Nelson teams took home a majority of the gold following the 17th annual Kootenay South Youth Soccer Association (KSYSA) boys’ tournament last weekend.
The Heritage City teams won three of the five divisions against a field of teams from Kelowna, Creston, Cranbrook and Invermere as well as the host KSYSA squads.
Five divisions were up for grabs – U11-12, U13, U14, U15-16 and U17-18 – playing on pitches in Trail, Castlegar and Fruitvale.
“The number of teams was down a bit this year due mainly to weather and field conditions delaying teams from starting up,” explained Brett Pedersen of the KSYSA in a press release.
“Ours is the first tournament on the spring schedule for most teams.”
The teams overcame some rainy, soggy conditions on Saturday and prevailed through Sunday’s early chill before the sun broke out for the final games.
Once the final whistle blew, Kootenay South picked up a gold medal in the U11-12 division, with Nelson second, and silver medals in the U13 and U14 divisions behind the Nelson entries.
Kootenay East was second to Nelson in the U15-16 draw while Kootenay West won gold in the U17-18 division with Rutland picking up the silver medal.