It was Mother's Day weekend but it was the dads in the stands that caught Natalee Gregory's eyes.
Fathers who thought girls playing lacrosse wouldn't be as serious as their male counterparts had tears flowing as they watched their daughters compete, giving it everything they had, in the Rock the House tournament, hosted by North Okanagan Minor Lacrosse, at Armstrong's Sunbelt and Hassen arenas.
Divisions featured all-girls teams for the first time.
"Our girls, they have brothers, cousins, fathers, uncles, all males who have played lacrosse and they've been to their games to support them," said Gregory, who is the female director with North Okanagan Minor Lacrosse. "Now, it's the opposite. It was great to see the dads, the brothers, the cousins come out and support the girls.
"Some of the dads had tears in their eyes. They were so proud of their girls."
The tournament featured teams from the Lower Mainland, where girls lacrosse is huge and growing. The North Okanagan Legends were made up mostly of girls from the association, but in an effort to grow the sport among the gender, players from Penticton, 麻豆精选, and even one from as far north as Prince George joined the local squads for the tournament.
鈥淭his was a huge step for lacrosse in the Interior," said Gregory.
The North Okanagan Legends captured the U15 gold medal in the Rock The House event, defeating the Port Coquitlam Saints in the championship. Penticton's Trinity Zadorozny, playing lacrosse for the first time at the tournament, scored the golden goal for the Legends, set up by Kaziah Marchand of Vernon.
The Legends' U17 squad made it a double-medal weekend for the host organization, capturing bronze with a thrilling triple-overtime victory against the Mission Sasquatch. Brooklyn Luttmerding of Armstrong scored the game-winner for North Okanagan, who were playing for bronze 90 minutes after losing a four-overtime semifinal match to the Langley Thunder.
The Ridge Meadows Burrards defeated Langley for gold.
