The inaugural Carter Vigh Memorial Tournament raised over $6,000 for Carter's Project.
Held on Sunday, June 23 at the 100 Mile House Soccer Fields the U10 to U14 rep tournament saw 18 teams play a series of friendly games together while honouring the memory of Carter Vigh. Amy McKean, president of the 100 Mile House Minor Soccer Association, said they had teams from 100 Mile House, Quesnel, Merritt and Williams Lake come together to play.
"Today has been a great day. We started out kind of small and it's expanded into all the events we had going on, which is absolutely phenomenal," McKean remarked. "We're hoping it's going to be an annual event. We reached out to every association in a four-hour radius so hopefully, next year, we'll have even more. I think it's an awesome way to remember (Carter Vigh)."
Carter Vigh was a nine-year-old resident of 100 Mile House who lost his life last summer to an asthma attack exacerbated by wildfire smoke. Since his passing his mother, Amber Vigh, has helped found Carter's Project with the B.C. Lung Foundation which is dedicated to bringing air quality monitors to small communities like 100 Mile House and raising awareness about the risks wildfire smoke poses to those with asthma.
Vigh said that last year, before Carter's passing, he enjoyed his first season of playing soccer with the OMHSA. Despite being a rookie he developed a fast love for it with Vigh recalling how he improved every week.
"Carter just started playing soccer for OMHSA last year and me and (my husband) James coached his team. He was a little firecracker out there," Vigh recalled. "He was tiny and mighty and ran his little heart out. I don't know what it was about soccer, he just absolutely loved it. His dream this year was to be on the rep team."
Her son would be super proud to have a tournament held in his memory, Vigh said. She enjoyed getting the chance to watch the various games especially when the U18 rep team played against OMHSA referees, coaches and volunteers.
The idea for the tournament originated with former president and longtime OMHSA referee Werner Heine who suggested the association organize something to honour Carter. After approaching Vigh McKean said she was on board right away and they set out to organize the event. The tournament is currently just for fun with each team playing at least two games against one another throughout the day.
"It's all just friendly play but I'm sure the kids are keeping score because they do, but today was more about getting everyone together, especially those of us that live in the Central Interior that is so affected by wildfire smoke and getting the word out," McKean said. "The trophy is what you take home in your heart."
Each of the teams in attendance paid a $350 entry fee while several food trucks who attended donated portions of their proceeds to the cause. As of the publication of this article Vigh was still calculating the total but said it was over $6,000.
McKean said they had some good feedback from the teams who attended which fills her with a sense of pride. She noted being able to organize such a tournament was especially rewarding considering a few months ago it was doubtful the soccer association would be even able to run this season due to a lack of executives.
"It feels really good to know we ended up with a full board after all. All the people on our team are such passionate and giving people," McKean remarked. "We're all a bit younger, our kids are younger, so hopefully that means this board will be around for a while. Being able to put this tournament on shows just how much OMHSA can grow and we have a couple of other things we're cooking up to get out there in the community as well."
When asked if she'd like to see the event become an annual one, Vigh said she would noting it's not only a great way t keep her son's memory alive but also give all the soccer players another chance to play a couple of extra games.
"They're from such a vast area so normally our rep teams just play with Quesnel or Williams Lake. To have teams from other areas is pretty cool," Vigh remarked. "To see everyone walking around with their Carter's Project merchandise is a pretty good feeling. To say that we're proud is a bit of an understatement but that's the best word we have for it.'
