The Yorkton United Soccer league hosted a joint men's futsall/junior indoor soccer tournament at the Gloria Hayden Community Centre over the weekend. Men's league administrator Mike Jakubiec explains the men's league originally planned to hold its first annual futsall tournament with eight teams participating. However only four men's teams from Yorkton registered. As a result the men had extra gym space available for the weekend. They opted to invite the younger soccer teams to take part in a parallel mini-tournament.
The indoor soccer tournament attracted the Under 8, Under 10, Under 12 and Under 14 teams from Yorkton.
Jakubiec admits the gym is a tad smaller than a regulation futsall court or indoor soccer field. "We kind of took the futsall rules and adjusted them to work on a basketball court," he explains.
The main difference between futsall and soccer is the futsall ball is a Size 4 low bounce ball, Jakubiec points out. Every time the ball leaves the field teams have five seconds to put the ball back into play so the game is really fast, he notes.
Another difference are the penalty calls. Yellow cards are two minute penalties. Red cards are five minute penalties with the player ejected and the team plays short handed for five minutes, Jakubiec explains.
The game is typically played in two 25 minute halves for a total of 50 minutes per game, he adds.
Currently the Yorkton Men's Futsall League has four teams. Players range in age from 15 years and older. "It keeps the younger players playing soccer and gives them a developmental environment to participate in. This allows them to actually get some game experience and continue to develop and play into adulthood. It bridges the gap between youth and adulthood very nicely," Jakubiec states.
The league plays at the Gloria Hayden Community Centre every Tuesday, Jakubiec reports. Registrations are accepted year round. A full season costs $150 which is pro-rated as the season progresses. Any-one interested in playing futsall can contact Jaku-biec at the Canada Soc-cer Shop or via the website yorktonunitedsc.ca.
The men's league also has a team made up of members of the four local teams who travel to play at out-of-town tournaments, while youngsters generally compete at tournaments in Regina and Saskatoon, Jakubiec notes.
The event offered a good environment for many local youngsters to watch some of the older youth and men play competitive futsall at a little higher level, Jakubiec closes.
