The halls of A.D. Rundle Middle School were emptier than usual for a Tuesday with students flooding the field for a day of football in the sun.
The second rendition of the school's touch football tournament saw four schools competing with A.D. Rundle playing host to Mount Slesse, Vedder Middle and Stitó:s Lá:lém Totí:lt.
“Football has had a huge growth over the last few years with the work of the Giants and the high-school football teams that we have,” said A.D. Rundle principal Sarah Gamboa. “What we want to be able to do is not have their first exposure to football be at the high-school level.
“We want to be able to build it here.”
Gamboa is also hoping touch football is a good bridge to a newer style of high-school football known as sevens. Unlike traditional tackle football, it's a fast-paced skills-centric version of flag-football.
The tournament is just a one-day event, but Gamboa has plans to expand the sport into having a full season for next year.
“It’s about the kids having a ton of fun at the end of the year,” she said. “Next year we're gonna make it bigger and better.
“This is just a one-day tournament – we’re trying to build it into a league.”
The tournament consists of round-robin play with all four teams playing each other in 30-minute games, before a playoff-styled bracket is used to determine a winner at the end of the day.
Mount Slesse was crowned victorious on the day, defeating Stitó:s in the tournament final, with A.D. Rundle taking third place with their win over Vedder Middle in the consolation contest.
The day also featured a fun-filled skills competition and of course, a pause for lunch which saw students from all four schools setting aside competition to share a patch of grass and hot dogs drowned in condiments. Lunch was provided by Chilliwack Community Services.