1) - Wednesday, February 10. 198K - North Store News Residents recali former Olympic games IN 1968, Gerry Rinaldi was in Crenobie, France, skiing in the Winter Olympics. Starting Feb. 13 , he will be in Calgary watching the 1988 Winter Olympics. To tell you the truth...the feel- ings I'm getting this time around are more meaningful than when I was competing,’’ says North Van- couver’s Rinaldi, 42, an alpine skier who finished the games in 19th place. “Then, it was just another race on the World Cup circuit.”’ In 1932, West Vancouver’s Ned Pratt was down in Los Angeles, competing in the Olympics there. When he came back, he had a bronze medal around his neck. ‘We were pretty young,’’ remembers rower Pratt, now 76, “The people we were racing against had raced in previous Olympics. They were pretty cagey.’’ At.20 years old, he was the youngest. competitor in the 1932 games, a far cry from the 13- and 14-year-old athletes that grace the Olympic Games today. “ Justtwo.of many North Shore » Olympians, ” Rinaldi’ and SKIER Gerry Rinaldi...‘‘the feel- ings I'm getting this time around are more meaningful than when I was competing.”” Pratt have both strived to live up to the Olympic dream of being the best in the world. Some local Olympians competed in the glow of international atten- tion — Karen Magnussen to name one; others competed in relative basketbail Roy FORMER Canadian squad member Williams...“‘We had only a few- practice sessions as a feam...”’ anonymity, marking healthy plac- ings in the top 20 athletes in their sport. All lived the Olympic dream. “The games are bigger and bet- ter,’”? is how: silver medalist By STEPHEN BARR News Reporter Magnussen, 35, describes the games now and when she was competing at Sapporo, Japan, in 1972. (But) there aren’t) many Eastern Bloc countries or Western countries that have competitors who are by old standards ‘true amateurs,’’’ she observes. Roy Williams and the Canadian basketball squad came close to the final four in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland, when they lost by one point to world champion Argen- tina and by two points to world runner-up Brazil in Olympic play. “We had only a few practice sessions as a team before departing from) Montreal for Fintand,"” recalls the North Shore’s Williams, 60. ‘Today, Canadas has a na- tional team that plays every year in international competition so the opportunity to perfect team skills has been enhanced tremendously."" Since these former Olympians have strived for gold, the games have changed with the times. Drug tests, sports psychologists and an THE SPORT of curling will be a demonstration sport at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, and North Vancouver’s Linda Moore will be one of the competitors. Played between two teams, or rinks, of four players each, team members throw two stones, or rocks, down the ice, starting from the hack and directing the stone to the house — a 12-foot-diameter scoring area — some 125 feet away. There are eight rocks per team, 16 per end or inning. A geme is usually 10 ends. After each end, the score is determined: The team with the rock closest to the centre of the house scores one point, and one additional point for every rock nearer the centre than the nearest opponent’s rock. The team with the highest score at game’s end wins. Each stone is delivered with a right or Jeft twist and the rock will curl in the direction of-the twist. Ice conditions vary, and affect ‘the amount of curl and the delivery effort needed to get the rock to stop in or in front of the scoring area or remove an opponent’s rock. The players’ specific jobs: The skip holds the broom as a target for shots by the other three players, and is team strategist, and must study the ice, judge the amount of ice curl and speed, select the shots, usually throwing the Jast two shots in the end. The third (or vice skip) throws two rocks per end, holds the broom for the skip, and assists the skip with game Strategy. The se- cond and fead throw two rocks each per end, and are the primary entourage of various support staff now accompany many countries’ teams on their medal bids. Back when Rinaldi and fellow North Shore skier Judi Leinweber-MecIntosh, now 37, were in the Olympics there was no such help from sports psychologists. “We all talked about it (sports psychology), but we were sort of Icft to our own devices then to get ourselves psyched up,’” remembers Rinaldi. Says Leinweber-McIntosh: “We need the Olympics. They are an example of how the world can cooperate at something posi- tive...can put aside differences.” NORTH Shore Winter Club's Linda Moore...will play at Winter Games. sweepers, All four players are involved in every shot, with one shoating, one holding the broom and two sweep- ing. NORTH Shore skier Judi Leinwebes-Mclntosh...no help from sports psychologists. NEWS photo Miko Wakefield Strategy includes shot selection. Basic shots are the draw — rock stops in the scoring area — and guard ~— rock stops'‘in front of a rock in scoring position and guards the draw — and the take-out — when a rock removes an oppo- nent’s stone from play. Players sweep to make the rock travel farther and straighter — with less’ curl. Sweeping can in- crease the distance of a guard or draw by 10 feet or more, but the key is vigor. Specialized equipment includes brooms or brushes, granite stones and curling shoes with a delivery- aiding slider. Good fitness is re- quired because of the vigorous sweeping over the two-hour game, often two or three games per day during a competition. The toughest part of the game is the mental toughness needed as the pressure builds during a com- petitive game. A game is often won or Jost on the last shot.