Capilano University raised the bar while hosting the 50th CCAA Women’s Soccer National Championships at the new Squamish Campus
Avery Nowicki // Co-Editor-in-Chief
Sara Brinkac (anything goes) // Co-Editor-in-Chief
Val Kruglikovskaya (She/They) // Illustrator
This past week, Capilano University hosted the 50th annual Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Soccer National Championship on the newly turfed field at CapU’s Squamish campus. CapU’s athletic director, Georgette Reed, and her team worked tirelessly to ensure the event’s success, while also setting a new standard for future championship hosting.
The tournament featured 13 matches with eight teams competing over four days of play. Teams travelled from Vancouver Island, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and as far as Nova Scotia to compete in Squamish. Despite the cold November evening, excited families and supporters filled the stands. Some even laid out picnic blankets, thermoses in hand, to watch the pregame warmups. Shouts of “Jeu sur!” and “Faisons ça!” echoed as players practiced.
“We’ve done everything athlete-forward,” said Reed, as she oversaw the athlete’s station in the gymnasium, a place filled with snacks and goodie bags. Reed, who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, took great care in creating a meaningful experience for the athletes. Watching the game from a cracked-open door with a colleague, Reed shared the pride and excitement she felt seeing the event unfold.
Reed discussed the event’s efforts to support female athletes, including a full female referee team, online mental health resources for players, reduced waste, and streamlined event access passes. One special touch was the animal-themed souvenirs given to each player—symbols of their provinces. For example, the Capilano Blues received Orca Whales, while the Alberta team got Snowboarding Bears. These souvenirs often spark joyful trading between teams, and Reed recognized the opportunity to connect athletes with similar passions and role models, especially at a national event.
The gym itself was a testament to the care put into the event. A competition bracket board tracked the matches, foam rollers and recovery tools were available for tired athletes, and an on-site physiotherapist station offered additional support. On the opposite side, a press station awaited interviews. Reed proudly noted that the press area had been set up earlier that day when a local U15 girl’s soccer team had come by to take photos with players from Vancouver Island University.
During the event, a cheer erupted from the stands as College Ahuntsic’s “Les Aigles” (The Eagles) scored the first goal of their game against Concordia Thunder, which sealed their victory and sent them on to the finals. This set up an all-Quebecois final match between Les Aigles and Les Nomades (The Nomads) from Montmorency College in Laval. For CapU, this meant a shot at bronze and a potential rematch against the Vancouver Island University Mariners, the team that had narrowly defeated them for the provincial title in October.
In the end, Les Nomades took home the National title, while CapU secured a hard-fought bronze by defeating VIU in their rematch.
“We don’t get a lot of big sporting events here [in Squamish], so it’s really cool that this is going on,” said one excited teen in a crowd of giggles huddled around a reporter’s mic. Members of the local U15 girls soccer team reflected, “It was just really cool watching women play,” followed by a chorus of nods and laughter. Another added, “A lot of the games in the city are just Whitecaps.”
The energy of the event was evident everywhere—injured athletes cheering from the sidelines, families with bullhorns and noisemakers, coaches, donors, and local children running excitedly through the crowd. It was a wholesome community atmosphere that captured the spirit of the event.
The U15 players, inspired by the skill and determination of the athletes, shared their excitement. “You can hear them talking the whole time,” one said, impressed by the communication and spacing they saw in the play. They hoped to apply these lessons to their own upcoming games and dream of playing at the collegiate level, like the women they saw that night. Before leaving, one of the teens said, “It’s nice to see people to look up to,” and all agreed.