Photo By Spc. Joshua Cowden | Women from the U.S. Army, Royal Air Force, and Royal Canadian Air Force came together...... read more read more
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CONSTANTA, Romania — Women’s Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on Aug. 26. The day commemorates the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. On Aug. 26, 2021, female service members from multiple NATO nations gathered in the city of Constanta, Romania for a friendly game of basketball against the U16 Romanian female basketball team from Laguna Athletic Constanta.
The game was organized in order to promote community relations with service members of MK Airbase and the host nation of Romania, and to represent the ongoing freedom that women have fought for over the last century in America.
The aptly named TorNATOs consisted of service members from the United States Army, the United Kingdom Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
“It was an amazing experience to see such cohesion between all of the different nations in such a short time,” said Maj. Montoya, Royal Canadian Air Force. “Regardless of our country, our trade, our speciality or rank, sports bind people together. And this was a phenomenal group of girls and I’m so proud to have been a part of this event with them.”
The TorNATOs only had a short time frame to find players and a handful of practices before the match. Regardless, they executed well and were able to give a strong performance throughout the game. Played in a local indoor gym, the game featured four 10 minute quarters and had all the makings of a professional setting. This Included a hardwood court, bleachers for fans and even a shot clock buzzer. In a close match throughout, the TorNATOs pulled off the victory over the Laguna Athletic Club.
“The team did an exceptional job in today’s game,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Teresa Boston, Medical Department Activity Bavaria, Troop Medical Clinic. “Especially for women who really haven't played basketball before. Many just had the four or five practices we had prior. So, incorporating the women who have played in the past really helped feed the team overall.”
The women exchanged handshakes and a few laughs as the friendly game came to an end. While the competition did not disappoint, the true focus of the game was the ability of women from around the world to come together and inspire. Women's equality day is an important day to remember in American history and these nations gracefully observed the date with a fun and entertaining event.
“Playing a game like this on Women’s equality day hit the nail on the target,” Montoya said. “You can see that women are underrepresented if you just look at the base right now. And to be able to find a group of women who are supported by their chain of command and are able to come out and do this is really special. This is a great opportunity to influence the next generation of Romanian girls and inspire women from all of our nations.”
Events like this go a long way in promoting community relations with our NATO allies and provide a much needed morale boost to the Service Members who are deployed away from their families.
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2021 04:04 |
| Story ID: | 404002 |
| Location: | CONSTANTA, RO |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, NATO nations celebrate Women's Equality Day with community basketball game, by SPC Joshua Cowden, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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