THE OAKVILLE BEAVERWednesday, August 18, 1999 D3 OSC is bursting at the seams By Kathy Yanchus SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER T|he Oakville Soccer Club is bursting at the seams.___ Registration has skyrocketed over the past few years, particularly among young girls, and now sits at more than 8,000 players including rep teams. Last year that figure was 7,745. Ten years ago, 3200 kids played soccer. Records from 1995 show that this was the first year girls outnum bered boys, and that trend has con tinued. "It has become the number one sport for girls," commented regis trar John Wood. "At one time, back in 1989, there weren't too many girls playing anywhere. Most of the top athletes played in other sports. Almost all of the top female ath letes now play soccer. Among rep team players are provincial basket ball players, hockey players and volleyball and track standouts." The reasons, muses Wood, are soccer's relatively inexpensive financial outlay and its generous acceptance of players of all talent levels. "You see it in hockey to a lesser degree ... the cost of playing hockey is more," he said. Whatever the reason, the Oakville Soccer Club continues to live up to its reputation as North America's largest, drawing in extra ordinary numbers, particularly among young girls. Many are involved to increase their chances of athletic scholarships to American universities, he said. The explosion of women's' par ticipation in previously male-domi nated territory is no more evident than in the Oakville Soccer Club and with the town's continuing growth, those numbers are not expected to level off anytime soon. In the 80's there were seven girls rep teams; this season, there are 16. It has worked because the league is confined within a relatively small area. "There's no field more than 15 minutes away. Parents never have to travel more than 15 minutes. Compared to the logistics of Toronto, it's relatively easy to manage it in a confined area." For 25 years, the club's has worked* tireless ly to accommodate young people wanting to play soccer, but with increasing numbers and limited facilities, the club faces some tough decisions -- do they sacrifice quality or quanti ty? dad" who gets roped into coaching, said Wood. "Fortunately for us he volun teered." With growing numbers, upgrad ing and supporting volunteer coach es at both rep and house league lev els became of utmost importance to the club and resulted in the hiring of head coach Rick Morandini. His value to the club has been proven, just looking at the results of the Ontario Cup where local rep club teams fared better than any other clubs across the province, said Wood. Unfortunately, said Wood, the number of volunteers hasn't increased proportionately with reg istration numbers. The number of requests and complaints, however, have. "The same number of people do more. We're always looking for vol unteers. It's understandable people can't (volunteer) but it doesn't mean it's right." Refereeing is stretched "pretty thin" in terms of coverage, adds Wood and parents are expecting a ref for their $100 fee. "They expect more than is some times possible." "Everything is more difficult to balance than before. It gets more complicated trying to balance teams. I think parents are pretty smart.They realize that with 8000 players, it's not always possible to play in your own backyard. We try to accommodate as many people as possible." One of the most serious prob lems this year was the approximate ly 2000 requests " for Joe wanting to play with Jack." "We just can't accommodate those requests. We just can't do that." By and large, the executive core has been successful at pulling together a season of soccer for the kids of Oakville each year, said Wood, but they "desperately need new people, new ideas." The sport of soccer and the Oakville Soccer Club are firmly entrenched in this community with second generation members, said Morandini, who has successfully dealt with the technical side, leaving the administration to deal with other tasks. But in a volunteer environment, recruiting enough coaches and referees is always going to. be an issue, he said. He believes, however, par ents are getting exceptional value for their reg istration dollars when everything is added up. Playoffs got under way for Oakville Soccer Club house league as Hickory Dickory Decks took on P. D. Auto in boys under 15/16 play at River Oaks field Saturday afternoon. Micro and mini numbers have increased substantially. "There's a waiting list o f 50 to 60 individu als in this age group. (In addition to the 8,000 registered) there are another 1,000 kids who would play if it was possible," said Wood. One of the major problems the club has is scheduling. Every one of the 59 fields the Town gives the club is used to capacity through the week. There is some leverage Friday evenings and on weekends, but these times are often used for re-scheduled games. "There isn't a spare field anywhere." Practice times aren't officially scheduled and teams are encouraged to share field space. "If you take General Wolfe, there are five fields, two other fields across the road, and there are teams practising there all the time." There has been some discussion about limit ing the registration, said Wood. "There isn't a lot further we can go. It's almost unmanageable." Eight thousand players means 450 teams, all of which need someone to guide them, and soliciting hundreds of coaches each season is a burdensome task. Very often it's "some poor OYS annual Weekend Regatta '99 Photos by Peter C. McCusker The Oakville Yacht Squadron (OYS) held its annual regatta this past weekend. More than 45 yachts from a number of clubs on the western end of Lake Ontario participated in the two days of racing. The Lighthouse Challenge, a fun event for those who wanted a different test of their sailing skills, was also held. To make sure everyone could take part, shore events were held on Saturday afternoon. Live bands played throughout the week end while a dinner/dance Saturday night and a barbecue on Sunday afternoon kept every one in a party mood. The weather cooperated and when the prizes were handed out Sunday, everyone agreed it had been a wonderful weekend. Anyone interested in finding out more about the Oakville Yacht Squadron can phone 338-9379.' The Oakville Yacht C lub's annual Weekend Regatta '99 attracted close to 50 yachts. Summer Classic at Hendervale The Hendervale Equestrian Complex is kicking off its fourth annual Halton Valley Summer Classic horse show which runs from today (Wednesday) through to Sunday (Aug. 18-22). With approximately 700 horses expected to participate in over 150 classes, this year's show should be an exciting event. The $50,000 Grand Prix will run on Sunday and will feature such prominent riders as Ian Millar, Leslie Burr-Howard, Jill Henselwood, Eric Lamaze, Beth Underhill, Mac Cone, Hugh Graham and other Pan-Am riders from around the world. Recent additions to the Grand Prix events will include Hendervale's own Heather Manbert-Semiuk, Christie McQuaker, Jennifer Ramsay, and Frankie Chesler. As well as the Grand Prix, this show will also feature a $25,000 Gerling Canada Classic, $15,000 Derby, $12,000 Canada Trust Open Welcome Stake and $10,000 Hunter Classic. Rings begin daily at 8 a.m. and admission is free during the week with a $5 charge on Saturday and Sunday. Again this year, Hendervale has expanded to remain at the fore front of top-rated equestrian facilities world-wide. Hendervale continues to strive to provide the best environment for equestrians. This year, Hendervale has added another 62 perma nent indoor stalls as well as 120 additional permanent outdoor stalls, bringing the total stabling to 320. As well as the recent expansion, this has proven to be an excit ing year for Hendervale with its bid to be named as the site to host equestrian events for the 2008 Olympics should Toronto be suc cessful in their bid. Hendervale, located just outside Oakville's north west border, will be thanking the people involved in their bid at a luncheon over looking the Grand Prix Ring on Sunday. Blades a t Copps The Oakville Blades training camp kicked off this past Sunday and it should be quite a thrill for veterans and rookie-hopefuls, alike, as they play an early exhibition season game tonight (Wednesday, Aug. 18), 7 p.m., at Copps Coliseum against the Hamilton Kilty Bees. The Blades will be back at their home base, at Ice Sports Oakville, Thursday night for a 7:15 p.m. practice and then they continue their provincial junior A exhibition action on the road this Sunday (Aug., 22nd) at North York. The Blades, then, host both of the above mentioned teams in return engagements at Ice Sports Oakville on Friday, August 27th, 7:15 p.m., vs North York, and on Sunday, Aug. 29th, 1:15 p.m. vs Hamilton. There's plenty new with the Blades as they eagerly gear up for the new year. Coach George Mcdonald was fired over the summer. Actually, he fired himself and will now concentrate solely on his G.M. duties. (See Blades' page D4) OSC is bursting at the seams By Kathy Yanchus Summer Classic at Hendervale