Put your hands together for the Huntsville United Football Club, which will travel to Kingston on June 15/16, to compete in the Kingston Hub Cup hosted by Relm Sports in an Ontario-wide soccer tournament.
The club is a new initiative. It started when a group of friends, all playing in the Huntsville Soccer Club’s in-house league, realized that they possessed a good skill level, enjoyed travel, and loved soccer, explained committee member Billy Golding.
The next step was to form a travelling team to play against other teams in Ontario while representing Huntsville. “We sourced sponsorship from Mikes Landscaping, Steve Paton Financial Services, Fuller Developments, Peter Smith Construction, and MBRP, which helps us with kit and equipment, travel costs, field hire, referees, and more,” explained Golding.
Huntsville United FC currently consists of about 18 players, four of whom form the club’s volunteer committee. “Mike Hill and Mel Mercier of Huntsville Soccer Club were instrumental in helping us form the team, too,” said Golding.
Golding said they’re always looking for more players. “People should join the club if they are passionate about soccer both on and off the pitch. Our core values are skill, community, and commitment. Becoming a player allows you the opportunity to travel on the road with a group of like-minded soccer players, test yourself physically, and have a great time, too. We hope that with every season, we form a network with more clubs and grow our team.”
He said the requirement for joining the team, players must be registered with any Huntsville Soccer Club program. “From there, selection is done by our volunteer committee against our core values. As our parent club, [the]Huntsville Soccer Club deals with our player admin, registration & insurance with the Ontario Soccer Association, and more. The help they give us is fantastic and we are really happy to be involved with them whilst still operating semi-independently.”
Upcoming games will be against Brockville United, Kingston Scarpazza, and Limestone Portuguese FC, all of which will be at the Kingston Hub Cup Tournament this weekend. Later in the summer, they will be playing locally against teams such as the Toronto Irish FC, Orillia Inter, and Barrie Blazers.
The United FC is a non-profit entity. “As the volunteer committee, we try to make sure our sponsorship funds keep the costs for players to be involved as low as possible. Our team is made up of local residents but includes players from England, Australia, Ireland, India, Chile, Newmarket, and plenty of local lads. Soccer is the foundation for all sorts of guys to come together and do something positive for themselves and for the town. We try to have an emphasis on ‘Unity & Community’ in terms of inclusivity but also in being active members of the local town and donating time and manpower to a Huntsville Soccer Club to get started for the new season, etc.,” said Golding.
Their committee is comprised of Billy Golding, George Johns, Brendan Morris and Paul Bourbeau.
You can follow them on Instagram HERE.
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