Let’s get ready to rumble

Andrea Roberts
Times Intern

 

Three Strathmore Venom lacrosse teams qualified for the finals during the 11th annual Redneck Rumble Tournament, where 17 teams competed for medals last weekend.
The peewee, bantam and midget B division teams took on other finalists from Alberta during the weekend long event.
While the Venom peewee and Venom midget walked away with gold medals the bantam team, despite putting up a good fight, were unable to beat Cranbrook with a final score of 7-3. The Venom peewee team took gold against the Calgary Hornets, while the Venom midget team won gold in overtime against Cranbrook. The tournament was held at the Strathmore Family Centre from June 3-5 and had athletes ranging in ages from nine to 16.
“I would say in the tournament we obviously stepped up,” said Scott Fargey, the president of Strathmore Lacrosse Club. “It is a big deal for everyone and the kids take it really seriously. The kids love the tournament and we have good support from the fans and the community.”
Fargey explained that while the Venom peewee team was doing really well in league games and was currently in second place, the midget and bantam teams were struggling in their leagues. Therefore the success observed this weekend provided the teams with a confidence boost moving forward.
This year the organizers were swamped with the number of teams trying to enter for one of the 18 spots. However, one of the teams dropped out at the last minute leaving 17 teams to battle. Some of the teams that played during the weekend were from Leduc, Okotoks, Cranbrook, Calgary and Strathmore.
The tournament and the town received a lot of positive feedback from parents, coaches and teams. Fargey said the manager of the Cranbrook team had come up to him after the midget final and commended the club for putting on the tournament as well as the hospitality of Strathmore.