If the men you know mysteriously disappear every Sunday morning, and reappear a few hours later, they're probably among the approximately 200 men who play in the Howe Sound Men's Soccer League.
"It's a lot of guys playing soccer in the community on Sundays," said Jose Oreamuno, the league president for the past four years.
This year there have been changes in the league. Two of the teams quit - and almost as soon as they did, two new teams came forward.
"It was a big surprise," said Oreamuno, about discovering two of the teams were pulling out.
Before long, though, Inter United , wearing a black and white jersey, and Lil'WAT7uhl, wearing a striped red jersey, joined the league.
The United team is a mix of players from the Brew Pub and the former Garibaldi Lifting Company team.
"It's a good mix; I'm really impressed," Oreamuno said. "They have a pretty nice team."
Oreamuno said the soccer league is important because it brings organized soccer to the community.The highest level of organized soccer in Squamish is senior boys aged 14 to 17, but after that there is no more soccer for men who love to play the game.
If you are a really good player you can go to Vancouver and play first division, but for average players there is nothing, Oreamuno said.
The Howe Sound Men's League has been filling the void for at least as long as Oreamuno has lived in Squamish. He moved here 25 years ago from Chile.
In some ways, the league becomes a family affair. Families come and watch and kids want to play."Kids look forward to playing men's soccer," said Oreamuno, who plays against his own sons."My wife doesn't like it. It's fun for me. Too bad I can't score a goal."
Oreamuno, who has played in the league for around 20 years, plays on the Carney's Over 35s.The Carney's are unique in the sense that all the players - except two who joined this year - are over 35. The team was originally created to round out the league, and didn't play for points, just for enjoyment.
Although the team now plays for points, it has kept to its roots."It's to play and have fun," Oreamuno said.
The team name is also a play on the age of the players. Carney's Waste Systems, a recycling company, is the sponsor of the team.
"We can be called the recycled players," Oreamuno said, pointing out that the men played competitive soccer in the past.
Another change in the league is the name of the Whistler team. It used to be called Amsterdam, but it is now called Whistler FC.
There are eight teams in the League. They are Brew Pub, Carney's, Ellis, Lil'WAT7uhl, Rangers, Canex Thunder, Inter United, and Whistler FC. League action goes from September until November, and from the end of January until March, with playoffs following.
Oreamuno acknowledged there have been some problems with the league. The league has a hard time getting refs, and those who do ref are sometime harassed on the field by the players. But some of the players are the ones most concerned about ref abuse.
"A young player came up to me asking me to do something about the ref abuse," Oreamuno said. "It's only a few guys who abuse the system."
One game starts at 9 a.m. every Sunday at Brennan Park and the rest begin at 10 a.m.
