More than 500 young athletes will be donning soccer shoes and shin pads this weekend, for the 2009 Northwestel Indoor Soccer Championships, presented by the Yukon Soccer Association.

Games begin on Friday March 6^th, at 6 p.m. and continue through Saturday and Sunday, March 7^th and 8^th.

Fifty-five teams are registered to compete, including forty-one from Whitehorse, and fourteen from smaller communities. Dawson City will send eight teams, Mayo and Haines Junction will send two each, and Pelly Crossing and Atlin, B.C. will each send one team.

“One of the strengths of this event is that it attracts soccer players from all over the Yukon, as well as Atlin,” said Anne Kennedy, Northwestel Director Communications. “It’s a great way for young athletes to compete, practice their soccer skills and make new friends from other northern communities.”

“We’d like to extend our thanks to Northwestel for supporting soccer in the Yukon for the past twenty years,” said Richard Trimble, Yukon Soccer Association board member. “This long-term support has helped the sport to grow and flourish in the territory. In recent years, this tournament has been a major focus of Northwestel’s sponsorship. This year, each participant will receive a soccer shoe bag as a gift from Northwestel, to celebrate the twenty years we’ve worked together in partnership.”

Teams will compete in six different categories, ranging from seven and under (U7) to eighteen and under (U18). The games, 118 in all, will take place at a variety of venues, including gymnasiums at Yukon College, F.H. Collins Secondary School, Vanier Catholic Secondary School and the Canada Games Centre.

“We encourage the public to come out to watch the games and cheer these young athletes on,” said Trimble. “The games are sure to be exciting and it’s wonderful to see the enthusiasm and energy of the players.”

In general, the U7 and U9 games will take place at Yukon College, U11 at the Canada Games Centre, U13 at F.H. Collins and the Canada Games Centre, and U15 and U18 at Vanier and the Canada Games Centre. The full schedule of games and other information about the championships can be found on the new Yukon Soccer Association website at www.yukonsoccer.yk.ca. Schedules and results will also be posted at each venue.

The gold medal games and medal presentations will take place at the Canada Games Centre on Sunday, between approximately 12 noon and 4 p.m.

In 2008, Northwestel contributed more than $670,000 in cash and in-kind donations to many northern community groups, including the 2008 Arctic Winter Games. Throughout its history, Northwestel has played a key role in the economic, social and cultural development of the North. Northwestel is recognised as a key contributor to the well-being of northern communities through its community investment program and the volunteer contributions of its employees.

Northwestel provides complete telecommunications solutions in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, northern British Columbia and High Level, Alberta. The company’s operations span nearly 4 million square kilometres of the most remote and rugged areas of Canada.