EBS LEAL ESS BIE OS TNT SE SERIES aa ph ES CEE NLS ER ERIE EE BIS AIRES JUNIOR FOOTBALL NEWS photo Mike Wakelleld 12-YEAR-OLD Nicklaus Berg of the North Shore Browns is propped up on one side and pulled down on the other on the way to victory. He and his teammates beat the North Shore Cowboys 32-0 at Norgate Park Sunday. |Commitment } ‘to basketball 13 - Wednesday, October 2. More Sports Inside THE B.C. Lions and the North Shore's Gordon Stur- tridge Junior Football league were both barn in 1954; and both are still: going strong. While success in the former is due in large part to big league monies and promotion, success in the fatter is due to volunteer help. Thousands of boys have learned through the GSL the mental disciplines, the leader- ship skills and the fun to be gained from playing football. The North Shore Football League adopted the name of ’ Gordon Sturtridge in 1958 after the tragic death of Stur- tridge and several other members of that year’s CFL all-star team in an airplane crash in November, 1955. Sturtridge was born in Win- nipeg where he played football! until he was drafted by the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders, He took great interest in in- structing young players in his chosen sport and donated a lot of spare time to that instruction. The GSL is one of the oldest and largest minor football leagues in Canada, involving 350 boys on 17 teams. Perhaps the league’s most unique feature is the method by which its divisions are determined: a combination of players’ weight and age. 3, 1985 - North Shore News the league consists of sis divisions from no-contact Flag Football for girls and boys, ages six to 10, 88 Ibs. and under, to full contact tier wo metro league teams for boys aged 17 to 21. The various age-weight divi- sions help ensure that if the skinny kid on the block tries out for footbail, he will not be tossed into the same gladiato- rial sing as more muscular heavyweights of the same age. This provides an opportuni- ty for those boys to try the sport, who might not other- wise make their local high school team. The league's success, again, rests on the shoulders of its many volunteers: coaches, equipment managers, league officials, referees, linesmen and mothers. No referee has ever been paid by the GSL. They show up every Sunday, rain or shine, for the love of the game and a desire to share with youngsters their knowledge of the rules and disciplines of football. So next Sunday, if you feel like a litle fresh air and want to watch some entertaining football, drop down to Norgate Park 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and watch a nice bunch of kids learning and having fun in a league that may not have the profile of the B.C. Lions, but has, instead, the basic joys of the same game first and foremost. Gordon Sturtridge League standings STANDINGS AS OF OCHOBER 20 FLAG 2 Pt, 12 i 6 6 0 4 Rochets Dolphins Huskies Steelers Panthers Rams wou wa MINOR Browns Lions Spartans Cowboys JR. SANTAM Chargers Vikings Stamps Eskimos AWM Awe Show DAAW nRhwo wean NORTH V/AN’S PEDERSEN NETS ‘WINK’ AWARD NORTH Vancouver's Ed Pedersen and Vancouver's Darlene Currie will be awarded this year’s “'Wink’’ Awards for their long term contribution to basketball. The award is in honor of the late g.A. **Wink’’ Willox, one of 8B.C.,’s foremost contributors to basketball in the province. National basketball team members Dubbie Huband of Vancouver and Phil Ohl of Courtenay have been named Basketball B.C. 1984-85 Senior Players of the Year. Michelle Ring of Ab- bostsford was named Junior Female Player, while Geoff McKay of Penticton and Steve Taylor of Richmond share honours as Junior Male Players of last season. These awards will be pres- ented at the upcoming Pro- vincial Coaching Clinic, Oc- tober 18 and 19 at Simon Fraser University. In addition, Basketball B.C.’s Award for Coaching Excellence .°"' be presented to BiH) Disbic. of Rich- mond, Rich Chambers of Coquitlam (Centennial High) and Len Cox of Pen- ticton. Hugh Marshall, retiring in June of 1986 from Van- couver’s John Oliver High School, will receive a special merit award for his years of outstanding service to basketball. University of Victoria coaches Kathy Shields and Ken Shields will receive their awards for coaching ex- cellence at the Penticton Coaching Clinic, October 25 and 26. Jim Moore of Duncan has been named recipient of the Whistle Award for Ex- cellence in Officiating to be presented October 18 and 19 at the Annual Basketball Rules Clinic.