Ladner Storm await BMO contest results
The votes are in and the deadline has passed.
Now, members of the U10 Ladner Storm girls development soccer team have to sit and anxiously await a result in BMO's Team of the Week contest which will hand out $125,000 to help upgrade a sports field in the wining team's community.
Thanks to the efforts of the team and its supporters casting their votes online, the Ladner Storm rose dramatically through the rankings in the two-week long competition that included 15 youth teams (aged seven to 12-years-old) from across Canada.
The Storm started out in 13th place and were briefly ranked as high as first place before voting closed Monday (Aug. 27).
The Ottawa Royals Futuro U10 Boys team were in first place for much of the contest. The rankings were pulled from BMO's website early Monday morning.
The winner is scheduled to be announced Sept. 5 at 4 a.m. on CTV's Canada AM show.
Team manager Shelley Semler, whose husband Rob coaches the side, said she was amazed at the support shown by the community.
"It's just been incredible," Semler said, her voice scratchy after some intense days of talking to people around Delta, enlisting their support. "If anything, this has really helped to bring our community together."
At the team's voting station set up outside the Ladner Save On Foods Semler said they had about two dozen supporters with their laptops and iPads helping sign people up to cast their votes before the 9 p.m. deadline.
"We're all very excited because I think we have an excellent chance to win," Semler said, adding that even if they do not come out on top, the Storm has put Ladner on the map.
"We were getting Tweets and messages from people back east asking us where Ladner was," Semler said. "Now they know."
While plans have not been finalized yet, Semler said she is hoping to gather the team and their families together next Wednesday morning to await the selection of the contest's winner.
In addition to the first place prize, the winning team gets $5,000 to donate to a local charity and tickets to see a game featuring one of Canada's three MLS (Major League Soccer) teams, or Canada's National team.
The Storm's charity is BC Children's Hospital which they have already donated $500 to after being named to the 15-team competition earlier this summer.
Second and third place teams receive MLS jerseys from their favourite Canadian side.
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