The Citizen, 2012-02-09, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012.
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profile events. They practice twice a
week on the ice with him, once a
week off the ice and they also have
individual practices throughout the
week. Wilfrid Laurier is currently
the only university in the world that
offers scholarships for curling.
Wilson and his team left Canada
on Jan. 19, heading first to
Edmonton for three days for a final
tune-up with Krepps before heading
to Japan.
They arrived in Japan on Jan. 22,
leaving a small amount of time to
sight-see before getting to the
business of curling.
After landing, the team was picked
up from the airport and taken to
Tokyo. They then made their way
from Tokyo to Karuizawa (a small
town outside of Nagano where
Olympic curling was held in 1998)
by bullet train.
Jan. 24 was a press day for the
participating teams and the
Canadian team was able to spend
some time with some students from
the area. They also participated in a
charity auction where a match
against them was auctioned off to
raise money.
The winning team was from
Tokyo and ended up losing to the
Canadians by a score of 11-2.
Speaking to Wilson after the game,
however, the coach of the Tokyo
team said he was happy to take two
points from such a strong squad.
In the team’s first game, they took
on a squad from Switzerland in agame they would lose. It would beone of two losses in the tournament,but the Canadians would meet the
Swiss again in the finals.
Wilson said he didn’t find the loss
too discouraging though, and his
team felt the same way.
“We didn’t play that well, so to
lose 6-5, it gave us hope,” Wilson
said.
After the loss to Switzerland, the
Canadians went on to beat Korea,
which was followed by another loss
to the Japanese National Team. After
their second loss, however, members
of the team buckled down and didn’t
lose again on their way to the gold
medal, beating a team from Nagano,
then China and Denmark before
beating Switzerland again in the
final.
The girls defeated a former
women’s world champion in China
(2009) and a former world junior
champion in Switzerland (1999).
The final game went down to the
10th end, Wilson said, with the
teams tied 5-5 going into the eighth.
Switzerland pulled away by three
with the Canadians catching up soonafter, tying the game at eight. TheCanadians squeaked out anotherpoint in the 10th, leaving
Switzerland with a shot to win
the game, but they couldn’t
capitalize.
Wilson took away a renewed
confidence in the Canadian system
after the tournament, saying “it
works” and that the talent of his
players was nurtured along the way,
allowing this victory to happen.
Wilson praised the process of the
whole journey, not the results, in
saying that his team got so much out
of the process that the gold medal
was simply the icing on the cake.
The whole tournament, he said, he
and his team operated on one simple
principle: “Either you apply
pressure, or you feel it.”
Wilson, who is retiring from his
teaching position at the end of this
school year, says he will have more
time to focus on coaching. He has
been involved with curling for 30
years and has been coaching for 15
of those years.
He hopes, however, to leave the
Avon Maitland District SchoolBoard with a curling program tohelp nurture a love for the game heloves so much.
“It’s a sport you can play your
whole life,” Wilson said. “My mom
is 85 years old and she still curls
twice a week.”
On the other end of the spectrum,
Wilson said, it was his daughter who
has pushed him to coach. She has
now been on several provincial
championship teams, but he doesn’t
coach her team at the moment. He
feels they are in good hands and he
is happy with the team he is
coaching.
After he retires, he feels that he
may upgrade his Level 3 coaching
certification to a Level 4, which he
says is like getting your Masters
degree in coaching curling.
Wilson is currently in his third
year of teaching at Grey Central
Public School, but he had taught
with the Avon Maitland District
School Board for 22 years, teaching
at Listowel, Listowel Eastdale and
Wallace Public Schools before
coming to Grey Central.
Grey Central teacher wins gold in Japan
Many families can’t afford to
eat healthy says Health Unit
Gold certified
Maurice Wilson took a trip to Japan with a curling team
from Wilfrid Laurier University and came back a little
heavier as he’s loaded up with gold. The team beat
Switzerland in the final of the Karuizawa International
Curling Championship and was the talk of the tournament,
despite being the youngest team in the competition. (Shawn
Loughlin photo)
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February
Huron County Council was once
again told the same story it has been
told for years now, that eating
healthy is a luxury many residents
cannot afford.
At the Feb. 1 meeting of Huron
County Council, Public Health
Dietician Amy MacDonald and
Public Health Manager Sherri
Preszcator gave their annual
Nutritious Food Basket presentation,
concluding that health and nutrition
are very often tied to income and
quality of life.
“This is the annual surveillance of
food costs, assessing whether health
eating is within reach,” Preszcator
said. “We’re learning that often it
isn’t. Eating healthy is not
affordable for everyone who lives
and works in Huron County.”
Preszcator estimates that for a
family of four to eat healthy for a
month, the cost is just under $800
and for those with some incomes,
especially those on public assistance
of some kind, that number simply
isn’t attainable.
Preszcator said that it is estimated
that families that bring in a median
income spend about 14 per cent of
that income on food, a number that
is unreachable for some.
“That’s really not possible for
some families,” she said.
Preszcator said that when
factoring in all the other family
costs, such as rent, hydro, insurance,
recreation, and many more, food can
often become an afterthought for
many families on a fixed budget.
“We find that fixed bills usually
come first and food then becomes
discretionary,” she said.
Preszcator said that nutritional
health is often out of the control of
many, saying that social factors
often have the biggest impact on
how a child will be raised when it
comes to nutrition.
Preszcator then asked that Huron
County Council accept the pair’s
report and share it with the
community, making it available on
the Huron County website. She also
asked that council continue to
support access to health food
programs throughout the county.
Preszcator added that March is
Nutrition Month and that proper
nutrition should be a priority 12
months a year, but especially in
March.
In addition to her other requests,
Preszcator also asked council to
draft a letter to the Ministry of
Community and Social Services
requesting that eating healthy in
Invites you to attend ourInformation Meeting
Time:Thursday, February 16, 2012
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location:Kinburn Hall
Kinburn, ON
Lunch provided - RSVP by Feb. 10
Pre-register today by calling:
Chris Van Loo at 519-440-2202
Mike Campbell at 519-440-1317
Greg Fritz at 519-440-1061
Garrett Van Dieten at 519-955-4425
Speakers include:
Murray Insley - HDC -Food-Grade Bean Market Review
Mike Cowbrough - OMAFRA Weed Specialist
- Weed Control in Soybeans
Fred Evans - HDC - Grain Market Update
Plan to Attend
- Call Today
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
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