Cub Soccer Tournament 2017

On the afternoon of Saturday 9th of September, some of the Silver Wolves from 1st Muizenberg and 2nd Fish Hoek met up at the Sea Scout base for a mini soccer tournament.

We at 1st Muizenberg were able to get 2 teams together, while 2nd Fish Hoek had 1 team. The tournament was played in a round robin format. Each match was 20 minutes long, and the team not playing in a particular match were taken off for a sail around the vlei by Akela Jim from 2nd Fish Hoek. So all was set up for a very exciting afternoon for the Cubs!

The emphasis was on sportsmanship, and the teams were scored on this, over and above the goals scored. I was lucky enough, along with Scout Liam S, to be the “ref”. The first 2 teams placed themselves on the field, and we kicked off.

What fun we had! Remember that some of the cubs, both boys and girls, had never played soccer before. The Cubs were quite competitive, but very caring and sportsman-like towards each other. If a hard tackle went in, they would shake hands afterwards and apologise to each other. Some of the Cubs even took a soccer ball to the face, but after a bit of time out, were back on the field as enthusiastic as ever. While all this was happening, the side lines were a bit like a mini Anfield with all the parents and Pack Scouters cheering the Cubs along with placards and song.

My son Tyler is a very passionate U9 rugby player, and it was funny watching him trying to adapt to soccer. In fact I think a few of the Cubs play rugby as a lot of handballs were blown. I suspect they were trying very hard not to catch the ball and carry and ruck it to the goal!

Once all the matches were done and the scores tallied, there was no clear winner, so the trophy was shared between the 2 packs. It was the perfect way to end a beautiful day of sport, sailing and cheering.

When the cubs got home I’m sure they were all tired, yet happy and fulfilled after a day spent in fellowship with other Cubs in that great big family that we call Scouting.