Key Information
Venue: Croydon Park, Croydon Avenue, Ashbury
Date: NEW DATE - Saturday 29 June 2024
Time: 9:00 am start; please be there at least 30 minutes prior to your first game to register.
Entry fee: $160 per team
Age: 8-12
Teams: Maximum of 20 teams split across 4 pools
Enquiries: Christina Gill, M: 0409 936 770, E: registrar@canterburylionsfc.com.au
Closing Date: Friday 21 June 2024, unless spots are filled earlier.
CLFC would like to invite your SSG Girls teams to take part in our “Vince & Val Laws Gala Day” to be held on Saturday 29 June 2024 at Croydon Park, Croydon Avenue, Ashbury.
The day will cater for teams in a nine (9) a-side half field and seven (7) a-side mini field round robin format (12 players per team). The cost per team will be $160 with the Vince & Val Laws Trophy being awarded to the team identified as the 'Best and Fairest' throughout the day.
Whilst the day is a great opportunity to showcase talent the ultimate goal of the day is to increase the level of skill and expression in the players while enjoying the event.
A team nomination form for registration together with rules and regulations available on our website at www.canterburylionsfc.com.au.
All participants will receive a memento of the day, with trophies being awarded to the best and fairest team. The day will commence at 9:00am with final presentations taking place at approximately 2:00pm.
The Gala Day will be fully catered for with canteen and barbeque facilities and our club would gladly appreciate your support.
Reminder: there is to be no consumption of alcohol and no glass at any junior event. Smoking anywhere within the grounds is not allowed. (We appreciate your co-operation for the safety and well-being of the children.)
Team Nominations
Payment & Cancellations
Tournament Information
Style Points Detailed
Vince & Val Laws Gala Day - Background
Both Val and Vince served football and the Canterbury Junior Football Club for over 40 continuous years and were both life members of the club. The canteen at Croydon Park was named after the Late Val Laws in 2008 for her long service as canteen manager. Val’s passing in 2017 was a huge loss, not just to her family, but to the club and football in general.
Vince coached teams with the Canterbury Club for 33 consecutive years to 1994 when he retired from coaching at Canterbury Junior Soccer Club after suffering a heart attack. Vince had somewhat of a reputation for becoming animated on the sideline when his teams were playing. He also did a stint of 5 years with the APIA Club, where Val also played football.
Vince was the President of the Canterbury Junior Soccer Club from 1972 to 1985. Vince also coached Metropolitan Representative Teams for the Canterbury Association for nine years during which time the Association won a number of Metropolitan Representative Competitions conducted by the Sydney Branch of the NSW Amateur Soccer Federation.
From the mid 1960’s Vince served the CDSFA on a continuous basis, holding positions on the Appeals Committee, Grading Committee, Judiciary Committee, or Executive Committee of the Association. Vince eased back on his commitments to the Association in 2000, thinking it was time for some younger folks to take up roles.
When Vince ceased active coaching in 1994, he took on the role of ground manager for the Canterbury Junior Soccer Club. Every weekend until 2012 he was responsible for ensuring the two separate grounds from which the Canterbury Junior Club operates were properly marked, nets and corner posts were in order and acting as one of the ground marshals.
Vince spent over14 years looking after young referees appointed to Lees Park and Croydon Park to ensure that adults didn’t harass or abuse junior referees.
From 1972 until end of 2012, Val ran the Canteen for the Canterbury Junior Soccer Club. She looked after, and encouraged, many players and volunteers along the way. The Vince & Val Laws Gala Day was held for many years as a full field competition for junior teams. This format came to an end when the SSG concept was introduced around 2007.
The current format for the Vince & Val Laws Gala Day, as a girl’s only event, had its first outing in 2016 with Hurlstone Park U10, Russell Lea U10 + U9, Maroubra United, Canterbury JFC U10, Banksia Tigers U9 + Revesby Rovers U9 all putting in teams. From those first seven teams the competition has grown four years later to 14 teams in 2019, from U9 to U11 age groups. The main aim of the day has always been to have as many girls as possible playing football. Whilst the day is a great opportunity to showcase talent, the ultimate goal is to increase the level of skill and expression in the players while enjoying the event.
Style points are allocated to each team over the course of the day by the judges. These style points are based on team cohesion, passing, attitude toward fellow players and the opposition as well as the coaches and spectators support. The concept of the style point is to focus on, and promote, fair play, sportsmanship and side line participation in the game.
Having the parents, spectators and coaching staff being part of the scoring is to promote a positive focus by all. It is hoped that we can promote sportsmanship, in that a team may not win the games, but if they promote good skills and a good environment they will get the recognition they deserve. This was embodied in 2016 by the Banksia Tigers team who had the youngest players on the park, some as young as 7 years, and whose spectators embraced the spirit of the day and cheered on every team that played that day regardless of affiliation. They, and their parents, were a pleasure to watch and the joined us again in 2017 when they took out the
'Best and Fairest' for the second time running. In 2018 that honour went to Hurlstone Park Wanderers and in 2019 was taken out by our very own Canterbury Lions, a mixed team from our 10&11-year old’s.
Unfortunately, Covid and a wet 2022, has put the Gala Day on hold for the last three years but we are pleased to be bringing it back from 2023.
Previous Gala Day Winners:
2016 – Banksia Tigers
2017 – Banksia Tigers
2018 – Hurlstone Park Wanderers
2019 – Canterbury Junior Football Club
2019 – Canterbury Lions Football Club U11 Girls
If you require any further information on the Vince & Val Laws Gala Day, feel free to contact us!