Thirty-five teams compete in Caledon FC’s First Annual “Heart of Caledon” Soccer Tournament

By Jim Stewart

Caledon FC's Executive Director Gabe Borges was busy fielding calls on Saturday morning while convening a seven-division, two-day soccer tournament.

The amiable administrator took a break, scanned the five verdant fields of the Caledon East Community Complex, and, with a sense of accomplishment, observed that “It's beautiful to see the park filled with games all day.” 

Thirty-five soccer teams from across Ontario – Niagara Falls, Aurora, Muskoka, Acton, Collingwood, Burlington, Ottawa, Windsor, Simcoe, Erin Mills, Toronto, Puslinch, and Milton – vied for the host club's tournament hardware.

Borges also noted that six Caledon United FC rep teams competed in the 1st Annual “Heart of Caledon.”

“We've got a wide range of divisions for our first tournament: U13 Boys and U13 Girls; U14 Boys; U15 Boys and U15 Girls; U16 Boys; and Men's. It's satisfying to sit here at the Pavilion and see all our fields featuring competitive soccer.  To see the competitive nature of the teams and to showcase our fields, teams, and facilities is really the best part of our opening day.”

Resurrecting an annual tournament and rebuilding a soccer organization has been a challenge for Borges and President Shane Gordon over the last year, but the resolution and vision of the Executive manifested itself in the sheer number and range of teams that committed to Caledon FC's inaugural tourney.

The resolution and vision also manifested in the success of the Caledon rep teams at the weekend tourney with three local squads capturing divisional championships and a fourth qualifying for the championship finals.

The champions were crowned on Sunday afternoon with Caledon United FC capturing gold in the U13 Boys, U13 Girls, and U16 Boys divisions. The U15 Boys captured silver.

The championship finals featured wide margins of victory or hard-fought, competitive matches: U13 Boys: Caledon 7, Muskoka 0;  U13 Girls: Caledon 12, Windsor 0; U14 Boys FC Emery 2- Dixie;  U15 Boys: Puslinch 2, Caledon 1; U15 Girls: Ottawa 3, Aurora 2; U16 Boys: Caledon 2, FC Emery 2 (Caledon won on PK's); Men's Division: Ottawa 2, FC Emery 0.

In addition to thanking the clubs for participating, Executive Director Borges praised the presence of the RISA Food Truck.

“Big thanks to RISA Foods for providing great food options for our participants. Going forward, we are looking to grow the tournament and are seeking more sponsors to help build on what we've started.”

Over 400 players and their families flocked to the East Caledon Community Complex's soccer fields last weekend. It was evident that the 1st Annual “Heart of Caledon” Tournament demonstrated Caledon United FC's prowess both on and off the field.