The Citizen, 2013-07-11, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2013. PAGE 9.
Summer Sports Pages
Hullett M
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Monica Bak
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The Citizen
413 Queen St., Blyth
519-523-4792
541 Turnberry St., Brussels
519-887-9114
• Soccer • Baseball
Blyth racers finish top five in sled dog racing groupMike and Luke Siertsema of Blyth
are close to the top dogs in the
International Sled Dog Racing
Association (ISDRA) and were
recognized for their performances
over the past year recently.
Last week the two returned from
the ISDRA awards in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania where Luke won a
silver medal in the overall four-dog-
four-mile team races and his father
Mike earned a fifth place finish in
the six-dog-six-mile category.
The duo competed in seven races
throughout the season, which
typically runs from January to
March, six of which were sanctioned
and provided points.
The races were held on
consecutive weekends due to the late
winter last year according to Mike
and were held in locations such as
Wisconsin, Michigan and Quebec.
Mike and Luke field three dog
teams, an A and B squad for the
four-dog-four-mile races with Luke
mushing the A team and Mike
mushing the B and a six-dog-six-
mile team handled by Mike.
The father and son duo agree that
dog racing isn’t just a sport, it’s an
addiction.
“It’s a passionate addiction,” Mike
said, with Luke agreeing. “I keep
saying just one more year, one more
chance.
“It’s competitive, the more you
get in, the more you want to,”
Mike added.For Luke, it started as anadrenaline rush, but, soon after, itbecame a passion with a lot of
research behind it.
“When you get on the sled and you
start the race, the adrenaline just
starts pumping and you get into it,”
he said. “Now we pay attention to
things that we didn’t even know
about when we started. We look at
what waxes will work with different
weather, different humidity and
different kind of skis. There are
different sleds, there is just a lot to
consider.”
Winning and finishing high like
they did is a collaboration of their
time with their dogs and their
equipment and Mike said that you
can figure out whether you’re going
to do well when you start timing
practice runs.
“You need to make a three-minute
mile to win,” he said. “All the
technology that improves the sleds
helps and having different materials,
like carbon fibre instead of wood
lends to it, but you need to hit that
three minute mile.”
When the season started, Luke felt
that things were going to go well, but
he wasn’t sure about the final
outcome of the year.
“I felt that, going in, the dogs were
doing well, but it’s difficult to tell
how the season is going to end,” he
said.
Mike explained that, while the
races they competed in were the
local ones, there are ones held in
Alaska far later in the season so thefinal point tally can sometimesreflect the additional races peoplewere able to compete in.
This year, for example, Mike
found himself knocked out of second
place in the six-dog-six-mile race by
late point additions from races in
Alaska.
The family obsession with dog
racing started in 1994 when Mike
found himself owning a show
malamute, one of the breeds of dogs
that performs well in the
competitions.
“By the end of the year, we got
another and joined a club for
showing them,” Mike explained.
“From there, we went to club
meetings and eventually started
racing, then we got into
competition.”
To field a competitive team, Mike
needed more than just the two dogs
and, on his way to Guelph one day,
he found racing dogs for sale and
ended up filling out his team from a
musher there.
By 1996 Mike had started
competing, meaning he has been
behind the sled for 17 years. Luke
got a later start, beginning his racing
in 2007.
Beyond the initial purchase of
dogs, both Mike and Luke said the
animals represent a huge investment
in terms of capital and in terms of
time.
“We don’t really know how much
By Denny ScottThe Citizen
Silver medal finish
Luke Siertsema of Blyth ended his International Sled Dog
Racing Association (ISDRA) season with a silver medal
finish. The Blyth area racer is part of a family of mushers.
(Photo submitted)
Tigers mercy Wroxeter Royals
Brewers dethrone Royals
Scott Cox threw a three-hitter and
struck out six as the Walton Brewers
defeated the Wroxeter Royals 13-0
in five innings.
The game was played Sunday
afternoon at the George Hamilton
Memorial Park in Wroxeter.
The Brewers scored four runs in
the top of the third inning and added
nine more in the top of the fifth.
Jeff Robinson hit a three-run home
run and added a single. Scott
McDonald had a two-run home run
and added a double. Bruce Pearn
had two singles and a triple.
Contributing one base hit each were
Darryl Houston and Kevin Murray.
The Brewers were handed an 8-1
setback by the Zurich Rangers on
July 2.
Senior player Paul Dolmage said
the bats came alive in the game. “We
needed a win,” he said.
According to Dolmage, Bruce
Pearn was 3-3 at the plate and scored
three runs. “It was a well-
pitched game by Scott Cox,” he
said.
The Brewers played host to the
Blyth Barons on Tuesday and host
the Goderich Grizzlies in a make up
game on Wednesday, beginning at 8
p.m.
By Jim Brown
Special to The Citizen
Seaforth Country Classic
tourney to run July 26-28
The sixth Seaforth Country
Classic Open professional golf
tournament is set for July 26-28 at
Seaforth Golf Club.
Professionals from across Canada
will compete for the $10,000 first
prize. Defending champion, Derek
Gillespie is set to defend, contingent
on his qualifying efforts for the
Canadian Open scheduled the same
week at Glen Abbey Golf Club in
Oakville. The same is true for
several other players including
Canadian Tour winner Michael
Gligic and veteran Alan MacLean.
Brian Unk from Ohio is returning to
the course where he has taken the
title twice.
The 54-hole no-cut event will run
Friday through Sunday and gives
area golf fans a great opportunity to
see some of the up-and-coming golf
professionals as well as some
veterans.
The current Seaforth Golf Club
men’s champion, Paul Doig, will
play as an amateur. He is just
coming off his big victory in the Les
Thomas event held last week in
London. Since the tournament is an
“open” women professionals and
elite amateurs are also eligible to
enter. Robyn Doig, the reigning
Ontario Women’s Match Play
champion will tee it up on her home
course in a “battle of the siblings”.
The Seaforth Country Classic
event raises funds for the Gateway
Rural Health Research Institute and
has raised over $50,000 for medical
causes in Huron Perth Bruce and
Grey. There is a Pro-Am and a
Junior Pro-Am on the Thursday
before the event as well as a “Wee
Break” golf demo on Thursday,
July 25 at noon open to all golf fans.
The Brussels Tigers scored six
runs in the bottom of the sixth inning
last Friday evening as they mercied
the Wroxeter Royals 12-5 in Huron
County Fastball League
play at the Optimist ballpark in
Brussels.
The Tigers put four runners across
the plate in the first inning and then
scored two more in the second
inning, before breaking open a close
game with six runs in the sixth
inning.
Wroxeter scored three runs in the
top of the first inning and added two
more in the fourth inning to make it
a close 6-5 contest.
Dennis Dewar went the distance
on the mound for the Tigers to earn
the victory.
Brian McArter hit a double and
added a pair of singles to the
Brussels offence. Sean Cook and
Gene Johnston each connected for a
triple. Corey Campbell hit a double
and a single.
Dewar rapped out a pair of singles
while single base hits were
contributed by Wade Stephenson,
Shawn Daw, Jesse Deans and
Andrew Baker.
Veteran player Jason Kellington
said it was a good game for the
Tigers. “It was a good team effort,”
he said.
He indicated that Dennis Dewar
pitched a good game. “We had some
timely hitting,” said Kellington.
He also noted that Wroxeter
played well. “They gave us a good
game,” he said.
The Tigers hosted the Sebringville
Junior Sting last night (Wednesday)
and then travel to Belmore on
Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest against
the Stingers. They host the Zurich
Rangers on Wednesday beginning at
8:30 p.m. at the Optimist ballpark in
Brussels.
By Jim Brown
Special to The Citizen
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Continued on page 18