A Pitt Meadows soccer team is one of 15 across the country in the running to win a $125,000 soccer field upgrade after being named one of BMO’s teams of the week earlier this month. The U-11 girls’ team is one of 15 finalists for the grand prize, which will be voted on by the public starting August 1 at BMOsoccer.com. The grand prize also includes a road trip to either a Toronto FC or Vancouver Whitecaps FC home game.
Coach Jamie Schwingenschloegl said the team is dedicated to the sport of soccer, and to the community.
“Whether it is raining, snowing or cold out, each of them is excited and eager to come out to practice and play every single week,” he said. “They hate if I even think about cancelling a practice.”
This year the team organized its own community food bank drive, which resulted in more than 700 items being collected, enough to feed every hungry child in Pitt Meadows for a month, says. Schwingenschloegl.
“They are all exemplary students and great community role models,” he said.
The team celebrated its team-of-the-week nod with a barbecue at the BMO branch at Westridge Centre in Maple Ridge on Wednesday, attended by Pitt Meadows Mayor Don MacLean.
As BMO Team of the Week, the Pitt Meadows Rockets will receive team tracksuits, $500 for the team, and $500 to be donated to the charity of the team’s choosing. The team selected the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Program as its charity, which aims to remove financial barriers so that children can participate in organized sport and recreation across Canada.
Nominations for the BMO Team of the Week contest close June 30.