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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-11-17, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1999. Erom the sidelines Chauvinists - move to Maryland By Hugh Nichol The 1990s may be forever remembered as the decade responsible for the liberation of' women. The old boys club lifestyle of our ancestors has gone the way of the men-only lounge at the local drinking establishment. Our society accepts women have the cultural freedom to choose and has removed the fencing that held the weaker sex within the confines of a woman’s place. First it was women in politics, not only at the local and provincial levels, but with direct involvement in the affairs of state. Next were the lady doctors, engineers and financial entre­ preneurs of the business world. From Judge Judy to Maureen Kempston Darkes, president of General Motors of Canada Limited, women have demanded and commanded the respect required in reaching life’s pinnacle of success. And now man’s last domain, the world of testosterone-fi lied professional sport smackdowns is crumbling beneath the weight of equality. In the first ever man-woman professional boxing match held Oct. 9 in Seattle, Margaret MacGregor scored an easy decision over her male counterpart Loi Chow of Vancouver while professional wrestler Chyna currently holds the WWF intercontinental champion­ ship belt following a recent pay per view win against Jeff Jarrett. This trickle-down effect of emancipation has even affected our nation's favourite pastime. While women have a long history of participation in the game of hockey for the most part it was on a segregated basis. All this legally changed during the late 1980s when the family of a 13- year-old Toronto-area girl spent $150,000 and two years fighting the Novice Reps win 2 The Blyth Novice Rep squad added two more to the win column with victories at home against Clin­ ton and Zurich. On Nov. 3 it was a whitewashing of their Clinton opponents with Blyth scoring three. Bulging the twine for the hosts were Curtis Robertson, Johnathon McDowell and Tony Bean. Roman Sturzeneg­ ger assisted on the Robertson goal. It was a high scoring contest when Zurich came to town Nov. 13. Sturzenegger and Lee Watkins supplied excellent defense in this 9-7 penalty-free match. Zurich jumped into the lead part way through the first period, but McDowell tied it with just seconds left. Blyth got a good lead in the sec­ ond scoring four while keeping their visitors off the board. Bean, then Robertson found the net. Robertson then set up Byron Broome for the third point. The pace got exciting in the dying Ontario Hockey Association’s constitution that stated the OHA is in business to “promote, encourage, and govern hockey for boys in the Province of Ontario”. In a landmark decision both the Ontario Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of Justine Blaney stating that girls could not be banned from boys teams because of sex. This decision allowed Manon Rheaume to attend the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning training camp and on Dec. 12, 1992, while a member of the minor league Atlanta Knights, she became the first woman to play in a professional regular season hockey game. Rheaume’s success opened the door for Charlene Labonte to become the first female drafted Major A, chosen in the 11th round of the 1999 Quebec Midget lottery by the Bathurst Titan. Labonte’s performance during pre-season led to her signing as the team's backup and in time may allow Charlene to reach the level Rheaume could not, that of NHL goaltender. These conquests however are not without questions involving issues of morality. Although many a woman can probably visualize knocking a man senseless in the boxing ring, there is sure to be concern amongst activists of the Violence Against Women crusade in supporting an event that legally allows a man to hit a woman. On the other hand everyone knows wrestling is a pre-scripted form of entertainment and really, who would be more at home in a sport that involves the wearing of long stockings and a garter belt than the fairer sex. Therefore the only recourse left to man is to accept or if we must remain true to our chauvinistic feelings move to Maryland USA the state motto of which is: “fatti maschii parole femine" which literally interpreted means deeds are male, words are female; deeds are more effective than words. minute, however, as Zurich lit the light, then Blyth, off the stick of Derek Youngblut, with an assist from Kenny Plunkett, then Zurich once again to bring them within two. A see-saw battle in the third allowed Blyth to keep that edge. Anthony Peters scored first, then Bean nailed his second less than a minute later. The assist went to Claren Yuill. Zurich quickly can­ celled those with two of their own in less than two minutes, then nar­ rowed the gap further with a third point. Peters didn’t take long to erase the damage, but with just over four minutes left in the game Zurich pulled within one. Brett Courtney came in with some insurance end­ ing the scoring and giving Blyth the win. Robertson assisted on the final goal. Playing well in his debut perfor­ mance in net for the hometown Novices was Matt Stevenson. He scores! The Seaforth goalie had a busy night in Blyth Nov. 8 as this wasn’t the only time the hometown Bantams bulged the twine in a blowout contest. (Vicky Bremnerphoto) Purple team faces spunky squad This past Saturday found the Blyth Purple Tykes facing a spunky Bayfield squad on home ice. Blyth’s Sheldon Reid tucked himself securely between the pipes as he rigorously turned away the opposing team's shots, earning a shutout during his debut in net. The first five minutes of the game saw action see-sawing between ends until Tyler Middegaal drove a precise shot through the five-hole, assisted by Adam Cronin and Tyler Black. The period scoring ended as Colin Bokhout looped in Blyth’s second goal assisted by Kayla Black and Kirby Cook. Only a minute into the second period Matt Chalmers received a pass from Connor Prescott to fire a shot into the top shelf where, as Don Cherry says, “they keep the peanut butter”. Plucky play by Cronin picked up two more goals PeeWee Girls win It was a solid victory for the Wingham PeeWee Girls as they hosted Milverton 10-3, Nov. 13. With Allison Quennel once again doing a great job between the pipes, Rachel Elliott got the home squad started off a pass from Michelle Cook. Wingham notched one more in the first period off the stick of Brittany Campbell, assisted by Ashley Ritchie. Wingham took a solid lead in the second period, scoring five. Ritchie, Cook, Campbell with two and Nicole Walker bulged the twine, with assists going to Bobby Joe Scheil with two, Krista Hender­ son and Laura Ritchie. They increased their lead with three in the third, one scored by Cook while down two players. Campbell picked up the other two goals with an assist from Scheil on the second. Milverton managed to sneak just three by Quennell. Coach Mike Stewart said the girls played with great enthusiasm. “Skating was strong throughout and the passing game greatly improved. The girls displayed a total team effort gaining many scoring chances.” noticed the team is really starting to mesh as they begin to put into play the lessons learned at practise. The next home game is Saturday, Nov. 20 at 9 a.m. as he was assisted in his efforts by Grant Sparling, Lukas Witherspoon, Black and Middegaal to finish the tally for this match. Team trainer Dwight Chalmers bfussekwalton wfiLBLAZERS Beat the December 1 price increase on trail permits. Cost $120.00 on or before Dec. 1 After Dec. 1st Cost $150.00 If Sold On The Trail Cost $180.00 Available at these locations: Perth County Co-op,Mitchell; Faust Home Hardware; Mitchell Tire; South Western Performance; Mitchell Massage Therapy Clinic; B & K Tire, Brodhagen; John's Repair Shop, Monkton; Monkton Service Centre; Middegaal's Pools & Sports, Seaforth; U.A.P.. Seaforth; Vincent's Farm Equipment; Winthrop Store; McGavin's Farm Equipment; Radford's, Brussels: G & M Auto Parts. Brussels. DRIVER TRAINING CLASSES For ages 12 & up Contact Mark Gropp @ 887-6353 or Ken Hunsberger @ 348-8025