi-sport Field House, Health, Wellness and Healing Complex, the first of its’ kind for Winnipeg’s inner city. It is the goal of the University and the Community Coalition to create a number of youth sports leagues at the facility, with the Inner City Summer Soccer League serving as the template.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Grant Richter, Director of Athletic Program Development and Community Liaison
P:204.786.9897, E: g.richter@uwinnipeg.ca
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
