The Prince Rupert Football Club is getting ready to kick-off a busy year on the pitch with the first tournament of the year coming up this weekend.
The team will travel to Kitsegukla for the community's annual tournament and will be arriving as the defending champions. Team coach Shane Swanson said he expects it will be no easy task to retain the title the team won last year.
"Saskatchewan always has a tough team and Hazelton is usually right up there with them. There is also a BC under-18 team coming up this year that should be pretty tough," he said.
"We're all really looking forward to it."
While the team will be competing under the Prince Rupert banner in Kitsegukla, Swanson said it will actually be comprised of players from across the Northwest.
"It's tough getting player commitment, it's not like in the old days where we had lots of players coming out. This weekend I will be pulling players from Terrace, Smithers and Kitimat to join the seven or eight Prince Rupert players," he said, noting the additions to the roster are a necessity.
"In order to win at these tournaments, you need to field a really good team."
Other tournaments scheduled for the season include trips to Greenville, Kispiox and Terrace for Riverboat Days for a Prince Rupert Elite reunion that will see former players returning from as far away as the Lower Mainland, while the team will host competitors from across the Northwest for the annual Seafest tournament in June.