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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-03-18, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1992. The Other Side AVaitonThe news from* By Keith Roulston The speed and grace of our national sport You just can't get away from our national sport of hockey this time of the year. While some people might dream of the lazy days of baseball's spring training in Florida, hockey is just about everywhere you look these days. If you draw weekend duties on a weekly newspaper, as I did last weekend, you do just about every­ thing but sleep in an arena. With a tournament in Brussels and a tour­ nament in Blyth, a playoff game in Brussels and an All-Ontario semi­ final game in Blyth I got to see hockey played by players of all shapes and sizes. It's only when you get to the arena and watch hockey live that you really get to appreciate this game and its impact on this country. Most of us who watch hockey do it from the comfort of our living­ rooms these days. We watch Wayne or Mario or Wendel on tele­ vision and figure we've watched the best but until you gel in a small town arena, right down at ice level, you don't really appreciate the game. It's fun to watch the youngsters still struggling to improve their tai - ents, and it's thrilling to watch the young men who wear junior uni­ forms, but I think the players who impressed me most on the weekend were the industrial league hockey players who took part in a tourna­ ment in Blyth. Industrial league is where the old men of hockey go...well not the really old who play old-timers hockey, but the guys who are well past minor hockey and either aren’t good enough or can't take the time, to play senior hockey. These are the guys who fix your car or deliver oil for your furnace or work for some local company and who only lake to the ice a couple of times a week. There isn't a lot of time for training or perfecting of skills. There are hundreds of thousands of guys like them playing the sport across the country. (Perhaps the biggest revolution in recreation in recent decades is the number of adult men and women playing hockey and broomball and softball to keep in shape when once those sports were played only by kids.) When you watch these guys play, you know that they're so far down in the hockey hierarchy that they would hardly make a blip on the depth-chart. Yet watch these guys play and you're amazed al their skill level. You're amazed at the speed at which the game is played. You can't help thinking, "if these guys are only a tiny fraction as skilled as the professionals, if they're elephants compared to gazelles compared to the pros when it comes to speed, then how fast must the professionals be?" Now I must confess I'm speak­ ing from the viewpoint of a middle- aged writer who saw only three seasons of organized hockey- and then most of it from the end of the bench, but I'm impressed at watch­ ing these guys just enjoy the sport for the fun of it. There are no bone­ crushing checks, no elbows-in-lhe- face, gain-any-edge kind of com­ petitiveness. There’s a fierceness here, but only a normal competi­ tiveness, not the kind of macho code that sometimes dominate hockey at a higher level. Il's the kind of hockey that didn't exist a few years ago. In those days lhe guy who didn't want to risk dis­ memberment and disability quit the game once he got old enough that he had to keep a regular job. New rules against body-contact allowed people to keep enjoying lhe game without fear of permanent injury. So today while the juniors and university players dream dreams of playing against Gretzky and young Letters THE EDITOR, I am writing as a fan of minor hockey, on behalf of the Normanby Township Re/Max Bantam players, parents and supporters. This is a team that has just completed a well contested series, for the WOAA Bantam “E” Championship, with the Blyth Bantam team. These were two very evenly matched teams, a fact very much substantiated by the outcomes of the first two games of a five game series. Various factors began to alter the flow of the series, and it concluded with the fourth game being played in the Norman­ by Arena, last Thursday, March 5. In a series of such importance to youngsters, the intensity level is at a very high pitch. Emotions can, and sometimes will, overcome rea­ son. We have all heard of or encountered some of the negative developments that have been known to grow out of such match­ es; the types of unnecessary rough­ players in the minor hockey system drcam about playing junior, these guys just go out Tuesday or Thurs­ day nights and have a good time flying up and down the ice until they collapse gasping on lhe bench. Yet along with the little kids, they are the real hockey players, playing for the sheer fun of it, not for millions or dream of millions. They represent what's best about our national sport: speed and grace and determination...and a lot of fun. ness that besmirch the very name of this great team game. If and when the outcome of such a series becomes evident, by virtue of a significant lead by one team, well in advance of the final whistle, the team facing the loss has a par­ ticularly big challenge to face. The challenge of maintaining compo­ sure, and keeping the focus on hockey, can be too much for some teams to handle in these instances. The Blyth team was presented with just such a scenario, that Thursday evening. It is a compli­ ment, a tribute of the highest order, that these Bantam boys played focused hockey, never relenting in their efforts, right up to the final buzzer. They more than met the challenge of keeping the sports­ manship in the game, in spite of certain adversities that had been building through the series. We, of the Normanby community wish to stress that the sporting ways of the Blyth group did not go unnoticed. This good sportsman­ ship, in the closing minutes, is a quality that endures as one of the outstanding features of the whole series. Congratulations, Blyth, on a well-played series. Best of luck to you in future hockey endeavours. Leigh Butler, a hockey parent. Compiled by Betty McCall Phone 887-6677 Bill and Mildred Blake mark 57th aniversary A Walton couple celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary on Satur­ day. Bill and Mildred Blake were married on March 16, 1935. Their daughter and son-in-law Betty and Jim Riordan of Strathroy, brought a delicious dinner to cele­ brate the happy occasion with Bill and Mildred in their home in the village. Bill recalls the day they were married was nothing but mud. We are glad to hear Mildred was able to be home for the day from the Rammeloo Guest Home. Congratulations Bill and Mildred from your neighbours and friends. Jane Papple speaks at Duffs Church Sunday Jane Papple was guest speaker at the morning service at Duffs Unit­ ed Church on Sunday. Greeters were Ron and- Betty McCallum. Ushers were Barry Hoegy and Murray Dennis. The junior choir contributed an anthem. Gloria Wilbee had the chil­ dren's story. There will be no service at Walton next Sunday. Service is to be held at Bluevale United Church at 11 a.m. There will be a congregation meeting following of the Wallon- Bluevale pastoral charge to receive a report and the recommendations from the Joint Service Pastoral relations committee. A light lunch will be served. Next Sunday, lhe Rev. G. Kurtz will take the service. HOURS: Mori.-Fri. 9 am-5 pm Sat. 10 am-4 pm C&M INCOME TAX SERVICE Senior Discount 10% T1 SPECIAL T1 GENERAL starting at *16.00 starting at M9.00 SENIOR SUPPLEMENT FORMS FREE "No G.S.T. on our services" Cindy Radford Mary Cote 5 Ontario St. 482-5927 CLINTON “People may be different on the outside, but they are no different on the inside.” - Jasmine Buntain. Age 11 Our children are called the future. They come into our world full of innocence and hope until they are taught to distrust and, sometimes, even to hate. Racists are made, not born. Parents can teach their children to understand the value of compassion, respect and understanding of others. Or, they can sow the seeds of intolerance, bigotry and cruelty - the things that divide a society and keep us apart. Racism exists in many forms and can be found everywhere in Canada. March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. And it is Canada’s Anti-Racism Day, a time for us all to join the fight against inequality. Let’s work together with our families and friends to break down the barriers that divide us. Let’s set an example for our children and help create a world free of prejudice and discrimination. Let’s bring back the hope of a better tomorrow and make it real because ... M yon don’t stop Rnpk||| • who will?