For ten years, the Labour Day soccer tournament in Langley has attracted teams from all over.
But this year, there's a noticeable difference.
"We're down in the number of teams, especially the out-of-town teams," says tournament chair Jim Shopland.
This long weekend, Vancouver Island is a no-show as are several teams from the United States. Only a handful have made it from Alberta.
Shopland feels rising fuel prices could be the culprit.
"Certainly the overall cost of travel has gone up, and that's having an effect on the numbers of out-of-town teams here," he says.
And now with Hurricane Gustav rolling in and threatening oil production, there are fears the price at the pump could spike yet again - this time as high as $1.75 a litre.
"If it's like Katrina we could see a spike now that would stretch into next spring or next summer," says financial analyst Michael Levy.
When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, it shut down a quarter of the oil refineries in the US and sent gas prices soaring.
At this time of year inventories are already lower. Depending on the storm, there may not be an opportunity to replenish them.
"If you have gulf platforms knocked out by the hurricane then you're going to see a diminishing supply of oil and oil products going into reserve," says Levy.
The effect of higher gas prices doesn't end at the pumps. There's also home heating, ferries and air travel.
Just this week, Zoom airlines blamed its demise on skyrocketing fuel costs.
With back to school approaching, there's also the question of what's going to happen with activities like field trips and sporting events. Some school districts we've spoken to say it's too early to tell what the impact may be.
It's hard to say whether all of the no-shows at the Langley tournament were kept home by fuel prices, but their decision to cut back on travel has had an impact.
"We'll have to watch our budget, tighten up," says Jim Shopland.
Something more drivers may soon be saying as well.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber.
