WHO TO CALL:

Sports Editor

A.P. McCredie

985-2131 (113)

CURLING... A mixed curl-
ing league at the Lonsdale
recreation centre began it’s
winter season recently at the
North Vancouver facility.

The league is open to sin-
gles. couples or full rinks,
and meets on Tuesditys.
Wednesdays, or Fridays from
6:45 to 8:45 p.in.

Also, a fun recreational
business league mects every
Friday from 12:30 to 2:30
p.m. Teams of four play one
another in a social setting
during this two hour league,
with its early afternoon time-
slot making it ideal for shift
workers.

For registration informa-
tion, or for more details about
the curling opportunities at
the Lonsdale recreation cen-
tre, call Joyce Parkin at 987-
PLAY (7529).

FIGURE SKATING...
North Shore Winter Club
skaters Kristine Lyons and
Mark Vandekerkhove won
silver medals at the recent
Saskatoon First Invitational
Competition.

Vandekerkhove, 15, was
second in the junior men’s
event, while Lyons, also 15,
was the pre-novice ladies’
tunner-up. In addition,
NSWC skater Keyla Ohs
placed fifth in senior ladies’
competition, and Heather
Everitt was seventh in the
junior ladies’ competition.

The neat test for these and
other North Shore skaters is
the Coast Skate Off
Competition in Richmond
from Oct. 23 tu 30, The com-
petition is the next step
towards qualifying for the
1995 Canadian Chaimpion-
ships, taking place in Halifax
in the new year.

SKI PATROL... The
Canadian Ski Patrol System
is looking for volunteers to
become a part of their
nation-wide urganization.

The group is looking for
people with a desire to ski,
an interest in first aid, will-
ingness to commit time as a
volunteer and are over the
age of 19.

The Ski Patrol offers
training in first aid,
avalanche, search and res-
cue, toboggan handling, lift
evacuation and accident pre-
vention.

If you are interested in
becoming a volunteer, call
526-2777.

SOFTBALL... North
Vancouver's Darcy
Kosterewa is one of 21
players who wil! compete
for a spot on the Team B.C.
softball team that will com-
pete in the 1995 Canada
Games.

The 14-year-old phenom
is the only player from the
North Shore to have sur-
vived the latest round of
cuts.

In addition to her fast-
pitch prowess, Kosterewa
won a gold medal in provin-
cial volleyball action, and
Silvers in provincial and
Wester Canadian softball
competitions this year.

ie
Extent Seka

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

WEST VAN quarterback Steven Hodges (left) gets a block from teammate Howard Fair (second from right) as Sentinel Spartan
Rob Meier tries to run down the Highlander pivot. West Van won the game 32-22, in what was one of the most entertaining
North Shore high schoo! football! games of the year. The Spartans take on Centennial! this Friday, while the Highlanders face

Windsor.

Time has come to blow the whistle and resume play

CUT OFF my hair. Revoke
my hiking and beach privi-
leges. Deny me access to my
favorite cafe. Force me to
live on bread and water.
Kick me off the North
Shore. But for pity’s sake,
don’t take away the hockey
season.

Over the years being a hockey
fan has had its challenges,

1 was born ona Thursday so I
could ready myself for Saturday’s
Hockey Night In Canada: in grade
school I secretly wired myself for
sound so I could hear a 1972
Canada versus Russia game
instead of a geography lesson; dur-
ing high school Saturday night
dates and parties were O-U-T
unless they included access to the
game; when university studies took
me overseas, loyal friends phoned
me with game results (one ring —
loss, two rings —— a win), and I still
plan my social agenda around the
best thing going — NHL hockey.

I'm sure many hockey-pool
sharks are missing the game too.

But I'm a purist. | miss hard-
but-clean body checks, awesome
breakaways and penalty shots. |
miss well-executed drop-passes
and stand-on-your-head goalies
making impossible saves, [ niiss

Ann
Hamilton

VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS

the you-just-can't-believe-it wins,
and the thrill of fast, artful, compe-
tition that typifies Stanley Cup
play.

No two games are the same. No
minute in hockey is like the next.

Oh sure, boring games exist.
but even these one-sided battles
have their merit — we become
self-appointed sports professors,
analyzing plays and players and
putting forth hypotheses on what
must be done to score improve-
ment.

There may be some who don’t
understand my let’s-get-back-to-
the-game plea. They are the jaded,
labeling the owners manipulative
and the players greedy. I call
reaching for the biggest piece of
pie human nature.

Still, Pm sure there are count-
Jess fans who, while holding their
collective breath for a hockey-
start, would fully agree that
Canada without hockey is like the
West Coast without mountains and
ocean,

Think about it. If the season is
actually cancelled there goes a
hockey buff's last chance to visit
historic Boston “Gaaaden” before
it meets the wrecking ball.

So let’s not waste time arguing
about whether or not the game will
suffer due to the current labor dis-
pute. Of course there are plenty of
negative ramifications that may
result from a stoppage — fan
enthusiasm may droop, smil]-mar-
ket teams may sink, TV contracts
could suffer, merchandise sales
may wane.

But fans will never shed their
love of the game,

Canadians, from coast to coast
wear hockey like they do clothes:
is a part of their lives.

We can debate the who's-right
issue until we're blue in the face,
The owners want a salary cap. the

players don’t. It’s all about con-
trolling the future of hockey,
which is on the verge of exploding
into bigger business than anyone
from Conn Smythe to Bruce
McNall could have ever imagined.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that
what marketing did for NBA bas-
ketball could be repeated and its
success eclipsed by “our game”.

Hockey legend Francis
Michael “King” Clancy once told
me that it is unwise to judge some-
one’s character until you've
stepped into his or her skates. {am
neither owner, nor player, so I'll
not presume to put forth a legal
remedy to the situation.

But from where ['m standing in
my laced-up fan skates I'll say
this: It is inevitable that at some
point the NHL and the NHLPA
will reconcile themselves to an
agreement that will get players
back on the ice, fans back in their
stats, owners selling the game,
officials blowing their whistles,
broadcasters at their mikes, writers
scripting game reviews, and con-
cession people manning the coun-
ters and aisles.

So, powers-that-be, do what
you must. Fans know they'll be
picking up the tab anyway.

Blow the whistle and drop the
puck. Please.

rr cr rn RR gr enn