In preparation for the 2019 Special Olympics National Games, the Yukon Charging Moose soccer team hosted three B.C. teams for their first annual soccer invitational.

And with the success of the four-team tournament, Special Olympics Yukon hopes it will only continue to grow in years to come.

Special Olympics teams from Chilliwack, Delta and Surrey, B.C. made the trip to Whitehorse for a round robin tournament Friday and Saturday at the Canada Games Centre.

“We’re heading into a national games year so we really want them to get the experience playing teams and we thought this year we’ll start and have a simple round robin and then move on and hopefully it will grow in the years to come,” program director Brettanie Deal-Porter said during the final day of the tournament.

Soccer is the only team sport for the Yukon athletes, Deal-Porter said, so they wanted to give them the chance to compete against other teams as they gear up for the national event this summer.

“It was fantastic,” Deal-Porter said of the inaugural event. “We had no troubles at all filling the spots. We actually had a couple of teams who wanted to join as well in which we weren’t able to accept this year so I think next year in terms of growing, we’ll have ample opportunity to do that.”

The Charging Moose opened the tournament with a 7-2 loss to Delta FC – who went on to win the tournament.

The Yukon team won their next game 12-2 against Chilliwack before dropping their final game against Surrey 8-2.

Advancing to the bronze-medal game, the Charging Moose faced off against the team from Chilliwack winning 11-0.

The team from Delta went on to remain undefeated beating Surrey in the final.

It was one of the first events of the year for the Delta team as their soccer season hasn’t started yet.

Head coach Stuart Holmes said during the winter many of the players play floor hockey indoors so when they were invited to make the trip up they got the full team together and had a few practices indoors to prepare as a group.

“We set them some goals, to improve their playing, to improve their passing and they did everything that we wanted them to do,” Holmes said of his players. “They’ve had an excellent time. We’ve had a little time to walk around Whitehorse. It’s probably the coldest for many of them and for one athlete it was his first flight.”

Deal-Porter said the tournament was a great chance for athletes who typically see each other at provincial or national games to reunite.

“It’s so wonderful to bring them back together again,” she said. “For them to have that social interaction as well and make friends really, it’s awesome.”

It was also a chance for the B.C. athletes to visit the territory – most of them for the first time and they had a sunny, yet chilly weekend to explore the city.

“Honestly I think so many of them are just blown away by the Yukon in general,” Deal-Porter said. “We just had beautiful views of the mountain so it’s been a great experience I think for everyone. Tons of positive feedback and wanting to come back again so I think from here, we grow. So it’s exciting.”

Now the Charging Moose team and the other Special Olympics athletes will be training toward the Special Olympics Canada 2018 Summer Games in Antigonish, Nova Scotia from July 31-August 4.

The Games will feature nine sport disciplines including athletics, basketball, bocce, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer, softball and swimming.

The national competition is a qualifying event for the 2019 World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Deal-Porter said the Charging Moose soccer team is training on the field three times a week as well as having a weekly boot camp to get ready for the national event.

“They’re really practicing hard, working on their fitness and soccer skills,” she said.

Yukon athletes will also be competing in the Special Olympics Bowling Championships from May 14-20 in Prince Edward Island.