A brand new women’s indoor soccer league is set to start this month in Dresden.
Wendy Vercauteren of Dresden got the idea of starting the league after participating in one in Chatham the past two years, and also after starting an outdoor league in Tupperville last summer.
“The last two winters, I played indoor soccer in Chatham in a program that the Municipality of Chatham-Kent runs,” she said.
“It is at Indian Creek Public School, which is way on the southwest corner of Chatham. So it was getting to be a bit much to drive. Especially the last two winters with the weather we had. It was a little too much for me to drive and continue to play soccer in the wintertime just to keep the exercise going, and keep the skill level up to prepare for outdoor soccer in the spring and summer.”
Once the Tupperville Women’s Soccer season finished in the fall, Vercauteren said she started to wonder if an indoor soccer league could get started in Wallaceburg or Dresden.
“I polled our members of the Tupperville Women’s Soccer League to ask if there would be any interest if I could secure a location to do it, and what they would be willing to pay,” she said. “There was a fair amount of interest so I decided to look into it.
After doing some research, Vercauteren pitched the idea to C-K Rec.
“They loved the idea,” she said. “They thought it would be great to have something like that someplace else within Chatham-Kent.”
When looking at the location and availability, the Lambton-Kent Composite School gymnasium was decided as an ideal spot.
“I thought it would probably be a good fit,” she said.
The league will be held on Wednesday nights, starting on January 20 and running until April 6, and is for women age 25 and older.
“It is truly recreational,” she said. “Another reason why I stepped away from the Chatham Indoor Soccer League is because it was getting to be less recreational, and more competitive. There were a lot of injuries that were happening. This is all recreational. We are doing this to have fun. Meet new people or just to get some exercise and get out of the house in the dead of winter and get some exercise.”
Vercauteren said they are aiming to create four teams in the league.
“If we get four teams, the first game will be 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and the second game will be 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.,” she said. “As far as play, I am hoping we will have the registration set at 48 so that we can make four teams of 12. So if people can’t make it some Wednesdays, that’s fine. The teams will be big enough that hopefully we will have enough players to play each week.”
Vercauteren added: “Because of it being in a gym and in a smaller playing area, you can’t really play with more than 5. If you get too many more than that, than its too many people bumping into one another on the court.”
Cost is $25 plus HST for the 11 weeks of games.
“You can’t get any better,” Vercauteren said. “It is really reasonably priced. So the sooner people register, the sooner I can get teams made up and get the teams list distributed.”
There are multiple ways to register for the league:
– By calling 519-360-1998
– Or by visiting the Dresden, Wallaceburg or any Chatham-Kent municipal centre in person
