National soccer championship kicks off Wednesday in Cornwall

The Canadian men's college soccer championship starts Wednesday in Cornwall, P.E.I., at the Terry Fox complex. 

The games are being hosted by the five-time champion Holland College Hurricanes men's team, which has been preparing for months.

"We thought it was a very logical place for us to slide a bid in, and the bid was successful in the region," Holland College athletic director Albert Roach told CBC Radio: Island Morning's Mitch Cormier Tuesday. 

'Working lab'

Roach said the athletics department involves many different elements of the college when it hosts — for instance, a banquet Tuesday night will be held at the college's Culinary Institute of Canada. 

"This is a working lab opportunity for all those programs," like hospitality and event management.

There's a local host assigned to each team to make sure they see and do as much as possible beyond the soccer pitch while they are here. 

'Gunning to win'

Who's the competition? There are eight teams — five provincial champions, two wild cards and the host team. 

The Hurricanes won the championships this year so its host slot is going to St. Thomas from New Brunswick. 

Roach calls the team from Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, or NAIT, a "dark horse." Humber and Sheridan from Ontario both have school enrolments over 30,000 and will be "gunning to win," Roach said, while Quebec is "getting stronger every year."

Roach said rainy weather forecast for Wednesday won't stop the games, which run until Saturday.

"These guys will play in anything."

'Sacrifices that were made'

The event's theme is Saluting Our Veterans. Because the championships are always played during the week in which Remembrance Day falls, Roach said it was natural. 

"This year is the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I," Roach noted.  

The team is offering free admission to all veterans, Royal Canadian Legion members and Department of Veterans Affairs staff — they just need to show their identification at the entrance.

Each team will dedicate the week to a memory, choosing a veteran or a troop from their region to introduce to others and play for. 

"Trying to recognize the ... sacrifices that were made to let us play sport," said Roach. 

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With files from Island Morning.