Hundreds of children have come together for a special football tournament to remember a community stalwart in a north-east town.
David Findlay, better known as “Parro”, died suddenly in December last year.
At the weekend, more than 400 youngsters did battle on football pitches in his native Buckie to celebrate his contribution to the town.
Proceeds raised from the event will be donated towards Buckie Thistle’s primary school section, which he was instrumental in supporting.
Throughout his life, Mr Findlay dedicated himself to nurturing the next generation of sporting talent from the town – heading up Buckie Thistle’s youth development set up until his death.
His passion for encouraging youngsters to become more active prompted officials to set up the David “Parro” Findlay Memorial Football Festival to remember the coach, who would have turned 54 on Friday.
Organiser Melissa Smith, who was Mr Findlay’s partner and is head of primary school football at Buckie Thistle, said: “We usually have a tournament for the children at this time of year, but we moved it closer to Parro’s birthday to remember him and make it all about him.”
Club officials also praised the stalwart, who worked as an electrician, as being integral to laying the foundations that spearheaded Buckie Thistle to back-to-back Highland League titles in 2010 and 2011.
Saturday’s events began with primary school children of all ages competing on Merson’s Park in Buckpool before disabled and female footballers took centre stage in the afternoon.
The day culminated in a friendly match between the under 15 teams from Buckie Thistle and Deveronvale.
Mr Findlay was also responsible for guiding Buckie Rovers to their first-ever North Superleague title in 2016 and established a Community Alert Day at Buckie High School to warn youngsters about the benefits of fitness and the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
Initially it was suspected he died after losing his balance on ice and hitting his head off the ground near Aberlour. However, tests later proved a heart problem was responsible.
Mrs Smith added: “Parro was involved with all aspects of football and community life in Buckie – not just kids. That’s why we wanted to make sure everyone was involved.
“He spent decades, all the time he had, to football in Buckie, whether it was with the kids, the girls, Buckie Thistle or Buckie Rovers.
“There’s no better way to remember him than with everyone coming together.”
