Photo: Kalamalka Bowl Society

There will be no Kalamalka Bowl football game in Vernon again this year.

On Thursday, the Kalamalka Bowl Society announced that due to the inability to schedule an exhibition opponent for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds football team, there will not be a Kal Tire Kalamalka Bowl in 2024.

“A huge thank you to our community and local sponsors – especially Kal Tire – for the ongoing support of the Kalamalka Bowl. There is clearly an appetite for this type of event in Vernon. It is unfortunate that after the sudden cancellation of the 2023 game due to Okanagan wildfires and now due to scheduling issues in the Canada West University Football league we are unable to offer this great event two years in a row,” said Sean Smith, society president, adding the society appreciates the strong show of support and commitment to the event by the UBC Thunderbird football team and in particular their Head Coach Blake Nill.

A press release from the society said Blake understands that the Kal Tire Kalamalka Bowl is more than just a football game, it is a two-day event designed to:

• Provide for learning/training opportunities for local youth who participate in the Youth Skills Camp.
• Provide for additional team building and personal growth through participation in Huddle in the Park where the teams compete against one another in games and challenges and through the Breakfast with Angus where international speaker and best selling author Angus Reid speaks to the teams over breakfast the day of the football game.
• Promote the great game of football throughout the region.
• Promote the Okanagan as a destination for sporting events.

The society will now work with the UBC football team and Canada West University Football to resolve any scheduling issues and begin planning for a game in 2025.