: 28 - Korth Shore News — Wednesday, December 20, 2000 “TEE ORES TO SWATCH Loca hoardercross athletes Drew Neilson and Maelle Ricker will vie for a $100,090 cash purse when they compete in the first leg of the Swatch Boardercross World Tour Jan. 10-13 at Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain in Colorado. The two other stops on the tour are in Nagoya, Japan, March 1-4 and Laax, Switzerland, April 4-7. For more information, visit . "National ski team prospect Trevor Bruce may be - forced to call it quits due to a lack of funding — _ dan-Christian Sorensen ; News | Reporter forensen@nsnews.com SIMPLY put, skiing i is ‘Frevor. Bruce’s | 3 An he frst lipped i his ‘boots i into the bind- ings at age: three and began racing with the ” Nancy Greene Ski League at Grouse Mountain at five, he’s lived for the powder.” . . “cE Naw 19, he’s counted 2s one of: Canada’s up ~and-coming young speed skiers.. Last year he was * * ranked first in Canada and North America in his ~ age category. in downhill, This year-he’s.on-a° > Canadian development team at Panorama and stands a good chance at finding a spot on.the: national sid s But Trevor may. be forced to put “down the poles and give up the sport which has made him a enuch: “ballyhooed name in national ski circles. As-with many. young athletes, it all comes ; down to money. It costs approximately $40,000 a year to keep grooming Trevor for a profession- al racing ‘cazeer, between travel and equipment expenses The'B.C.’Alpine Ski Association takes care of about half of thar amount, but that still leaves a fair chunk of change for the’ par nts or the ath" lete to pay.’ : He’s about $10,000 shy. ‘ “Trevor: had an carly-December deadline to" pay the remainder, but B.C. Alpine extended that - deadline until. May, which means Trevor has a lit- de bit longer to'secure the funds. The last thing we're going to do is cut a kid ”. said: B Goldsmid, al B.C. Alpine. The organization. counts-about $350, 000 i in: annial ‘sponsorship: revenu ostly_used ‘to “help ‘cut rave! costs ~~ in its coffers, but athletes. is soliciting businesses for's pport in: Sovering his training « costs. “4 wwhich may lead them to give those careers up.” ; oid: It sounds something like a ransom nore: pay $10,000 or give up skiing. But the guy holding the gun has no choice. “Duc to the nature of the sport and the kin of training and competing that has to take place, these kinds . of ‘costs have to, (occur),” said Goldsmid. “The worst thing we could do was ~ charge him less and give him a substandard pro- PITRE, GRAY LEND A HAND North Shore products Sherri Pitre and Alana Gray pitched _ in with five assists to help lift the NWHL Griffins over the Coquitlam Rockets 10-1 at Queens Park Arana Saturday night. Gray helped set up a pair of goals in the second and‘ third periods while Pitre’s three assists came in the fast two frames. The team now sits at 13-4-0 overall. gram. If they make it, fine. and if they don’t, fine, “ but it’s our obligation to ensure we do that.” . - David Bruce, Trevor’s dad, said that the costs - - were not prohibitive when his son was coming ‘up through the Nancy Greene and juvenile pro-' grams, but once he joined B.C. Alpine four years : : ago, the pricetag took a tremendous jump. *: c= Add ,to. that the ‘cost’ of Trevor's brother’ 4 “Darren, who is also making his way through the provincial ski ranks, and it adds up to’a hefty _:_ financial commitment for the parents. ~ “It’s a huge commitment to make, especially when it goes on year after year,” said Trevor’s mom, Diane Watson. . °- : “The thing that really roubles me is that I - make a reasonable income and if we're struggling, ‘as much as we are it becomes very elitist and kids that don’t have a reasonable income just don’t get into skiing at all,” said Watson, a psychiatrist at Vancouver General Hospital. “I would cer “tainly like to sec some ‘mechanism where kids - : that have talent are supported.” * The provincial government in Quebec recent- ly introduced : :a refundable tax credit of up to $4,000 for top-level athletes. The Quebec 2000- 2001 budget summary clearly, echoes Trevor's oe current situation: ; : . ..even ‘taking. into account the assistance a giv n them by ernments and sports orgzniza tions, these at expenses “attributable ‘to ‘their. sports careers, 2¢ 8 These mx credits: are. a great: idea,” Goldsmid. ink it would have a pos impact ‘on tor g-term athlete-development in af rts, because if you can get five or six thousand dollars in tax credits and keep your kid-in ‘the sport for half the price then those decisions area lot easier to make.” — -: Like: Watson, David ‘worries ; that a “tack ‘of funding will hamper talented athletes from mak- ing an international 1 name for themselves and the country. “ “The kids we send to the Olympics to repre- “Sent our country are the best of those who can afford to make it that far.”. If Trevor is forced to give. up his ‘professional hopes, the Argyle secondary alumnus still has his “bases covered. Eazlier this spring he was accepted -- “into the engineering programs at, both UBC and . ‘UVic.: “For a while eatlier this spring it didn’t look like Td: di be: able to, afford (to ‘tain with the, ¢tes cannot easily shoulder all the’ -they could GROUSE Mountain product Trevor Bruce, ia, was ranked first in his: age division. for downhit siding in in both Canada ¢ and North America, last yea ; ‘national - ‘dex ‘lopment . team): and Yay go. to School,” said Trevor. *.: : David said he’s s proud that his son n has kept his. “2 options open, but is still upset that Trevor might": = have to face giving up his dream of representing : : Canada on the international ski circuit:* “He has options, because hie’s done well j in: school and‘ he can go to: university. That's his; ; plan, eventually, but it bothers me that me and mother are unable to do it more comfortably. _ We have two oth children and you get spread a “bit thin.” ‘Trevor aj proached Grouse Mountain to see if ot : ‘Belp him‘out.with' funding, but szid-.; ‘he was turned down. Watson said she finds that’, surprising, seeing a3 ‘Trevor's success reflects well on the mountain that:he: has ‘raced for's since he" ty : :“He’s really ‘promoted Grouse. He’s the only ‘Kid at the moment that’s racing at the higher lev- ‘els that came .from Grouse.-:It’ really seemed unfortunate, seeing thet they're putting ‘som - moncy into lifts and so on Between renovaticns to the’ chalet improv ments to the snowmaking ip cand the addition of a high-speed quad. chair lift, Grouse _is spending $3.6 million on the hill 'this season ‘Trevor said he was also surprised that G LSE. ‘refused to give him a helping hand _: “Whenever. I. race’. they“ always : announce ‘Trevor Bruce, from Grouse Mountain’ on the loudspeaker. It’s like free advertising.” -. ~ing a specific “The! mountain: does support racer: dev lop: ment through its sponsorship of the Tyee Ski and uial_commitm Grouse Mountain president and general man: ger Stuart McLaughlin said that he never dire ly y received a ‘request for funding fron: ‘Trevor T feel bad. that -Trevor. feels .he® has’ been declined something, buz I don’t recall ever ha and there hav ‘© see.my,T: : For the m eantime; Goldsmiid a and B. uest from any individual athlete,