July 14, soccer teams from Yarmouth to West Hants gathered under the 14 Wing Greenwood Apple Bowl picnic shelter for the opening ceremony of the 17th Amanda Forster Tournament.
The ceremony began with the singing of “O Canada,” by the Canadian Military Wives Choir Greenwood, which brought the same enthusiasm to their performance the youth teams would display in the coming days. When told the speakers were not working, choir members cheerfully exclaimed, “That’s OK – we’re 14 Wingin’ it!” and sung beautifully over the downpour of rain and claps of thunder.
Lieutenant-Colonel Dan Arsenault, commanding officer of 405 (Long Range Patrol) Squadron, brought greetings from 14 Wing and spoke on the significance of the tournament to the Greenwood community.
“Amanda Forster was a great youth athlete in the community. While having an avid interest in soccer, she was involved in other sports and was a great team player. This event honours that liveliness and team spirit that sports instill in so many of us.”
Arsenault encouraged participants to play not only in Amanda’s memory, but with a character that honours her competitive spirit and sportsmanship.
“This tournament is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the organizing body, and their ability to spread the word of just how great a competition this is. Competitive sport does great things for our physical health and our mental health, our ability to work together as a team – and the leadership of our coaches and parents plays a huge part of that, too.”
14 Mission Support Squadron Chief Warrant Officer Trevor Porteous echoed Arsenault’s sentiments, listing the many lessons competitive sports teaches players, including winning with class and losing with dignity. To the youth, he concluded, “all I can say is good luck, have a great weekend and play safe.”
Crista Macneil, vice-president of the Kingston Greenwood Soccer Club (KGSC), was delighted with this year’s turn out of 50 teams, from U9 to U18.
“This has been a lot of teamwork to bring this tournament together – endless hours from community volunteers. It’s really fun to see so many people at the ceremony.”
Macneil thanked both the volunteers and participants on behalf of the Forster family, currently residing in Ontario.
“This tournament means a lot to Amanda’s family.”
Once the storm passed, players ran to local soccer fields where they spent the next two days playing under beating sun and heat, and welcoming intermittent showers that cooled them off during their games. On the Sunday, the tournament concluded with a round of playoffs for the U13 to U18 teams. The KGSC U15F team won the playoffs for their bracket, as did the KGSC U13F Auroras, who played undefeated the entire tournament.
