Thousands to attend Halifax soccer tournament

Halifax — Allt soccer tournament to host it’s largest memorial event to date this weekend.

3,000 people are expected to attend the Allt Memorial Soccer Tournament this weekend in Halifax.
The Allt Tournament is in memory of Sheila and Stephenie Allt. The mother and daughter were returning to their Timberlea home from a school soccer game in 2002, when their car hydroplaned and they were tragically killed.

To honor them, two of Stephenie’s best friends, Kate Elliot and Mallory Comeau, came up with the idea of a soccer tournament in their memory.

“The tournament’s goal is to bring together young soccer players early in the season for fair play, and above all, to enjoy the spirit of the sport,” says Kate Elliot, co-founder of the Allt Tournament in a news release. “Both Stephenie and Sheila loved soccer, they loved the community that supported the sport and they loved the friendships that developed because of it. It’s those friends that will work tirelessly each year to grow the tournament.”

This weekend will mark the 13th year the tournament has been held. There are 71 teams from across the Maritimes competing in 145 soccer games. “Prior to this year, it was an all girls soccer tournament, and this year is our first year with under 12 boys involved, so I feel like that has really increased the numbers,” Elliot tells Global News.

Earlier this year, Soccer Nova Scotia approached tournament organizers about becoming the first SNS Identification Tournament in the province at the Under 12 age level.

“This partnership fit perfectly with our shared visions of fair play,”  Steven Allt, co-chair of the Allt Tournament says in a release. “We will be able to give many young soccer players opportunities to further develop their skills, where prior to this event, they may not have had the opportunity provided to them.”

All proceeds from the tournament are donated to three memorial scholarship funds.