The Yellowknife Bay Soccer Club, better known as the Sundogs, is revving up for its new season. That's something they've done for a number of years around this time.

There's something a bit different about this season, though. Not only are they planning for programming here, they're planning to take on the Alberta capital.

Joe Acorn, who runs the Sundogs organization, is looking to have some teams hit the field to play in the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association (EMSA). And it isn't just for tournaments, either. Acorn has a deal in place that will see squads play actual league games.

"Tournaments are mostly just three-game guarantees," he told Yellowknifer on Wednesday. "This is about getting the kids down as often as we can and getting them more games and kicks at the ball."

Here's how it's supposed to work: teams will fly to Edmonton on weekends to play a series of games against opposition in their age category - Acorn figures it could be anywhere between four and five games. They would make around three trips to ensure they get all of the games in so they keep up in the standings.

This has been an idea that has been in Acorn's head since 2019 and he said this was the year he was able to make it work.

"Covid hit in 2020, so that squashed that idea," he said. "I've felt more comfortable the last couple of years getting it going again and EMSA was open to the idea."

EMSA has had teams from cities such as Red Deer and Grande Prairie playing in its league programming in past years, so this would be nothing new. But this would be the first time a team from outside the province would be coming in.

To make that happen, Acorn said NWT Soccer had to sign off on what's called a cross-jurisdictional agreement with Alberta Soccer to make it happen, in addition to the travel permits that are required for any member outfit within NWT Soccer travelling to play.

"The big benefit for us is development," said Acorn. "It's hard to find competition in the NWT because most of the kids all know each other and they know how each other plays. That goes for Super Soccer, Aurora Minor Soccer League, everything. When you go outside of the territory, you're up against brand new players and a whole different atmosphere. It gives the kids something to look forward to and it will be better for the kids than what we have now."

He added that not everyone will have to make the trip if they don't want to.

"It's totally optional," he said. "Say I have 20 kids in one age group. All I need is 10 to make up a team. It's for those who want serious development."

Acorn said the first travel window for the group is mid-November to early December, followed by another one in January and February each. He's hoping to get at leats two to three teams down to play: one boys team in the U11 group and possibly two girls teams in U13 and either U15 or U17.

"That gives us a bit of time to fundraise, book flights and hotels and transportation while we're there and look for sponsorship opportunities," he said. "I think it's going to be an exciting winter."

So what would be a successful trip to Edmonton? Acorn said an even split.

"If we played five games, two wins, two losses and a tie and we break even," he said. "You don't want the kids to get blown out and we don't want to win all of our games by blowouts - you don't learn anything that way."