News photo Martin Mitlerchip BIG country, small girl! Ten year old Kiara Rich of North Vancouver joined the Vancouver Grizzlies for a day when her name was drawn in a competition. She sat courtside with Bryant Reeves and the rest of the team. The Martin Milterchip Contributing Writer miller@nsnews.com “GRIZZLIES newest team member is not even four feet tall!!!” - blared the Sears press release. In fact, Kiara Rich appears close to the five-foot mark when we catch up to her Sunday some two hours before the Grizzlies take on the top- ranked Houston Rockets. Either way she will still be looking up to the rest of her “team for a day.” littlest Grizz about the prospect of sitting courtside right behind the Grizzlies bench and helping out at the warm-up by retriev- ing rebounds. She hopes the Grizz will win but just being here is spe- cial cnough. “I got a call and it was like ‘Whoo-hoo,”” she says with a shy grin. Rich was one of thousands to fill out a ballot arc Lower Mainland Sears locations. Asked why she would like to be a Grizzlies rookie for a day she wrote: “T love the Grizzlies. “I would really like to win. “It would be GREAT! They’re cool and and exciting.” To make sure the organizers could reach her ifher name was picked, she listed Westover cle- mentary as her daytime tele- phone number. With more than an hour and a half to go to tipoff, Rich is on the court kitted out in a uniform top bearing the name and number of the Grizzlies’ most exciting player, Shareef Abdur- Rahim. She barely gets time to field a ball before a VTV cameraman grabs her and asks her to record the intro to the sports segment on the 6 p.m. newscast. Obviously nervous, Rich swallows her jitters and has it ly of all astray dog che family was look- ing after bit her finger. She’s afraid it may interfere with her ability to shoot baskets for charity during a later time out. Fortunately, it’s the mascot Super-Grizz who takes the shots as Rich feeds him the ball. He goes three for six in the one minute allowed and raises $300 for the Boys and Girls Fund. Rich relates she was sail ner- vous dishing out the assists but “not as nervous as if] had been the one shooting.” Asked about her favorite part of the evening, Rich pro- vides a simple answer: “The end, when we won.” ne totes TO PD aoe tes) wR tee ~ Oa Sunday, December 21, 1997 — North Shore News - 41 Protect yourseli Hire an experienced ICBC Claims Lawyer JOHN NOBLE 669-9755 Free House Cails In the Dundarave Centre. Drop in and say Hello. Caroiynne & Molly Otto & Assoc. Insurance 2440 Marine Drive, West Vancouver 922-8932 We're Closed for Christmas %a-- Closing early Dec. 24 2:06pm ing Dec. 27 at 9:30 Closed Sunday, Dec. 28 Worth Vancouver City Library 121 West 14th St., North Van. 960-0561 The 10-year-old North Vancouver girl is the first win- ner of Sears’ Grizzlies Rookie contest and is nervously excited “My dad used to get free tickets but now he doesn’t and I'd love to go to another game. down pat on the second take. Then it’s back to fielding rebounds with her sore hand —- aK E WELCOME YOU TO OUR CHRISTMAS SERVICES St. Clement’s 3400 Institute Road, N. Vancouver 988-4418 Rev. 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