Hundreds of children paraded around the backstop of Kino Stadium on Friday night, rocking everything from leotards to lit-up colored mohawks. A few were even prepared with soccer uniforms.
The 27th annual Tucson Association of Realtors Shootout kicked off with the Parade of Athletes, marking the start to a three-day tournament that features around 340 teams and more than 5,000 players.
The Shootout, presented by the Fort Lowell Soccer Club, moved its headquarters to Kino Sports Complex this year to satisfying a growing need for more field space.
“We just needed a bigger complex and a more professional setting,” tournament director Billy Mordka said. “By having it here, we have 21 (fields) alone.”
The tournament’s hallmark shootouts take place on the outfield of Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, while the park’s other baseball diamonds will host dribbling relays, foot golf and tournament games.
Additional games will be played at different parks around town, including Lincoln Park, Udall Park, Townsend Middle School and Jacobs Park.
The Shootout is divided into two parts: the Soccer Olympics and a competitive tournament divided into genders and age groups.
Teams from California, New Mexico, Texas and Hermosillo, Sonora, will take part in the tournament. Team age groups range from U8 to U16.
Wendell Babb, a longtime tournament referee coordinator and the recipient of the 2017 Founder’s Award, said that the most competitive games will take place in the U12-U14 range.
“Most of the age groups will be 14 years and you’ll see more physicality at that level,” Babb said.
U11 teams and younger, meanwhile, will follow a new U.S. Soccer guideline that prohibits heading in an effort to prevent concussions.
To further ensure balanced competition, teams are divided into different brackets based on skill level.
Tournament games begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and run through the night. Consolation and championship games will take place Sunday morning and afternoon.
Mordka indicated that teams will work around the event of rain. Wet weather is expected throughout Tucson on Saturday.
“Luckily, tournaments are used to rain,” Mordka said. “We would love it for it to be beautiful weather all day but if not, it happens.”
The Shootout’s Soccer Olympics began Friday night immediately after the opening ceremonies with younger players competing in foot golf, juggling, shootout and dribbling relay competitions.
The Olympics will wrap up Saturday night with older athletes.
“It’s more for fun,” Babb said. “This is the only tournament in the entire state that does this.”
