A major milestone will be marked this weekend when alumni and friends of Rainbow Soccer gather for a reunion to observe the 40th year of youth soccer in Chapel Hill.

Players today would find it difficult to envision the soccer landscape of 1972, devoid of high school varsities or any clubs for young players. Organized soccer in North Carolina was pretty much limited to college games.

Into that vacuum stepped North Carolina letterman Kip Ward and Vicky Brawley, who founded Rainbow Soccer. Along with Charlie Dorr and friends, they also helped get the first varsity program going at Chapel Hill Senior High School.

For years, Rainbow was the only game in town — literally — for young players and their parents who wanted to be part of organized sports without all the … well, organization.

Brawley assumed the leadership of Rainbow after Ward left town and headed to England to pursue an ambition in finance and banking. In her gentle grip, Rainbow Soccer continued for decades to maintain a delicate balance between excellent competition and a non-aggressive stance.

The quality of Rainbow’s program is attested by its alumni. Among them: Chapel Hill artist Michael Brown, the first high school All-American soccer player from the Southeast and who helped design the first Rainbow Soccer shirts; UNC soccer Anson Dorrance, who ran Rainbow’s original soccer camps; and Leesville Road’s Paul Dinkenor, a former Rainbow coach who’s built a high school dynasty over in Raleigh.

The Rainbow Soccer reunion will be 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Cat’s Cradle. Anyone who’s ever worn one of the league’s shirts, which come in a wide variety of colors, is welcome to attend and celebrate 40 years of local soccer, just for the fun of it.

W.E. Warnock