TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It's kickoff time for Tucson's largest youth soccer tournament.
The 35th annual Fort Lowell Shootout returns to Tucson this weekend, bringing teams from Arizona and neighboring states on both sides of the U.S. and Mexico border.
Friday night was the opening ceremony where kids from the 411 participating teams ran through a rainbow balloon arch dressed in costume.
The tournament matches start Saturday morning, so Friday night's main events were solo competitions in skills like dribbling, juggling, or shooting.
The Master of Ceremony Brian Lambert says the Friday night kickoff separates the Fort Lowell Shootout from other tournaments.
“What makes this tournament special over any other is it is 100% about the kids," he said. "We have a parade; we kick off with the Olympics; we have soccer games. It’s essentially soccer games and so much more.”
Like many of the other adults involved in running the tournament, Lambert is a volunteer. He says he's been volunteering for years.
“I have kids that have grown up in this," he said. "We have coaches that grew up playing in this, and their biggest memory of all the tournaments is tonight the parade in the Olympics.”
He says over 5,700 kids play in the tournament over the weekend, but the fanfare of the kickoff event and the Olympics makes each one an individual.
Plus, the kids say it is their favorite part of the weekend.
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
