In the weeks leading up to the first weekend of September, an air of excitement and anticipation swept through the Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York among teens and young adults alike. The youth were gearing up for an annual end of summer tradition within our Diocese – the 2005 Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York Soccer Tournament! Practice! Practice! Practice! That’s all we heard about from the participating teams, weeks before the event as they all worked hard to make their parishes proud!
 
During the first weekend of September, teams from all across the Diocese traveled to the city of Ottawa, Canada’s capital, for a memorable weekend filled with fun, fellowship, sportsmanship and, of course, soccer, all of this organized by the teens and fellowship of St. Elias Cathedral. The teams began arriving on Friday September 2nd, which turned out to be a beautiful day. The tournament committee was ecstatic to welcome 10 teams in the age 15-35 division and 3 teams in the age 8-14 division from various cities in the Diocese: Toronto, Mississauga, Montreal and the hosting city, Ottawa. The much anticipated games began early the next morning after teams gathered on the field for a short prayer led by Fr. Iskander Younes from St. George, Richmond Hill (Toronto). Teams battled it out on the field, while their dedicated fans (parents!) cheered until voices were lost! A great lunch was generously provided for all participants by various sponsors from the Ottawa parish. Finally, after a long day of fun and games, the St. George Strikers from Montreal came out with a victory and took the gold! The St. Mary Blue Star team from Montreal won silver and the St. Mary Rebels from Mississauga went home with the bronze. As for the junior division, the Blue team consisting of parishioners from St. Elias Ottawa and St. George Toronto went home with the gold!
 
Following the tournament, the teams returned to the hotel and then headed to church for Vespers. After the service, team members along with their family and friends gathered in the Cathedral Hall for the Awards Banquet/Hafli. It was an evening of fine dining, great prizes and excellent music as we gathered as one big family in Christ. We all had a blast! The next morning, we attended the Divine Liturgy served by Fr. Ghattas Hajal (St. Elias Cathedral, Ottawa ON), Fr. Mark Wyatt (St. Elias Cathedral, Ottawa ON) and Fr. Iskander Younes (St. George, Richmond Hill ON). Following the service, there was a delicious shawarma luncheon waiting for everyone in the Cathedral Hall. After lunch, participants exchanged farewells as teams started heading back to their hometowns. By this time, we were all tired and ready for a little rest and relaxation. Soon, however, both the teens and the Fellowship will again lace up their cleats and start practicing once more for another awesome ball-kicking soccer weekend at the 2006 Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York Soccer Tournament!
 
A big thank you goes out to all those who helped organize, sponsored and gave of their time to make this year’s event such a huge success!