42 — Wednesday, December 9, 1998 - North Shore News north shore news NEWS photo Terry Peters ZUZANA Schramm has her eyes on the 2004 Summer Olympics. The 18-year-old North Van resident first sat on a mountain bike just last year, but following a full season of cross-country racing this year, the Czech native is set to make her mark. Singin’ the tax blues nothing new f IF you can no longer afford to live in the British Properties, how about a nice little bun- galow in Capilano Highlands? Just in case you were ask- ing, that’s my take on the Mills Commission report, the one that recommends tax breaks for Canada’s NHL teams and their players in order to help their continued presence in the National Hokum League. Actually, there’s one con- dition under which I'd go for this proposal: if all the rest of us Canadians were to be given similar tax breaks. Inasmuch as that isn’t going to happen, my advice for hockey fans is to shrug their shoulders and mouth that fine old French expression — c’est fa guerre. Ifthe Canadian rump of the now thoroughly Americanized NHL is to dis- appear because it no longer can afford to tive in the crazy neighbourhood rampant expansion, unreal plaver salaries and a 60-cent Canadian dollar have created, so be it. Life will go on. My basic premise is this: an NHL problem should not be made into a Canadian tax- payers’ problem. But if it does become exactly that, thus proving that our entire national manhood is envapsu- Jared in a hockey rink, then it suggests an alarming lack of Cnadian maturity. It's not as if this impend- ing evacuation of major league hockey trom Canada hasn’t happened before. In the 1920s teams in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, r NHL Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina contended for the Stanley Cup when it was an East-West plavolf in the man- ner of football's Grey Cup. Thev ail went out of busi- ness following the 1926 Cup final when they no longer could afford to match the salaries being paid in the East. After the defending champion Victoria Cougars wete beaten by Montreal Maroons that spring, owner-munager Lester Patrick returned to the coast ina high state of alarm. “We can no tonger con pete,” he told his brother Frank, owner of the Vancouver team of the day, also known as the Maroons. “Do you realize some of the players back there are being paid as much as $10,000 a season?” {t seems a fittle quaint, does it not, when compared with the ransoms being extracted today, But back then it was well beyond the See Taxing page 43 Andrew McCredie Sports Editor andrew@usnewscou BY its very nature, a cross-country mountain bike race requires deter- mination and resolve. fudging from this past sea son, North Vancouver's Zugana Schramm has both those qualities in spades. Without a coach of a team. the TS-vearold) competed: on the B.C. Cup tour and ale took part in a number of events south of the border. Her goal is ta compere ing the 2004 Summer Olympics. * “Last summer Was) pretty hard because Pm an mdepen dent rider, meaning Thad to de it all on my own.” Schramm said. “Twas just roughing it out all season diving out ot my car” There was an upside, how- ever: “T got to travel and yee a lot of B.C. which was pretty cool.” The Czech native does have some sponsors, bur chev all involve equipment deals only, so her travel and accommods- tion expenses must come out of her own pocket. In terms of her results, she said she did “pretty weil” win ning a few races and, more -importandy, learning what it takes to be 2 professional crass- COUNT rider “brervone | was compere nat has been riding at least tise ears, so Pamproved a tat and learned a lot this season” Competing agaist expert caved athletes is nothing new for Schramm. Two vears age she attended a mogul: skiing camp at Blackcomb glacier. “Powas just startin out eat age Tou and most of the kids there had been mogul skit stice they were 1O-vears-atd,” she said. An avid sktersnow boarder +> she’s or Grouse Mountair’s junior ski patrol this Winter --- Schramm gave ap her dream of being a pro skier toliawing the camp. “You need a coach and all thatse [just dectded Pcouldn’r afford it” she said. The pro- hibitive cost of being competi- uve made it imposstite tor her te continue with her winter Olvinpic dream, However, when Schramm discovered SOE ey miking hast Vear, she replaced her winter Ol mpi dream wath ASsuUmIneT One. Despite the global popular Woot omeuntain biking, Schram sad ait wast andl she moved to Canada trom her native Cvechostovakia four vears ago that she was exposed ta the sport. And even then it wast until fast vcar that she hopped on a mountan bike. This off-season Schramiy’s biggest goal is to got a coach, a move she believes is essential tor her to take thar next step. ~ Mountain bikers need alot of endurance and vou don’t really get the most und vot are in vour 20s,” she said. Zusana Schramm may have come late to mountain biking compared to the rest of the competition, bur she's well aware of the beginnings of the current World Cup champion Abson Svdor dido’r start mountain biking until she was in her mid-20s, Courtesy cars available 183 Pemberton Ave. JAS, Send a Photo of Your Pet for our 1998 Pet Album Hey furball. <7 l hear these ar. actual siz Actual size of Pet Greetings. What d’ya mean actual size? by /'m a BIG dog! FOR JUST *15° Prizes for cutest pet and other random prizes for pet gift certificates, And to put a bit more more ‘Ho-Ho’ in tour photo. tet us know if vor would like Reindeer Antlers (3, a Santa Hat 3 Greetings do not include tbe comic balloons! ee ee) PET'S NAME I NAME of MASTER/MISTRESS ADDRESS cm P/C_ B PHONE (3) __W) i BOG «CTO OTHER i CHEQUEC) §VISAL) = MASTERCARD 2 B cane N SIGNATURE or just your pet EXPIRY wm cum cm coy poms een ccm is umes cms mas eal Deadline for sebmissions is December 10. Please attach picture of pet and include a SASE so we may return the photo to you.