Arena packed as Bathurst students' funeral begins

Thousands of mourners filled a Bathurst, N.B., hockey arena Wednesday for an emotional funeral service for seven teenage basketball players who were killed in a weekend crash.

A soloist sang Ave Maria as people occupied the last empty seats in the K.C. Irving Civic Centre, before municipal and school officials greeted the assembled crowd.

Community members started lining up early in the day outside the civic centre, which has a seating capacity of 3,500.

To deal with a crowd expected to reach up to 6,000, officials set up an overflow area at a smaller, nearby rink where about 700 people could watch the funeral service on closed-circuit television.

A sound system was set up in the civic centre's parking lot for the thousands of people left outside the building.

Many businesses and schools in the community of 13,000 were closed to allow people to attend.

The seven players, along with their coach's wife, teacher Elizabeth Lord, were killed early Saturday when their van struck a tractor-trailer while returning from a game. 

The coach, Wayne Lord, survived the crash along with his teenage daughter and two other players.

Five of the players who died — Nathan Cleland, Justin Cormier, Daniel Hains, Javier Acevedo and Codey Branch — were 17 years old. The other two students were Nickolas Quinn, 16, and Nicholas Kelly, 15.

A funeral for Elizabeth Lord will take place on Thursday.

Counsellors in place

About 20 counsellors were at the hockey arena on Wednesday morning to greet students and provide support throughout the service.

"We know that any student that has gone to Bathurst High School, whether current or past, is affected," said vice-principal Don McKay.

Bathurst's mayor and the principal of Bathurst High School were scheduled to speak at the non-denominational service, which was expected to last about two hours. One representative from each of the seven players' families was designated to deliver a eulogy.

New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Lt.-Gov. Herménégilde Chiasson were among the mourners in attendance, along with other local, provincial and national dignitaries. A bishop from the community was to read a message from Pope Benedict, while Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean also sent a message to be read during the service.

Plans call for local athletes to place roses on the coffins of the teammates, known in the community as "the boys in red," and students to light candles as the lights are dimmed at the end of the ceremony.

A choir of more than 130 members of the community is in place to sing and the school's band is to play, in a town that also prides itself on its love of music.

Community, province and country mourn

In advance of the ceremony, mourners were asked to wear the school colours of red and black, honouring the boys' basketball team, the Phantoms.

Among the mourners was Grade 11 student Bradd Arseneau, one of the four survivors of the horrific crash. He was left with four broken ribs and a bruised lung.

All of Moncton's high schools have sent representatives to the funeral. The entire Moncton High School Purple Knights basketball team, against whom the Phantoms had competed in the hours before the crash, is also scheduled to be at the service. As a sign of respect, the Moncton team decided to wear the Bathurst school's logo for the remainder of this basketball season and all of the next season.

At high schools across New Brunswick, students also were wearing the Bathurst colours as they showed up for classes Wednesday. Teams at the schools also suspended their own jerseys from the rafters of their gyms in honour of their lost competitors.

Bouquets and messages have been arriving from across Canada, Bathurst Mayor Stephen Brunet said before the funeral.

"Friends from across the country and around the world are wearing red and black today and their school rings," said school board Supt. John McLaughlin, who graduated from the school in 1977.

Memorial plans developed, trusts established

Brunet said as the funeral finishes, the focus from mourning must start to shift to the continued support the families will need.

"We're going to have to stand together to help them," he said.

The families are mourning, but relatives of the boys have also been providing comfort to the community, said Allison Carroll, student council president at Bathurst high.

Acadie-Bathurst MP Yvon Godin also noted the support that has been shown in the community.

"The people here are being so strong together," he said.

The town is working on plans to create a permanent memorial for the boys, said Deputy Mayor Scott Ferguson. Until then, trust funds have been established at local CIBC branches in the boys' names.

At the high school, students have been signing banners that will be hung in the gym, and will be joined by the boys' jerseys, said Carroll.

Beneath the gym's basketball nets, the message "In loving memory of the boys in red" will be written, she said.

The other surviving teammate, Tim Daley, underwent surgery at the Saint John Regional Hospital on Tuesday. It is expected that he will be transferred back to the Bathurst hospital on Friday.

The teen was only told of the extent of the crash Tuesday night, after his surgery, said Carroll, who is a close friend of the Daley family.

CBCNews.ca is carrying the event on a live video stream. As well, both Newsworld and CBC Radio in New Brunswick are broadcasting the ceremony live.