A friendly face-off to support youth from Halifax's Maronite community

By Nzingha Millar

March 13, 2017, 8:29 pm ADTLast Updated: March 13, 2017, 8:29 pm

A Halifax youth organization is gearing up to host a national gathering of Lebanese-Canadians for a celebration of faith and culture. In anticipation of the 2017 Maronite Youth Convention, the youth council at Our Lady of Lebanon Parish held its annual dodgeball tournament over the weekend.

Basinview Community School in Bedford, N.S., opened its gymnasium to the dodgeball enthusiasts on Saturday to raise funds towards the council’s participation at the convention.

The May event will bring together participants for a three-day long spiritual exploration.

Parish members and friends faced each other on the court, unafraid to take a hit in support of the youth council’s efforts.

Players were nothing short of creative when devising team names, which included the “Mother Duckers,” “Who let the Dodges Out” and the Donald Trump inspired, “Make Dodgeball Great Again.”

Despite having 10 teams in attendance, organizers say the tournament has seen higher participation in previous years.

Fundraising organizer Nicole Chater said because Halifax is hosting the convention for the first time, Our Lady of Lebanon Parish has been busy preparing.

Still, the community is determined to extend some east coast hospitality to convention guests.

“We are going to throw an event to show Halifax and its culture; we try to fundraise as much as we can and this is one of the things we can do to help,” said Chater.

The organizers estimated that over 500 people took part in the third annual Maronite Youth Convention held in Toronto last year. A similar numbers of participants, aged 19-30, are expected to be in Halifax from May 19 to 21.

Funds raised during the tournament will go toward the cost of providing workshops, area tours, entertainment and accommodations for convention participants.

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