Edmonton soldiers waged a different type of war this week as part of the largest military sports tournament in western Canada.
About 720 soldiers at Edmonton Garrison shucked their combat boots for skates and shoes Monday for the start of Exercise Strong Contender. Troops from throughout Land Force Western Area will spend five days in competition to see which unit reigns supreme in sports.
It's all about physical fitness and promoting camaraderie amongst the brigade, says Lt. Josh Bowen, a volleyball player for the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI). "It promotes teambuilding, competition and fitness," he says, all essential parts of any army.
It's also about bragging rights. "For us, the team we really want to beat is the Strathconas," Bowen says, referring to Canada's tank division. "Rather than trouncing any of our fellow Patricias, we'd rather beat up the tankers."
Game on
The Strong Contender competition is a decades-old tradition at the Garrison dating back to at least the 1990s, says Lt.-Col. Bill Fletcher, commander of 1 PPCLI and former participant in the event. Competitive sports train troops in the same skills that they'll need in the field, he notes. "You rely on one another and no one person is going to make or break something."
This year's event involves six round-robin tournaments in six sports, says organizer Maj. Darcy Wright, including ice hockey, volleyball, soccer and crossfit (where soldiers perform feats such as doing as many squats as possible). New this year is curling, a sport introduced so wounded soldiers could take part in the event.
Most teams train for months in advance for the tournament, Wright says, holding two to three practices a week along with exhibition games.
Fletcher says he didn't have a particular training regimen for 1 PPCLI beyond telling the troops to lay off the turkey during Christmas. The unit dedicates every Friday night to sports to stay in shape.
That's not an option in Afghanistan, he continues, unless you're at Kandahar Air Field, which has a spot for ball-hockey. Many troops make ramshackle gyms out of scrap; it's not uncommon to see someone bench-pressing a pair of ammo boxes.
While the younger soldiers play, says Lt.-Col. Tim Young of the 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (based out of Shilo, Man.), the older ones meet to plan strategy for the rest of the year. "I've been replaced by younger, more talented people," jokes the former soccer player.
That's not to say they ignore the games, Fletcher notes. "Certainly amongst the commanding officers there's a whole lot of trash talk," he says, with the winning squads bragging about their performance for the rest of the year.
Being soldiers, the competition can get pretty fierce. "It's always nice to beat your buddies," he says, but the most important thing is to represent your unit well.
Teams will hold games throughout the day at the Garrison's gym and arenas, Wright says, with most of the finals running Friday morning. The crossfit finals are Wednesday. The free event is open to everyone. For details, email navy Lt. Melanie Graham at [email protected].
