Winthrop Rink Brings Summer to Life with Soccer, Hockey and Dodgeball Methow Valley News

Local players fill the selections of the recreational competition for arena games

Summer league activities at Winthrop Rink are coming to a close with the conclusion of the arena soccer league on Thursday evening and the final two weeks of the dodgeball league on Monday evening and the hockey league on Wednesday evening.

All three leagues had a full roster of at least four teams. They were all popular in the region and even attracted a few people from outside the Methow Valley.

Arena soccer, in its first year as a summer track program, has been a thrill for local enthusiasts. Usually played indoors and usually on an artificial turf field the size and shape of a hockey rink, locally it is played on the new composite surface of the local outdoor track. Even at the recreational level it is a fast and exciting sport on the smaller field.

The compressed size allows for a quick end-to-end travel for the ball and the five-on-five player format. Last Thursday night, we saw a large group of enthusiasts playing purely for fun in a set of two post-season pickup games.

Wendell Bacon, the youngest of the contestants that night at 11, scored the first goal of the night for the Green team early in the first half of game one. Bacon, a homeschooler from the Twisp area, has his sights set on the Liberty Bell Middle School boys soccer program in the spring.

Also on the floor were board member Eric Godwin, who scored two goals himself on a night that was mostly for fun, and barefoot program director Andrew Walls.

The final standings of the 2025 arena football season included a tie for first place with the Dragons and Cupcakes at 4-1-1 (13 points), followed by Unathletico de Methow at 2-2-2 (8 points) and Crumsters at 0-6-0, with 0 points.

Dodgeball makes its debut

It was also the first year of the Winthrop dodgeball league, which was introduced this year by popular demand. Dodgeball sounds and looks a lot like the gym game War Ball or Soak Em from grade school gym class in the late 70s and the rain-induced indoor recess.

Two teams line up on either side of a midcourt line and begin pelting each other with volleyball-sized balls. A player who is hit by an opponent's throw is sent to the sideline unless he can grab the ball and prevent it from hitting the ground.

A player may re-enter the field if a teammate catches an opponent in the game. The first team to eliminate the entire opposing team is declared the winner of a game within a 10-minute half. The team with the most wins in the two combined halves is the winner of the game.

Five teams signed for the first campaign, with a few natural rivalries built into the six-week schedule. The season is effectively complete, with a few games remaining due to team scheduling conflicts and Week 5 postponed and a few games still to be determined.

Three Fingered Jacks sits atop the standings with a firm grip on the league championship with a perfect 30 points and a 10-0 win-loss record. The team in second place, at 4-5-1, and failing to capitalize on the home cooking normally associated with playing on the field, is team Winthrop Rink.

Rival hospitality venue BJs Branding Iron in Twisp is in third place at 3-5-1. Methow Trails is a game behind at 2-8, while Methow Rafting is alone in last place at 1-2-0, with just 27 points and seven games unaccounted for going into the final week of the season.

Ball hockey returns

Ball hockey, in its second year, attracted four full teams this summer. Games are played across the court, two games fit side by side on the surface, and the season also lasts 10 weeks. This is fast-paced action, and like real hockey, spectators must be alert for flying objects.

As the season draws to a close with two weeks to go, Liz and the BB are still undefeated at 6-0, Twisted Wristers are in second place at 3-3, followed by Pistachio Posse at 2-4 and the Pearrygin Lakers at 1-5.

Goalkeepers are dressed in full uniform and many of the rules of hockey govern the game. As with the other two activities, there are no officials, all games are regulated by the players themselves.

It was a very successful summer, said Rink Program Director Walls. We had a lot of participation and a lot of fun.

Walls set up the football and hockey leagues as more formally organized teams, with schedules in a round-robin format. However, there were several times when they went to the assembled crowd to fill out an incomplete team if needed.

“We also wanted to create some natural rivalries as something fun,” Walls said. “We'd like to expand the summer program for next year and run more of that.”

He used the example of recruiting teams from rival businesses and social organizations to participate. It would be nice to see some friendly competition, like brewery versus brewery, store versus store, that sort of thing, Walls said.

Registrations for next summer will open in April 2025.