Dear Editor:
(Re: ‘Did that just happen? Seriously! — Oct. 17 Cochrane Eagle).
I think it’s a crime that the director of the host team did not inform the Cobra girls soccer team that they are disqualified until just before the final game.
What kind of message does this send to the girls that he was willing to ‘lie by omission’ just so he would not have another team drop out of his tournament? To let the girls play their hearts out and win only to have the victory completely snatched away from them is an act that the director and organizer of the tournament should be brought to task on.
What kind of lessons are we teaching our children by this act? The fact that the rule applies to not being allowed to have younger (Grade 9) students on the roster is ironic. Usually the rules apply to having older participants than the regulations allow. The Cobra girls have played all season with Grade 9 students on their roster. Was there no one on the association boards reviewing rosters that I presume have to be submitted by the schools?
I believe that if I were the teams that won by default I would be feeling very uncomfortable with the fact that the win was a result of a rule that disallowed the ‘younger' players on the team we lost too. Imagine if there had not been Grade 9 girls on the team. Would the wins have had a much larger score spread?
This situation should never have happened and it should be investigated by the appropriate school and association bodies and the Cobra girls soccer team should be given the zone banner and a huge apology.
G. Coyle-Stuart-Lyon
