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Sixteen teams gathered in Springwater Township this past weekend for the inaugural CHIMO Cup softball tournament in honour of the late Sapper Brian Collier of Bradford.
Collier died in July 2010 while serving in Afghanistan. He was just 24 years old.
The event was organized by his family friend, Cyndi Kilgour.
Among the 16 teams was a group of Collier's comrades — The Devil's Rejects — as well as groups made up of first-responders, including a team from the South Simcoe Police Service.
One of Collier's friends in attendance was Travis Richardson. Richardson had been playing in the tournament with a damaged hamstring which he got while serving with Collier.
"Travis has a pure heart of gold and his love and passion for Sapper Brian Collier is evident in the way he played," said participant Allan Tracey. "Travis ran as hard as he could and when he did, you would never know that he was injured. However, when he stopped, you could feel the pain coming from his eyes as he would be constantly bent over from the pain.
"I asked him a number of times if he would take himself out of the game to prevent further injury. Each and every time his answer was “'as long as I have this name on the back of my jersey (Collier), I am still playing'. This man is pure heart! What he said and the passion of which he played and display."
Proceeds from the event went to the Heart of a Hero Fund, which provides scholarships at both Bradford District High School and Holy Trinity High School School. The fund also helps pay for sports participation through Bradford minor league sports, where Collier used to play hockey and baseball.
A donation of $3,200 was made by Kyle Zdrilich through a golf tournament he hosts annually to honour the memory of his late brother, Kurt.
"We will be using a portion of those proceeds to assist a youth in the community with a season of golf lessons next year," said Kilgour.
In total, the event raised $11,500, surpassing its $10,000 goal.
