Brampton - The 8^th annual Kicks for Cancer charity tournament was a huge success.  The annual soccer tournament benefiting the Brampton-Caledon unit of the Canadian Cancer Society was the biggest tournament to date.  The tournament, which has held August 11^th, 12^th and 13^th raised over $20,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. 

This tournament is now a regular summer event in Brampton and has grown within the community.  There is representation from 16 Men's and Women's teams and over 250 players in Brampton and across the GTA. 

This year marked another exciting weekend of competitive soccer.  The Men's side saw Acroturn defeat Bramalea City in the semis and Brampton F.C. went past Buzi's Boyz.  In the final Brampton F.C. defeated 3 time defending champs Acroturn in a shootout. 

The Women's final was no less entertaining.  Zizou Rhino's defeated 2 time defending champions BAS Fireball in a thrilling penalty shootout. 

It's together with the participants, volunteers, corporate sponsors and the community that organizers Pat O'Leary, Sean Bracken, Craig Brown and Paul Melo say they are able to accomplish this fund raising event.  The result is a competitive tournament with a true sense of sportsmanship and fair play that benefits such an important charity.   

Corporate sponsors Acroturn, Bledsoe, Biomet, Taiga Building Products, TJM Medical, Brampton Trophy, Cardinal Meats and the IGA deserve recognition for their participation in the tournament.   And a big round of applause to all the participants and volunteers has to be given for helping the tournament become such a great annual community event and fun filled weekend.  Not to mention such a great cause with fantastic results. 

The top fundraisers were: 

1) Marina Scassa - Rivals   $1,240

2) Kim Lashta - Blast   $441.88

3) Stepahnie Bovingdon - Blast   $440

4) Mike Marshall - Bramalea City   $390

5) Theresa Gataveckes - Rhinos   $345

6) Pepe Lopez - Bramalea City   $330

7) Dino Borsato - Bramalea City    $315

8) Rosemary Rodriquez - Blast   $307

9) Margalida Aguilar - Rivals   $260

    Lisa Barber - BAS Fireball   $260

10) Nadia Dedic - Rivals   $225

11) Barry Moet - BAS Fireball   $210

      Kim Mizener - Zizou Rhinos   $210

Next year's goals are even higher as the tournament continues to grow in Brampton and the GTA.  We look forward to seeing everyone next year to help continue to make Kicks for Cancer an even bigger success. 

For more information about entering a team for next year or becoming a future sponsor, please visit http://kicksforcancer.ca/