Winnipeg Blue Bombers Game Day

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 HOME GAME PLAYBOOK 5 GB ""+GE "+C +? +J +/ "$FF &+H " > +/;2B2 > J" " " + &2)/() ++)())4')"" (&/ +! ) /) () *(./22/0 " " )22/ , )0$ / /), ! % %! #% $ % $%% % %#! $%%%% % % % ! % # %#% ! % $!%% # %%%# %% ! %! % " !%% % % *0 ** 0 * "-0 ** "*0 ** -0 ** 0 ** :2 :0 : "! !% :2 @ :2 -0 ** 0 ** 3 3 ) ! /(1)3 3 ) & ))13 -0 ** *0 ** :1 " 0 ** " :0*!& :>! .%%%%: :1 .0: :E# (&::(0& EF/DF9?75DA> "0 :E ) :1 :7 :E :> :> .%0&!06& !& 0:(0& :> :> .6& !@& !@& *0 ** )& &22)&& ()3 *0 ** :5 : !% :8 6 :>" " :/ 0&:0& :7 ""0 ** :H /FI :5 :0& !& :8 "" :9 0** :6B 4 :D :2 :07B>>! :@, :0,! "*0 ** :/ " :E# E(> :E# <(K< :E /:@/" :/142:6 :F :0+0@&:<43 "*0 ** :%= :8:#+" :E# >:K< BOMBERS HOT TICKET Banjo Bowl strikes a friendly chord IT'S NOT WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOSE, IT'S HOW MUCH FUN YOU HAVE AT THE MANITOBA LIQUOR & LOTTERIES BANJO BOWL. W innipeg Blue Bombers fans paid a visit to the Saskatchewan Roughriders' home field for the Labour Day Classic last weekend, and the welcome mat is out for our friendly rivals from the west today. They'll be joined by young Manitoba athletes who are attending the game courtesy of the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL) Flight Deck program, which provides tickets to amateur sports teams for every home game at Investors Group Field. MBLL director of community relations Diana Soroka says 36 tickets are available to teams of kids ages 8 - 17 and their coaches for every pre- and regular-season game. "It's intended to support youth who are involved in amateur sport throughout Manitoba, and to recognize the volunteer efforts of their coaches and the assistant coaches," Soroka says. Applications are accepted online at www.mbll.ca each spring and teams are selected through random draws. Coaches and assistant coaches must successfully complete the Respect in Sport program through Sport Manitoba in order to apply, but after that there are no strings attached. Because the program encompasses all sports — ringette, volleyball, curling, hockey, lacrosse, football and more — team sizes vary, which means MBLL can also accommodate standby teams for some games. "And sometimes a team might win tickets but their entire team can't make it, so those are the tickets we're able to turn over to standby teams," Soroka says. "They're usually identified on the big jumbo screen and there's usually an announcement to identify who the team is and what section they're sitting in. We try to make it a special experience for them," she says. "In the summertime, we give them water bottles. We used to give them T-shirts but a lot of the teams like to come to the games in their Bomber jerseys or their team jerseys so we switched to water bottles, and as the weather gets a little cooler in October they get toques that they can wear." MBLL's own team members will be out in force today at Gate 1 — the Milt Stegall Gate — to interact with fans headed to the Banjo Bowl. "There will be lots of fun activities there, and fun giveaways. We try to do something special for Banjo Bowl every year," Soroka says. "We usually have little washable tattoos that we give away and we've given away beads in the past and foam fingers and … just try to get people excited about the game," she says, adding Saskatchewan fans often stop by to get in on the action. "It's a really friendly atmosphere," Soroka says. "We try to make it a fun experience for everybody and it's a lot of fun for the Flight Deck kids as well because they get to join in all of that fun." ❚ Fans cheer as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Banjo Bowl last September at Investors Group Field. Photo by Mike Deal

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