As if Squamish isn't already a soccer town, the 28th annual Soccerfest is expected to draw a long procession of players from the Lower Mainland and Interior for the April 19-20 weekend.All 36 women's teams are signed up already and the men's side is nearing its 36-team capacity, said co-organizer Jose Oreamuno, who expects the soccer exodus to give the local economy a big kick."This is the major event that happens in Squamish over anything else. It brings to the community a lot of money and it's a major family event," he said.The Men's Open and Over 30 divisions have waiting lists while four spots remain in the Over 40 division. With 72 teams (including at least 10 local) expected to be signed up by deadline today and at least 11 players per team, Oreamanu figures hundreds of visitors will be filling hotels, campgrounds, hotels and pubs. "You're going to see teams in every bar, they will be just packed with players," he said. "The restaurants are packed from 6 p.m. on and the thing is we're counting players but we're not counting the families - a lot of the players are married and bring their kids for the weekend too."Besides raising awareness of the sport in the community, Soccerfest is meant to raise money for the Squamish Soccer Association. Each year, the event raises about $13,000, which goes into an account which hasn't been touched since the current organizers took over five years ago. The account currently has close to $50,000, said Oreamanu.The association eventually hopes to add a clubhouse and turf fields under the lights at the all-weather location at Brennan Park. Oreamuno estimates the cost of one turf field is between $800,000 and $1.2 million.The long-term goal is to build a half-stadium next to the fields. The total cost of all potential upgrades hovers around $4 million, said Oreamuno. "A stadium in Squamish will bring so many other events, not just soccer," he said.But it will be many years until that kind of facility can be put in place, said co-organizer Cecil Van Sickle. In the meantime, the Squamish Soccer Association is looking ahead to developing a youth fest to cater to the up-and-coming voices of Squamish soccer.Since Soccerfest's beer garden is such a big fundraiser, a youth version of the festival would be more about supporting the game than making money, he said."It's all about the youth, right, because we're hanging it up in a few years and by the time they're our age they'll be ready for the beautiful facility," said Van Sickle.The youngest players allowed to participate in Soccerfest's Open category are 16 years old, and anyone under 18 must sign a waiver. Also on the men's side there is an Over 30 division and an Over 40 division, while there are Open, Over 30 and Over 30 Recreational categories for the women.Squamish FC of the Vancouver Metro Soccer League is entered to compete in the Open division along with Brew Pub and Khalsa (made up of United FC players) from the Howe Sound Men's Soccer League. Meanwhile Tantalus Toner is playing in the Over 40 division.The Squamish Second Winds and Breakers of the North Shore Women's Thirty Something League are competing in the Over 30 Recreational division.
