22nd Gunn Baldursson soccer tournament goes this weekend

BY JOHN DECOSTE

www.NovaNewsNow.com

The 22nd edition of the largest all-female soccer tournament in Eastern Canada is set for this weekend in and around Wolfville.

The Gunn Baldursson Memorial women’s soccer tournament was first played in the summer of 1988 after being sanctioned by Soccer Nova Scotia in memory of former Acadia soccer star Gunn Baldursson.

A native of Iceland and a talented musician and academic all-Canadian as well as an outstanding athlete, Baldursson tragically lost her life in an automobile accident in late 1987 while still an Acadia student.

From relatively humble beginnings, the tournament grew to the point where close to 200 teams were registered some years. Since then, the registration has leveled off between 150-160 teams.

This year, a total of 154 teams in 12 divisions ranging from U-12 to senior women and Ladies 7-Aside will take part in the tournament.

Participating teams are mostly from Nova Scotia with a few from New Brunswick. The largest division will be Senior Women B with 23 teams contesting that division title; most divisions feature around 12 teams.

Action gets underway at 3 p.m. Friday and continues all day Saturday and Sunday, with most bronze and gold medal games set for Sunday beginning at 3 p.m.

The schedule, as well as game results once they are available, can be found on the tournament website at www.gunnbaldursson.ca.