Simon Gavron annual soccer tourney this weekend on Shelter Island

La Maison Blanche this year has joined Sunset Beach as sponsor of the Simon Gavron Challenge Cup Trophy soccer tournament, which will be played for the seventh consecutive year at Fiske Field on Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12. Kick-off time will be 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Spectators are welcome and are urged to come root for their favorite teams.

The tournament, which benefits the Shelter Island Lions Club’s youth programs, is named in memory of a British publisher with a home in Shelter Island Heights who died in England in 2005. Mr. Gavron was a dedicated volunteer for the town Recreational Department’s summer soccer program at Fiske Field, where he coached the “tykes” age-group.

Eight teams will be vying for the cup, with many local athletes playing for teams including SG United, Sunset Beach, Shelter Island Pharmacy, Christian Johnson Tree & Turf Works and La Maison Blanche.

Sunset Beach has sponsored a soccer tournament in late summer for a decade but dedicated its third annual tournament in 2005 to the memory of Mr. Gavron. He played in the 2003 and 2004 Sunset Beach tournaments as a defender for Binder Pools and was an active participant in the Island’s Monday night soccer pick-up games at Fiske Field.

“Simon was passionate about sports, and playing here on Shelter Island made him so happy,” commented Mr. Gavron’s wife Martha Pichey in a Reporter interview in 2005. “The boys and I are really touched by this tribute to him.” Ms. Pichey and her three children attended that year’s tournament, cheering on S.G. United, a team named in honor of Mr. Gavron.

“We’re proud of the tournament” and how it continues to grow and give back to the community, tournament co-organizer Andreas Nilsson of Sunset Beach commented for the 2005 Reporter article.

Sunset Beach founded the tournament in cooperation with the Shelter Island Recreational Department as a fundraiser for the Shelter Island Youth Association in 2003.