The John Ferreira Turf at the Cowichan Sportsplex was buzzing Sept. 6 and 7 as athletes gathered for the long-standing Westerly field hockey tournament.
Launched in 1981, the Westerly was created to give smaller Island communities without leagues a chance to play, socialize and connect with other clubs. The event rotates between Comox, Nanaimo and Cowichan for two consecutive years each; this marked Cowichan’s second straight time hosting.
"It went really well," said tournament organizer Kristie Sykes, crediting umpires for part of the event’s success. "In some past years we would rotate through teams being assigned to ump games. It’s always glorious when we have actual umpires!"
This year’s six-team round robin featured host Cowichan, along with Nanaimo, Victoria, Comox Valley, Seattle and Canada’s national over-55 team.
"They're preparing to head off to the 2025 Masters Pan American Championship later this month in Paraguay," Sykes noted of Team Canada.
While competition was fierce, camaraderie was at the heart of the weekend.
"It’s not uncommon to share some players if a team is short and this year was no exception," Sykes said. "Seattle made the trek up with only eight field players and no goalie, and I think every team pitched in to help out over the weekend. A few teams were also without a goalie, so hats off to the keepers who played many back to back (to back…to back) games each day."
The round robin format saw every team face each other once, with points awarded for results. Final placements required tiebreakers.
"The team with the highest points at the end took home the title," Sykes said. "And even after that there was a tie for first, and a tie for third."
In the end, point differential gave Nanaimo the edge, with Seattle finishing second, Cowichan third and Comox fourth.
