The Huron Expositor, 1996-03-27, Page 8II -THE HURON •XPO$ITOR, March 27, 1$ S
Feature
Skater to defend North American title
- BY DAVID SCOTT
Expositor Editor
The thrill of speed and love
of fitness has •taken a.42 -
year -old mother of four to
Red beer, Alberta to defend
her North American speed
skating title.
'Kathy Hunt, of Ethel, heads
out - west tomorrow
(Thursday) for the Canadian
Speed skating Championships
March 29-31 and the North
American championships
April 5-7. Both competitions
are being held in Red Deer.
Accompanying Hunt on her
trip will be daughter Carla,
13, who will compete for the
Ontario speed skating team in
the nationals. .
It's been a rapid rise'to the
top for the local skater who
started the sport at age 37.
"I like to think that maybe I
can help break down some of
the negative myths about
aging 'which I have encoun-.
tered. "
START IN SKATING
Her first time speed skating
was September 26, 1991.
Friends of Kathy invited her
to the K -W Sertoma Speed
Skating .Club at the Doon
Campus of Conestoga
College in Kitchener. "It was
a memorable day."
She"borrowed club skates
for -the first four practices and
then bought her own pair."I
was hooked right- from the
start," says Hunt. .
The club has- about. 100
members, 30 of whom com-
pete.
BASIC EQUIPMENT
Hunt uses custom made
skates that are molded to her
feet. The boots are made of
kevlar (a light - fiberglass),
and leather. The blades are
bolted onto the bottom of the
skate but are adjustable.
They're offset, not centred on
the skates.
"The boot is not centred on
the blade. It's actually shifted
over to the left. That helps
prevent us to touch the ice as
we lean over. Our blades are
made of a high-quality steel
that's very stiff. The blades
are very long with a flat bot -
tont as opposed to the hockey
skate which has kind of a 6i -
'concave edge. It's very nar-
row."
This design allows a lot of
gliding and ability to cut into
"1 like to think 1
can help break
down negative
myths about
aging"
the ice and hold the ice. Hunt
skates on a 16 and a half inch
blade which is average length
for her height. Men use 17 to
18 -inch blade.
There is a trend now to
bend the long blades slightly
'to the left which follows the
left -turning counter -clock-
wise track. "It's funny when
you see people who have
only speed skated play games
they can't turn to the right
and they can't stop," jokes
Hunt.
Skaters can also create an
arc along thc bottom of the
blade or a "rocker."
"There's kind of a science
or art to get the right bend
and rocker. Everybody has
their own individual prefer-
ences as to how flat their
rocker is, how much their
bend is. Mine is relatively
flat along the heel and a little
bit up at the tow."
Long track skates have an
almost flat rocker to them.
But short track skates don't,
says Hunt, who has skated
both.
Speed skaters wear skin
suits when skating which is a
skin tight outfit made of lycra
which is wind resistant.
A helmet must be worn. A
hike helmet can't be used
because the holes allow a
blade to go through. A neck
protector is also essential
equipment.
Kncc pads, shin pads, cut -
proof gloves and long sleeves
Complete the speed skating
t
PHOTO BY BONNIE RUCTO
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT-- Kathy Hunt, right,. and her daughter Carla, left, will com-
pete in the Canadian speed skating championships in Red Deer, Alberta beginning Friday.
Kathy will then go on to defend her title at the North American championships also in Red
Deer. They practice at, K -W Sertoma Speed Skating Club at Conestoga's Doon Campus.
"I love the excitement and the
speed and the thrills and spills.
uniform.
- LONG VS. SHORT
A short track is 1 1 1 metres.
"It's actually quite tight turns
that we're taking." •
-
Long track is almost a dif-
ferent sport, says Hunt. "It is
skated on a 400 -metre oval.
The boots arc quite -different
because you're not into the
sharp comers, you're into the
- sweeping corners. They don't
require the same support."
Long track hoots arc made-
of
adeof leather,- very' light -weight
with a low cut ankle. The
blades arc fixdl onto the hoot
as opposed to mtiveahle and
the rocker is almost, flat. The
blades are usually longer.
But Hunt prefers the quick-
ness of short track over long
track. "I love the excitement
and the speed and the thrills
and spills Of short track.
Long track is more of your-
self against the clock." .
• Long track is skated in
• pairs; as in the Winter
Olympics. Short track races
have mass starts with live to
seven other skaters. "in the:
sprint races, the shorter ones.
you go all out and; want toget
a good start. When you get
into the longer distance races,
strategy comes into play -
because you're trying to con-
serve_ your energy and .be in a
good position in the pack to
break sometime later on in
the race. The person leading
is actually doing most of the
work. about 30 per cent
more."
Sometimes the starts of thc
longer distance races are rela-
tively slow. says Hunt.
"Everybody is skating
around, testing each other
out, shuffling positions and
then all of the sudden some-
body. breaks and it turns -into
a sprint. i find that very excit-
ing."
Hunt says skating in a pack
brings out the hest racing
instincts in her. •
"I tend to be a really good
pack skater. When I'm in a
pack I'm thinking about thc
pack. Then the skating
becomes very natural.
Whereas when I'm in a situa-
tion where Um skating on my
own,- I'm not as fluid or
relaxed."
GREW UP iN SPORTS
Kathy says she was lucky
to grow up. in a sport -minded
family in Sault Ste. Marie.
"We downhill sk.icd hasical-
lycvery weekend, every holi-
ciay: My parents were, and .
still are. fitness -oriented.
We'd run, cross-country ski.
hike do horseback riding:"
Since her youth. Hunt has
been involved in -.a. multitude
of sports including road hik-
ing. mountain hiking. run-
ning. I0 -km road races, base-
ball. wind -surfing. weight-
lifting• aerobics. roller-hlad-
ing. hockey, cross-country
skiing.
In the summer. she does
dry-land.trainin.g to keep in
shape and improve her fitness
level.
"That can he a variety of
things. i work with my own
club. We do specialized exer-
cises to specifically strength-
en your -leg muscles like low
walks, side jumps. sometimes
up hills. Generally I run;
CONTINUED on page 9
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Centre For Cosmetic Medicine
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BALL REGISTRATION
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11:15 a.m.
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CHURCH
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CHURCH
EASTER LITURGY 1996
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Northside
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Communion Service
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• SEAFORTH
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"Holy Communion"
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