Times Advocate, 1996-12-23, Page 23a► Continued from page 22
and that parents have to realize that
just because some teams are not
winning, the players are still learn-
ing.
"It's important parents encourage
their kids to learn more about the
game instead of pressuring them to
win," said Lord adding the goals
against are not as high as it was at
the beginning of the season.
Losing is pan of the learning pro-
cess and Roy •Gingerich, head
coach for the Midgets said it should
be expected for a first-year team.
"In most cases the players are
moving from a small hockey sys-
tem into a system with a population
of 100,000 or more. That's a big
jump and it's going to take time to
adjust to that level of play," he
said.
Gingerich said their inaugural
year should be considered a build-
ing year and players this season
should focus on learning the game
to become better hockey players.
Gingerich said 'AAA' hockey will
give the kids a forum to develop
their skills and improve to their
fullest potential. It also gives them
the opportunity to be noticed add-
ing the midget games are heavily
scouted.
According to the 1996 O.H.L.
Junior 'A' draft, 104 players were
selected from the 'AAA' league.
More than Tier 2 Junior 'A', Junior
'B', 'C', 'D' or from high school.
Charlie Akey, president of the
Huron -Perth executive committee
said now that they are half way
through the season they have had
the chance to dispel a lot of pre-
SNOWMOBILER
By Craig Nicholson
Deja vu! Old Man Winter returned in October for the second year in a
row. Can Ontario snowmobilers possibly hope for another long winter
like the last one — I can still hear satiated enthusiasts wearily saying
"Enough is enough" as it stretched into April. But according to the
Farmer's Almanac, the answer is "yes" — we're in for heavy snow
accumulation throughout the snowbelt in 1996/97. And that means
lots of saddle time for you and I.
It also means higher overhead for Ontario's 294 snowmobile clubs.
Last season, trail operations cost almost $22 million, a record
expenditure. To keep on grooming past Spring Break, many clubs
even dipped into reserves allocated for replacement of their aging
groomers. Recent information indicates that the minimum annual cost
for an OFSC club to groom just one kilometre of trail is $200. This
figure escalates rapidly in high traffic and tourism areas to $400 or
more. It also balloons when the season is unusually long, or the
snowfall heavier. It takes at least 2.35 permit sales per kilometre for a
snowmobile club to meet even the minimum expense level. No
wonder clubs need all the help they can get — buy your 1997 Trail Use
Permit today!
As the world's largest snowmobiling organization, the Ontario
Federation of Snowmobile Clubs has developed the world's longest
contiguous recreational trail network for Ontario snowmobilers.
Almost 50,000 kilometres of groomed trails like snow highways
connect snowbelt communities. That's more klicks of trail than even I
can ride in one season!
To keep these trails open and groomed, we have two simple tasks: buy
a 1997 Trail Use Permit and Stay On The Trail. Each of these actions
supports and promotes the credibility, longevity and sustainability of
our trails. Without that commitment from riders province -wide, there
is danger that our trail network will slowly be whittled away piece by
piece until what's left is a disjointed, unlinked mish-mash of local
trails leading nowhere. Come to think of it, that's where we started
about thirty years ago.
Before that, (and indeed, in many remote areas of the province today)
snowmobiling was a pioneering adventure of cross-country riding and
backwoods pathfinding. It appealed mainly to hard-core enthusiasts
prepared to handle the breakdowns caused by extreme use and to pay
for the damage inflicted by hidden rocks and stumps This frontier
riding style discouraged wide -spread mainstream participation and
helped give snowmobiling an undeserved wild and negative
reputation. Its remaining proponents are among the last hold -outs for
buying Trail Use Permits, arguing that "We've never paid to ride
before, so why should we start now?"
For starters, because since 1966, when the OFSC was founded by 10
clubs in Midland, Ontario, organized snowmobiling has made a
dramatic difference on the snow. It has assembled, developed and
maintained the world class trail system we now enjoy, and in many
cases, take for granted. But organization costs money. Heavy
industrial groomers and drags at $100,000 a piece and up. Fuel and
oil. Operator's wages. Insurance. Repairs and maintenance. Trail
preparation including bull dozing, grading, brushing and clearing and
fencing, and the cost of related equipment such as ATV's, chain saws
and bush hogs. Bridges at $30,000 to $ I00,000 or more each. Loads
of fill, grass seed and gravel. Hundreds of thousands of trail numbers,
destination markers and traffic warning signs. Together, these are the
crucial components that have put our bush-wacking days behind us.
Are there other reasons to buy a Trail Use Permit? Maybe because it's
such a small price to pay for groomed trails — less than 1% of the cost
of most performance sleds. Perhaps it's to protect your ability to
continue to ride anywhere, anytime. You could buy to show your
appreciation for all the hard work others put in so you can
snowmobile to your heart's content. Perhaps you're willing to pay for
safer, more comfortable destination touring. Or maybe you just want
to pay your fair share. Whatever the case, if you intend to ride
groomed trails for any reason or any length of time this winter, buying
a Trail Use Permit from your local club is the right thing to do.
Until next time, happy trails and remember: SledSmart — Ride Safe
Ride Sober. For club or driver training info, contact the OFSC at (705)
739-7669. To plan your Ontario tour, call 1 -800 -263 -SLED. To Bring
ABuddy to Snowarama, call 1-800-461-3391.
Justin
Hayter
Dashwood
Jason
Stuckless
Stephen
Township
Geoff
Duckworth
Exeter
Mill. /1 toll)
Mike
MacLean
Exeter
Kyle
Courtney
Vama
Kurtis
Masse
Stephen
Township
Justin
Fields
Exeter
Tony Regler
Exeter
Kellan
Hefley
Exeter
Glavin makes Junior
`B' All-Star Series
WELLAND - It's a long way
from Stephen Minor Hockey to the
Golden Horseshoe Junior 'B' All-
Star games in Welland and Fort
Erie..,.
3Nii teen-year-of('f' Andy:-@1avin
has Sean voted*first 01W
team all-star by coaches
and management of the
Junior 'B' Golden
Horseshoe League
where he is leading the
league in Goals Against
with an Average of 3.31
with 906 minutes
played.
Glavin, a Crediton na-
tive, plays with the Port
Colborne Sailors of the
Golden Horseshoe
League, who are cur-
rently tied with Niagara
Falls for first place in the league.
Because of his statistics, he
wasn't surprised he was given the
nod for the all-star spot, but he's
quick to credit the players on his
team.
"This is a high scoring league
and my numbers are good because
of our defense," said Glavin.
Andy attends Brock University in
St. Catharines where he is taking
the Accounting Co-op Program. He
said it was a great honor to play on
the league's all-star squad, and it
proved he can juggle both his edu-
cation and hockey career.
"It means a lot to me because it
shows I can play hockey and go to
university full-time, said Glavin.
"I'm in a tough program but my
marks haven't trailed off."
His previous year with the Lis
towei.Jnnior•'B" Cyclones was also
vety'kuecessti)l: At' the
year-end banquet he was
named top goaltender
with a 3.67 G.A.A. He
also picked up the Most
Gentlemanly Player
Award along with Top
Student Award which
carried a $500 scholar-
ship. Before that he
played for Parkhill in the
Junior Development
league for two years.
Glavin is a product of
lavin the Stephen Township
Minor Hockey system
and he admits he probably
wouldn't he where he is if it wasn't
for the coaching and ice -time he re-
ceived while developing his hockey
skills in his home centre.
"I gained a lot of experience and
I always had the opportunity to
play "
Glavin will start the All-Star Se-
ries against a Russian Touring
Team December 28 in Welland.
The second game the team is play-
ing is against an All-Star team from
New York State December 29 at
the Fort Erie Leisureplex.
Andy G
Christmas is here, a time for joy, love and togetherness — ono
the perfect chance for us to say "we're proud to serve you."
Thanks for your valued business)
from all of us at
Jack's Plumbing &
Heating (Exeter) Inc.
£vetetr 23$051
,1
conceived myths about "AAA"
hockey.
Concerns were raised about
smaller centres being robbed of
their top players and about the
amount of driving involved to and
From games, however, Ackey said
other players have filled in for the
kids who left and the parents don't
seem to mind the traveling.
The organization has also man-
aged to keep the cost of playing
hockey for Huron -Perth down as
their registration fee is much lower
than other 'AAA' systems. Partly
because the individual teams have
been successfully fundraising their
own tournaments.
"For a first-year operation we're
very happy with how things are go-
ing and I think the parents are too,"
said Akey. "It's been a new ex-
perience for all the kids and I know
they're enjoying it."
South Huron
girls volleyball
begin season
EXET15R - The South Huron
District High School senior
gins volleyball team began
their season on a positive
note with a strong showing at
the Medway tournament re-
cently. The team producod
three wins beating Medway,
Ingersoll and St. Marys.
The Junior girls volleyball
team travelled to St. Marys to
compete In tournament ac-
tion.
The juniors played well win-
ning six games out of ten to
finish In Their ;six.
Exeter Junior D
Hawks F
`��
vs Thamesford
Friday Dec. 27 8:30 p.m.
South Huron Recreation Centre, Exeter
1
0
1
C
d
Warmth and
good wishes for
the merriest
Christmas and
the happiest new
year!
Thank You for your
patronage
Coolman
Auto Sales
44 Thames Rd. W.,
235.3573
To all our customers and friends, along with
sincere thanks for your continued support.
For all your livestock trucking needs call
ROESZLER TRUCKING
j' RR #1 Kirkton
* Bob Edwards 229-6143
•- •
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M ERRy
ChRiSTMAS
ANd A
HAppy NEW
YEAR
To all our cherished friends
and customers.
We truly appreciate
your business.
•
cares
• ° •. •
•
•
• • •
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O
from the management and staff
HAUGH TIRE INC.
EXETER
265 Thames Rd. Hwy. 883 East
Call 2354752, 14164554860 Toll Free