Multicultural soccer

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

The 2009 Vancouver International Soccer Festival (VISF) takes place this weekend at David Lam Park in Yaletown. Among the 24 teams facing off will be Jordan-Palestine and University of British Columbia Hillel.

Hillel also competes against Ethiopia and Campos Nacional in the festival. In addition to the round robin games with men's and coed teams, the weekend will feature wide-screen tournament TVs, food by Cactus Club, music, dance and other festivities, including appearances by Canada Border Services K9 unit and Vancouver Fire Fighters. There will be a beer and wine garden overlooking False Creek, as well as a kids play zone with face painting and games.

Overall, 400 adult soccer players from the United States and Canada and international students from different parts of the world will be competing under the banners of their nationalities. Net profits from the tournament will be donated to the Peace it Together Society.

"I played soccer most of my life. Through soccer, I have made a lot of friends. Soccer kept me fit, won me a college scholarship and taught me self-discipline," said Palestinian Canadian Adri Hamael, founder of the Vancouver International Soccer Festival and a co-founder of Peace it Together, in a press release. "Soccer is the most played game in the world. It is an ideal medium to build bridges between different cultures. On the soccer field, our differences melt away; there is no black and white, yellow or brown, Arab or Jew. We are footballers united by the power of the beautiful game."

VISF's stated mission is to promote fitness, friendship and celebrate cultural diversity. Peace it Together is an award-winning – including receiving a grant from Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation – nonprofit organization that empowers youth to promote peace through dialogue, filmmaking and multimedia.

The UBC Hillel team was put together by Eitan Pinsky, UBC program director, development assistant, at Vancouver Hillel. Most players are doing their graduate/MD degrees, with a couple being professionals, Pinksy told the Independent. "I would characterize this as an alumni event," he said in an e-mail. "For most of our participants, Hillel was an important influence on their university lives."

The UBC Hillel players for the seven-on-seven tournament will be Pinsky, Ari Sanders, Byron David, Ben Sanders, Bryan Millman, Daniel Pulvers, Derrick Freedman, Chris Horwood, Will Burt, Josh Gale and Mike Hartmann.

A lot of these guys have played soccer in the community for many years and all played at a fairly high level, explained Pinksy, adding that many of them were on the same 1999 Maccabi soccer team from Vancouver.

"We're going out there to have fun and to win," said Pinksy. "I hope people will come to watch us play!"

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will open the event on Saturday, June 27, at 10 a.m., and the closing/ award ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 28, at 8:30 p.m. For the game schedule, visit vancouversoccerfestival.com.

^TOP