The 5th annual Salaam Cup tournament is in the books and again, the Muslim community has shown that this event is a key feature in the summer plans for many friends, families, brothers and sisters all across, not just the GTA, but Quebec and Southern Ontario. Quebec for the Montreal Islamique team that made the drive down once again and every year since the inception of this event and Southern Ontario as Cambridge is now part of the ball hockey family participating in their very first Salaam Cup under the guise of their hometown. 23 hours of hockey packed into one weekend at the Arène de Malton and it was a sight to see. For the first time ever, you saw the stands packed from one end to the other for the “Rivalry” between the Greenbirds and ML Warriors on the Saturday and then the epic final between these very same two teams. The Greenbirds once again proved that even though the rigours of Tier-1 hockey, world championship hockey, injuries and commitment hassles could have plagued their championship streak, it takes heart and the mental mindset more than skill and speed to lift up the holy grail in Muslim athletics.
There is so much that went on this weekend that had people cheering, jeering and possess a sense of excitement that it would be too difficult to talk about everything. From the presence of the Toronto Marlies organization, to the new Salaam Cup, to 12 teams with full jersey attire and of course the fans. Never before has the seating in the Malton Arena been so full to capacity that a bigger and better venue may already be on the minds of the directors. The theme of the tournament was all about getting the sport of ball hockey ingrained into the innocent minds of the youth and children. With 2 school buses of children from the Donlands and Danforth area driven in to cheer on their Red-clad Donlands team, to the smaller children – including infants – brought in by the players’ wives and families and the 1st ever Youngstars game that showcased kids in various Greater Toronto Areas such as Scarborough was very well received as the kids put on quite the show – especially 11 year-old Mohammed Darsot. This young prospect of Scarborough was making moves like a pro dipsy-doodling around his opponents. You could see the amateur scouts in the stands salivating at the chance to draft him for the future.
This year, you could see how ball hockey has become a passion and a mainstay in the Muslim community with new teams that not just participated, but took it to the next level with formal recruiting, practices and tryouts. And for the first time, each team bore a full set of jerseys. Teams like Cambridge who have been training and improving their skills utilizing the East-End Madina Hockey League. The Fighting Camels who are comprised of a squad of brethren taken out of the draft-style I-Slam league that just wanted to experience the Salaam Cup and build a franchise from here on in. Not to mention the superb jerseys and logo they unveiled (thought I put that in for Asim Gauhar). And the Saracens: a collection of young future stars that already have OBHA and Junior International experience who competed in each game they played and really have the potential of turning heads in upcoming Salaam Cups. A few surprises were also part of the agenda. The Donlands team with just 3 years arena experience and written off by so many as a team that couldn’t control their emotions and really weren’t going to be an elite group in terms of skill went all the way to the semi-finals falling only to the champion Greenbirds. And they did it without any emotional outburst or undisciplined behavior. The Rexdale Dragons continue to get the accolades by having the uncanny ability of attracting some big name stars such as Ibad Khan who pretty much took his team to the semis on his back while standing on his head every game.
In the end, the rivalry was reborn with the ML Warriors (formerly the ‘Palace’ team) meeting the Greenbirds in the finals that had the building a buzz. The day before with the crowd at standing room only, the Warriors dominated the same team in a 4-0 affair, but it’s the playoffs that matter and when it counted, the Warriors were on their heels most of the game and the ‘Birds captured their 4th title in a row. Osman Buttar who was a scoring machine all tournament long took home the MVP along with ML Warriors’ Samir Patel who never stopped running and giving opposing team fits all weekend as well.
The 5th Annual Salaam Cup has come and gone, but a lot was gained from this yearly event. You can tell the families and children from all over have fallen for the sport and are now keeping their weekends open to attend. And who knows, Toronto Maple Leaf Nazim Kadri could make an appearance (Inshallah) as he has already been made aware of the Salaam Cup by the Marlies. It may not be the most religious of environments like say a Path to Piety event, but it definitely brings together all types of Muslims from all over to play, pray, eat and socialize with one another. And we only make Dua’a to the Allah (SWT) that He enables us to have a much more smoother and more exciting event for years to come and also makes it a means of Hidayah and guidance for our communities to bring us closer together. Ameen.
~Safi Habib: Tournament Director |
