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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2002-12-04, Page 9e lfilay Aso Ad& C/?A/G NICHOLSON NTREP THE S,CM41C43031 Exactly who's hiding the women? By Craig Nicholson (©2002 by Craig Nicholson. All rights reserved.) G M Auto Parts 4M1 Auto Parts Plus We stock a full line of snowmobile parts & accessories See us for your snowmobiling needs! "Quality Parts plus Personal Service" Turnberry St., Brussels 887-8002 fax 887-8004 :'4" * Better Air QAdvaneeTM Snowmobile Products Save up to $1 00/litre Clinton • Teeswater Goderich • Kincardine Rounding the net • The Blyth Novice goalie keeps a watchful eye on his teammate as the puck is moved around the net and back into play during a Thursday contest against Elma Logan. (Janice Becker photo) Blyth Bantams lose 2 The Blyth Bantams suffered two losses this past weekend when they met Elma Logan and Hensall. John Bokhout netted a hattrick when his team took on Elma Logan Nov. 30. However, his three were not enough to beat the home team which racked up four. Assists went to Blake Hesselwood, Darcey Cook (two), and Kyle Nixon. Zach Horn and Joel Salverda shared goaltending duties. On Sunday, Hensall came to town ready to rumble. They snapped off six goals in the first period, putting Blyth at a tremendous disadvantage. They added one in .the second before Trevor McArter was able to break the shutout. Justin Dobie assisted. With one more goal in the third by Ofie Falconer, assisted by Richard Gregg and Cook, Blyth's offence was shut down. Hensall was unstoppable as they tallied four in the final period for the 11-2 win. Jeff Elliott and Salverda shared time between the posts. icikn Please Recycle Top This Newspaper THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2002. PAGE 9. According to statistics from the past winter, only 15 per cent of snowmobilers are women, and they don't ride as much as men. An uninformed analysis might conclude that snowmobiling remains a male-dominated activity. I think it's more a matter of how women are counted. Anyone involved in organized snowmobiling, from local snowmobile clubs on to international associations, knows that women are actively involved. It could even be argued that were it not for females, snowmobiling would be a lot less organized than it is today. After all, who has a large share of the organizing work? While the guys are out maintaining trails and groomers, who frequently volunteers to hold it all together? And remember that many a male volunteer can only put in the time because a good woman is holding the fort on the home front. So if only 15 per cent of snowmobilers are women, then they are contributing far more than their numbers indicate. But-I think there are more women involved than this. Most of the - annual stats are derived in two ways: from ownership/registration records and from snowmobiler surveys, both of which tend to overstate male participation. Why? Because the male of a household is far more likely to be the one whose name is on the ownerships of multiple family sleds, more frequently is named as the primary insured, and is usually the one who fills out the surveys. So is it any surprise that women aren't as visible when the counting begins? Maybe it's time for women to have their own names on ownerships and registrations, to complete their own surveys, to stand up and be counted as snowmobilers. I'm not suggesting that the number of women involved surpasses 50 per cent, but I am betting that with wives, girlfriends, sisters, mothers and daughters the tally would rise higher than 15 per cent. The stats also show a decline in the number of miles females snowmobiled last winter. Some might read this as further proof that female participation is on a downswing, but I disagree. I think it's just one more sign that women are smarter than men when choosing when and how to ride. And that has nothing to do with fewer women riders. Guys will ride despite the most adverse conditions imaginable: deep freeze temperatures, snowless trails, poor ice, terrible moguls, darkness and blizzards. Women will generally choose to ride in daylight, if trails are smooth, weather is stable, and snow is plentiful. So in a winter as desperate as the last one, women often simply chose to stay home rather than subject themselves to brutal punishment instead of fun. Who is smarter? -If you have any doubt about the correct answer, look at the fatality stats. Men are four times as likely to suffer a snowmobile injury than women. On average, eight out of 10 fatality victims are male. In part, that's probably because females make the smart choice to stay at home when the riding is too risky. And if men continue to die at their current rate, it won't be long before the male/female balance could be tipped, but that's a fousy way to improve the stats, isn't it? Until next time remember that snowmobilers care about the environment too. For trail condition reports check out ofsc.on.ca Craig Nicholson is a regular contributor to Snow Goer, Canada's Snowmobiling Magazine. The Intrepid Snownwbiler also appears on radio and on Snowmobiler Television. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author. Tools stolen from new home On Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. OPP were called to a new house under construction on Maple Line in McKillop, Huron East. A person had entered the building, and stole items which had been covered up, Taken were a Honda generator, skill saw and chainsaw valued at $2,750. The theft •took place sometinie in the previous three days while workers were away. 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