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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-03-21, Page 16v WiNGH1114 ":"" leisure/ featu 1, ainrnent • Serving over 25,000 homes in Listowel, Win , Mount Forest-, Milverton, Elmira, Palmerston, Harrieton, SrUSeele, Att od, Moiikton, Miltlaank Newton Clifford, Wallenstein, Dtayton, Mootefield and Arthur WedneKlay, Mard2 , 1 984 • M. "Traci( and Weld,: club' promises Pealthy ion wItt) benetits''. . Track and-fipld. It lacks ,the glamoroup . tirade Or lioaiiiiiiivrtileaNti dine .CoireVii bubble -gum cards of star performers and few children brag about growing' up to become champion hurdlers or shot-putters, But that has not stopped dozens or Wingham youngsters from climbing out of bed early twice a week for the past several months to spend an hour before school in the gym, doing exercises and practising sprints, ' the hurdles, jumping and' throwing the shot- put. These children are members of the town's newest club, the. Wingham Track and Field Club. Some of them may be among Canada's track and field stars of the future. Some may even achieve the athlete's dream of competing in the Olympics. For now, though, all that is in the future and these young competitors are more in- terested in beating their friend in the next • lane and then joking about it afterward. What attracts these children, ranging in age from eight to early teens, to track and field, still regarded as something of a poor cousin among Canadian sports? The short answer is, because they like it. The challenge of competition is perhaps even greater here, with the emphasis on • individual as opposed to team achievement. There is satisfaction in knowing you can run faster, jump higher, throw further, and children can be fierce competitors. At eight o'clock in the morning in the gym • of the Wingham Public School, however, the prevailing atmosphere is one of fun. The children chat together and laugh easily. They enjoy what they are doing because it is a game, one they can play with their friends, and their coaches understand this and en- courage it. YOU CAN'T COMPETE WITHOUT A CLUB The Wingham Track and Field Club is a fledgling organization, born of necessity and a dream, funded on a shoestring and kept afloat by the dedication and vision of a few individuals. The club owes its start largely to Basil Sakasov, a teacher at the Wingham Public School, and his wife Tanya. Athletes themselves, the Sakasovs were supportive when their children, Anna and Paul, ex- pressed an interest in track and field. They quickly discovered, however, that many competitions are closed to athletes who are not members of a club and registered with the Ontario Track and Field Association (OTFA) and its junior affiliate the Ontario Minor Track and Field Association (OMTFA). The nearest clubs were in Kitchener and Port Elgin, with membership fees ranging from $75 upward into the hundreds, and althdugh for a time they drove twice a week to Port Elgin, they realized this would be impossible once school started in the fall. "Tanya and I felt we could do something better," both for their own children and for other promising young athletes, Mr. Sakasov explained. So they approached Robert Campbell and Maureen Lisle, athletic instructors ,at the F. E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham, with the proposal to form a local club. They agreed, and the club was started last October, with the SakasoVs coaching the elementary school -aged members and Mr. Campbell and 1R„Jojs,19,c9a9jiing the older members.. • NO SHORTAGE OF COMPETITORS The new club was an immediate hit. When sign-up slips were distributed at the public school last fall, one-third of the school, some 120 students, responded, Mid Mr. Sakasov realized it was getting out of hand. Since they could not possibly handle that many children, even as a recreational program never mind a competitive one, they held try -outs„ with the top six, eight or 12 children in each division making the club. That formed the core, and it has "rerhained relatively stable since. In early February the club attended its first competition, the Cobra Classic indoor meet at York University in Toronto. Con- sidering its lack of experience, the •club enjoyed remarkable success, bringing home seven medals and a number of ribbons, and the experience whetted the children's ap- petites, Mr. Sakasov said, "They just feasted on the facilities" at York, which gave them some idea what can lie ahead in track and field, and the ex- perience of competing against other clubs gave them a new appreciation of themselves as athletes and members of a special group. PASSING ON THEIR EXPERIENCE There is no substitute for enjoying what you do and, when it comes to track and field, Basil and Tanya Sakasov have an infectious enthusiasm for the sport. Though modest in talking about their achievements, they are • both athletes in their own right and their coaching is based on personal experience. Tanya Sakasov, for example, was a national record -holder in the hurdles and high jump in her native Bulgaria at the age of 12 and went on to become a member of the Bulgarian national team. After coming to Canada, she qualified to represent her new" country in the Pan Am Games, until she was sidelined by an injury. She said there is no doubt her own early training makes her a better coach, since she is able to identify with her young charges and to understand how they feel about what theyare doing . Basil Sakasov, a soccer player, also trained with coaches of the Bulgarian national men's team before coming to Canada, gaining considerable proficiency' with the javelin. He has carried his interest in track and field over into his teaching, coaching track and field at the Wingham Public School each spring. Last suminer, in preparation for more. intensive coaching with the new club, he spent some time in courses offered under the national coaching certification program, with coaches of the Canadian national team as instructors. Both enjoy track -and field ad are con- vinced of the lasting value such training can offer, whether or not a child goes on to excel. He sees it as an enrichment program for gifted students, Mt. Sakasov said, em- bodying the classical concept of "mens sana in corpore sano", a sound mind in a sound body. "There are so many other enrichment programs for gifted children, but '1 don't think I have ever come across a program for the athletically gifted child." For some, it can lead to more serious athletic pursuits inhIgh school and possibly4a-, to scholarships, but even forAtitise who do Z' not choose to take that road it conveys lasting benefits. Once you start a person in sports and he develops a strong interest, he is likely 'to sustain it all through life, not necessarily on the gompetitive level but the recreational, and that spells health all the way through. This is a very worthwhile course." In addition to competition, he said, the club stresses good sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. WHAT LIES AHEAD? This first year has been very much an experimental one for the Wingham Track and Field Club and right now its plans do not extend much beyond this summer. The club is registered for 1984 with both the OTFA and OMTFA and will be taking part in some summer competitions. Whether it -will last beyond the summer depends almost entirely on what sort of support it can generate from the community. That support will need to take the form of parent volunteers to relieve the Sakasovs of . some of the administrative and less specialized coaching duties, such as directing warm-ups. It also probably will need to take the form of some sort of fees to cover costs and help to purchase equipment, though they aim to keep the fees well below those of other clubs so that no one will be shut out. To date the club has operated on a shoestring, with coaches paying registration fees out of their own pockets and service clubs chipping in to help with transportation to and from the meets, while equipment has been limited to what is available at the public school. "Pretty well everything hinges on how well we. can organize and recruit help with coaching and administration." The children are all for it; there is no lack of interest there, he added. He gets a lot of feedback from the parents about how much their children are enjoying the program, and the fact that the children get up and make it to practice sessions faithfully on their own says a great deal about their in- terest and dedication. They also would like to see the club ex- pand to accommodate children from outside the 'town. Right now it is not able to take in anyone except students at the-, Wingham Public School or high school. The Sakasovs have -another dream too: an indoor track to allow year-round training with the proper facilities, instead of having to improvise and make do. "If we had a proper track it would really boost intereit," Mr. Sakasov said. He even knows exactly where he would put it, and said if he ever won a million dollars in a lottery that would be the first thing on his shopping list. Even without such a windfall, he is not ready to concede it is an impossible dream. "I beliet;e even though our town is small, it is a community where attention is paid to sports and to anything worthwhile. It would be an enrichment to the town if we could add track and field to the calendar (of com- munity events). It would offer even more. "If we had a track there would be people from surrounding communities coming here to use the facility. Port Elgin had people coming all the way from Ottawa." .••••••:' ' • ... 16.. FLYING THROUGH THE AIR (top)—Michael MacKay, Dean Tolton and Jason Daw soar over the hurdles in practically a dead heat 'as Tyke members of the newly -formed Wingham Track and .Field Club practised in the gym of the Wingham Public School. The club was formed last fall by a teacher at the school, Basil Sakasov, and his wife Tanya, together with Robert Campbell and Maureen Lisle of the high school athletic department, to encourage young athletes and offer them an oppor- tunity to compete in organized meets. ON YOUR MARK(above)—Young sprinters get set for a quick dash down the gym under the watchful eye of their coach, Basil Sakasov. Mr. Sakasov, a teacher at the. Wingham Public School, and his wife Tanya, a former member of the Bulgarian national team, have been working with young members of the newly -formed Wingham Track and Field Club in the mornings before school, The training has begun to pay off, with some very good results at a track and field meet in Toronto. STEPPING HIGH (right)—Shannon Robinon and Heather Bishop limber up by stepping their way over closely - spaced hurdles in the Wingham Public School gym. The „,•-eirls are among the Tyke members of a track and field club started in Wingham last fall. by Henry Hess 11 44 4 - 4.,,"•?1 44/ egliNgArk4.Ktfife.: tA• 44