Notre Dame Football

By Sheldon Spackman

Down, Set, Hut!

Football Day in Red Deer coming to Setters Place

Sep 5, 2019 | 12:51 PM

Local football lovers are encouraged to take in all the fun of Football Day in Red Deer this Saturday.

Hosted by the Red Deer Minor Football Society, the event at Setters Place in Great Chief Park will feature a full day of exciting youth football games between 9:00 a.m. through 8:00 p.m., plus a kids football zone, tailgate games area, food and other entertainment.

Youth from 8-to-18 years of age will be representing their central Alberta communities and are the considered the elite football players of their age group. They will be showcased in four games over the day, including in the Atom, Pee Wee, Bantam and High School football divisions.

Immediately following the games an open-air screening of ‘Remember the Titans’ will be presented at Bower Ponds stage starting at 8:15 p.m.

Red Deer Minor Football (RDMF) spokesperson James Donnelly says entry to the event and all activities is free, but donations will be accepted at the gate supporting youth sports.

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“Red Deer Minor Football is doing this for a few reasons,” says Donnelly. “First and foremost, we want to show off the youth football programs and all the good they do for our participants. But second, we’re trying to increase the exposure in the community and hopefully attract some other athletes to the sport.”

Donnelly says there are close to 200 kids between the ages of 7 – 12 registered for this year’s Atom and Pee Wee season.

“After that, they go on to the High School programs which are very healthy in Red Deer,” says Donnelly. “We’re trying to drive that community feel for football in Red Deer. Bring in people that might not know about football but expose them to football and hopefully get additional volunteers and additional participants in the future.”

(Red Deer Minor Football – Atom Division, 2016)

Donnelly says Football Day in Red Deer also aims to clear up any misconceptions people may have about the sport’s safety.

“One thing that we are definitely showing at this event is the safety and the enhanced safety that they’re bringing to football,” says Donnelly, “improvements in the equipment, improvements in the training and to show that it is a very safe sport.”

On a side note, Donnelly says work on a new storage shed for RDMF at their Rosedale field location is almost set to go, saying the project is in its final permitting stage.

“They’ve put in the revised drawings and that’s going through the permitting stage, so hopefully this fall,” explains Donnelly. “The facility firstly is the storage of all the equipment. Where we just used to have to outfit individuals, we now have to provide crash mats, so we need the storage room and then it’s that meeting area and the enhancement of the community.”

Once the design is approved and permitting done, Donnelly anticipates the new structure to go up quickly.

For more information on Football Day in Red Deer and Red Deer Minor Football, visit their website or Facebook page.