Cowichan Eagles youth teams won two gold medals and two silvers last Saturday as hundreds of young athletes packed the fields around Cowichan Secondary School's Quamichan campus for the 13th annual All-Native Youth Mother's Day Weekend Soccer Tournament.
A total of 42 teams from Duncan, Victoria, Saanich, Campbell River, Nanaimo, Ladysmith and Alert Bay took part.
Cowichan teams finished first in the U5 and U7 divisions, and second in the U5 and U16 brackets.
Rounding out the U5 division, the Songhees Baby Falcons placed third, while the Campbell River Baby Wings and Saanich Blues were second and third in the U7 group.
The U10 division was won by the We Wai Fury of Campbell River, followed by Wsanec of West Saanich and the Lil Smoothies of Nanaimo. The two Cowichan teams were knocked out in the semifinals.
We Wai Kai of Campbell River won the U13 bracket, followed by two Victoria teams, the G.I. Breakers and the T-Birds, in second and third respectively. The Eagles II reached the semifinals.
In the U16 bracket, the secondplace Eagles finished behind the Saanich Panthers and ahead of the Victoria T-Birds.
Supporting the tournament were Cowichan Tribes Youth and Recreation, Saunders Subaru, Columbia Ice, Duncan Paving, Chief Chip Seymour and Alec Johnny of Cowichan Tribes, and LMG Pringle Insurance.
This year's tournament marked the first for Cowichan Eagles Youth Soccer since splitting their leadership away from the adult teams.
"This year, the parents of the youth held an election and voted to have a separate entity with a board," treasurer Dana Thorne explained. "The club is currently using the name Cowichan Eagles Youth Soccer Club, however due to some complications, may have to look to rename and apply as a separate society."
Cowichan Eagles Youth Soccer Club teams play in several tournaments every spring and summer. This year, the club has 72 players over seven teams, and does fundraising to help with tournament fees, jerseys and equipment. Anyone interested in donating to support the youth club should contact president Peter Moses at cesc.pres@gmail. com or Dana Thorne at cesc. treasurer@gmail.com