SportsXpress Kitchener/Waterloo Jan/Feb 2013 by SportsXpress

February 2013

Volume 6 Issue 1

CHICOPEE’S

KELLY VANDERBEEK RETIRES

CLAX COMING TO KITCHENER

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FEBRUARY 2013

Waterloo & Area Edition

06 editor’snote Welcome to SportsXpress, a magazine all about local sports — the players, teams, families, volunteers and fans. We publish real life stories on the full range of community sports and include all ages and skill levels. Every fan, parent, and sports enthusiast can participate by sharing their experiences with other fans. We want you to make SportsXpress your magazine and www.SportsXpress.ca your website, by sending in your comments, story ideas, opinions, articles and photos. Get in the game with us and be connected with your local community sports! Give us a call at (519) 635-4455 or email Catrine at Cat@SportsXpress.ca ~ from the SportsXpress team

sportsfiles

behindthebench

Informative articles on sports health and fitness.

12 | A game-changing conference

sports@school

Highlighting articles on all school sports and athletes.

14 | PA Days with Olympians 27 | Think Pink raises over 28k 30 | Laurier names new football coach

sportshistory

In depth articles on some of the sport’s most memorable moments, athletes and teams.

06 | Play like a girl

teamprofiles

Profiling community sports in words and photographs.

26 | Waterloo Synchro 26 | Co-Edge–fun for adults

fromthesidelines

Fans, parents and sports groups share their opinions and experiences.

22 | Who’s behind the shield?

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FEBRUARY 2013 Check out our website at www.WaterlooSportsXpress.ca PUBLISHER

Catrine Klein Cat@SportsXpress.ca 519–635–4455 Chad MacAulay ChadM@CambridgeSportsXpress.ca

EDITOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Ryan Metivier Britt Cobean

CONTRIBUTORS

CLAX, KW Synchro Club, Rachel Klein, TCSC, Erika Gmeindl, Michelle Baril, Rolland Cyr, KSA, SHI, Brendan Zwambag, Ryan Metivier, Haleigh Japp, Carey Brooks, Co-Edge Sports League, Waterloo Warriors, Taffin Sekulin, TopSpin Table Tennis, WLU, slotsartstudio.com, SportsXpress Team and community sports fans.

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Your Community Sports Report

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sportsfiles

Clax finds its way to Kitchener The Pioneers will start with a Junior Clax program Submitted by CLAX The Canadian Lacrosse League is coming to Kitchener and its surrounding lacrosse communities in the form of a Junior Clax program called the Kitchener Pioneers. Clax commissioner Paul St. John hopes the launch of the Pioneers Junior Clax program is the next step in securing a pro Clax franchise for Kitchener. “As Clax heads into its second season

renovating and Waterloo Memorial being booked. We think with more time to prepare a team can be in Kitchener as early as the 2014 season.” Clax is an ‘old school’ brand of lacrosse with players encouraged to play both ends of the floor. The games feature lots of goals, precise passing, great saves, hard hits and the odd tussle. Clax tickets are priced to be family friendly with single tickets costing $12 for adults and $8 for children/+60 adults/students. Family packs of 4 tickets cost $30. NLL Hall of Famer Jim Veltman

we have expanded to seven franchises and our eyes are still set on Kitchener joining us in the near future. What we thought we would do is start the process with a Kitchener Junior Clax program for young lacrosse players ages seven to 21 years old. We have six age groups and registration is still open for players from Kitchener, Cambridge, Fergus, etc to join. There is no resident boundary on playing in Junior Clax, as our league was formed to assist in the growth of lacrosse by keeping players playing in the winter months and to get them ready for their summer OLA teams.” “Will we see a Clax franchise in Kitchener soon,” deputy commissioner Jim Veltman says. “We were close in year one as there is some great lacrosse people here in the area but venues have been a big challenge with the Aud

Clax January Schedule Saturday 12 Sunday 13 Saturday 19 Sunday 20 Friday 25 Saturday 26 Saturday 26 Sunday 27

Ohsweken Demons at Iroquois Ironmen Durham TurfDogs at Toronto Shooting Stars Brampton Inferno at Ohsweken Demons Niagara Lock Monsters at Iroquois Ironmen Ohsweken Demons at Brampton Inferno Barrie Blizzard at Ohsweken Demons Niagara Lock Monsters at Brampton Inferno Toronto Shooting Stars at Durham TurfDogs

Hey aspiring lacrosse players. It’s Jim Veltman here. How would you like to be a Junior Kitchener Pioneer playing against other Junior Clax programs in Toronto, Brampton, Durham, and Barrie. Players ages 7-21 can sign up in six different age groups from tyke to junior/prospects and will play a 14 game schedule in some cool rinks like the Mattamy Athletic Centre (formerly Maple Leaf Gardens), Brampton Powerade Centre, Oshawa GM Centre and the Barrie Molson Centre. Kitchener home games are at Queensmount Arena. Season operates from January 25 to April 7. Visit www. canadianlacrosseleague.ca for more information. I look forward to seeing you play!

1pm Iroquois Lacrosse Arena 2pm Mattamy Athletic Centre 1pm Iroquois Lacrosse Arena 2pm Iroquois Lacrosse Arena 8pm Powerade Centre 1pm Iroquois Lacrosse Arena 2pm Powerade Centre 2pm Oshawa GM Centre

Single game tickets are $12 adults, $8 children/adults +60/students. Family passes $30 (2 adults and 2 children). Season Tickets are $50 adults and $35 children/adults +60/students. Tickets available through www.ticketpro.ca and www.canadianlacrosseleague.ca.

For the complete 2013 Clax schedule please visit www.canadianlacrosseleague.ca

About: Kitchener Pioneers: Team Leader Mark Schuetzkowski can be contacted at mark.schuetzkowski@jrclax.ca. About: Canadian Lacrosse League (nicknamed ‘Clax’, pronounced C-Lax). Clax is a semi pro 7 franchise lacrosse league. The Clax season operates from January 12th, 2013 to April 21st, 2013. Full details about Clax are available at www.canadianlacrosseleague.ca. Clax Commissioner Paul St. John, a longtime Ontario Lacrosse Association member can be contacted at 647.823.9243 or pstjohn@clax.ca. Deputy Commissioner is former Toronto Rock Captain and NLL Hall of Famer Jim Veltman, Jim can be contacted at jveltman@clax.ca.

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sportshistory

Play like a girl Submitted by the KW Synchro Club and Rachel Klein

A long road… The participation of women in sport has come a long way since the ancient Olympic Games, in which only men were allowed to compete. The first modern Olympics to allow women to participate were the 1900 Games in Paris (though there were only two sports for female athletes). Since then women have broken through numerous barriers; as of the 2012 London Games, with the introduction of women’s boxing, every sport now has female representation. London also set another record–as the first Games in which every single National Olympic Committee allowed female athletes to compete.

Staying Positive Young girls today face more challenges as a result of negative media exposure than any previous generation. Girls are faced daily with images, videos, and advertisements that tell them their value lies solely in their appearance. The dissatisfaction created by advertisements is leading to increasing numbers of young girls with serious health problems, from depression and eating disorders to chronic low self-esteem and body-image issues. Sport can be a powerful tool to combat these trends. The Women’s Sports Foundation shows that involve-

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ment in sport has a huge impact on girls’ behaviour, and there’s mountains of information touting the physical benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

The KW Synchro Club–getting girls in the pool As a city-affiliated minor sports group, one of the KW Synchro’s Club’s biggest goals is to continue to grow the number of girls involved in sport. Synchronized swimming is traditionally (though not exclusively) practiced by female athletes, and unlike many other female sports, it is often coached by women at the highest levels of competition. While this graceful sport may look easy to spectators, top athletes are among the fittest in any discipline. Synchro swimmers must have very high endurance; precision, strength and speed are crucial, and through it all they have to both hold their breath for extended periods of time, and do it all with a smile. The KW Synchro Club is doing its part to get more girls involved in athletics. With only a handful of swimmers a few years ago, the club has expanded to include over 130 swimmers from the Kitchener-Waterloo area. These athletes participate at all levels of sport–from fun, play-based recreational classes, to adult fitness classes, right up to high-

Three of KW's national level athletes support one another and cheer

level national level programs, there is a great sense of community among the girls of KW. Another thing that makes synchronized swimming and KW Synchro unique is the team of coaches helping these swimmers learn and grow. With over 20 coaches (all of them female), KW Synchro has one of the largest coaching staffs of any club. About 80 per cent of these coaches are NCCP certified level 1 & 2, with several coaches also certified level 3. Included on the coaching team is a former Team Canada synchro swimmer, and a Canadian Olympic medalist. These young women continue to be excellent role models for swimmers as they pursue their own goals in life, and every season KW Synchro is working to bring more girls to this fun and challenging sport, with the main goal of keeping as many members of our community active and healthy as possible. For the full story go online to: www.waterloosportsxpress.ca

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5th annual Turkey Cup By Paul Todoroff, T.C.S.C. will have a grand total in weight for what we brought in that night very soon. This year’s winners from that night are: • Luis Arantes for Top Male Player • Lilian Pelerigo for Top Female Player • Out Of The Cold Raffle Winners: Kevin Vantyghem, Katie Wilson Josh Mortaley • Food Bank Raffle Winner: Calvin Irwin Congratulations to our winners and a big thank you to all for coming out and supporting us. I look forward seeing you again next and also to your continued support. T.C.S.C. is also still looking for players to fill out some rosters to play in this year’s coming outdoor season. Contact Paul Todoroff for more info and to sign up at: thekid882002@yahoo.ca. For more photos from the Turkey Cup go online to: www.waterloosportsxpress.ca

On Friday, December 28, out at the CORE Lifestyle and Recreation Complex in Kitchener, T.C.S.C. held its annual indoor

soccer game. This year we dubbed it the Turkey Cup and we had a great response to it. In previous years we have held this event to 10 of us and this year we had that number grow to 64. With that many players involved we were able to reserve all the fields at CORE for a solid three hours of soccer. With each team getting six games, and the first game starting at 7 p.m. and the last one starting at 9:30 p.m., we saw a lot of red faces and tired bodies walking between the fields that night. But all in all it was a great night for not only the players, but also for the Out of Cold program, which we were raising donations of used clothing for. Throughout January we will be distributing Turkey Cup Champions Drew, Adam, Jeff, Brett, the clothes to the shelters and Declan, Heidi, Annette & Sarah J

Boxing: the workout for you By Erika Gmeindl, personal trainer and therapeutic exercise specialist from Boxing by Syd It was only 18 months ago that Tiiu Vanwinckle never thought she would be entering the ring with Syd “The Jewel” Vanderpool. Tiiu is a true testimony to the mental, physical and social development that boxing has to offer everyone. Tiiu, a 43 year old 285-pound woman, drove past Boxing by Syd Vanderpool a few times before she struck up the nerve to come in. After all she had a stuck hip, a leg infection that challenged her with chronic pain, and a compromised immune system she’s developed from an inflammatory autoimmune disease. Tiiu had limitations, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to start her journey towards fitness and boxing. With the goal in mind of attending fitness classes, and one day having a fight, Tiiu trained one-on-one twice a Tiiu Vanwinckle put in the week to increase flexibility in work and achieved her goal her legs, improve her cardioof one day stepping into the vascular capacity, and learn ring with Syd Vanderpool.

boxing technique. “They helped me find a way of working out that was beneficial, but wouldn’t hurt me anymore,” she said. As the months went on Tiiu became more mobile and ablebodied. It was a year after she first started that she was able to join fitness boxing classes, and only a month after that that she decided to begin sparring. It was at this time that Tiiu decided she wanted to go three rounds with world champion boxer Syd “The Jewel” Vanderpool. To reach her goal Tiiu increased her time in the gym, coming almost every day to fit in a workout. She also began one-onone training with Syd to further improve her boxing technique in the ring. On November 24, 2012 Tiiu fought Syd Vanderpool at the Christmas Crunch open house put on by Boxing by Syd Vanderpool. With a packed gym and boisterous crowd, Tiiu fought three full rounds with “The Jewel”–triumphantly achieving her goal. When asked to reflect on what she’s gained out of her experience at Boxing by Syd Vanderpool, Tiiu had a lot to say. “Aside from feeling more comfortable with myself physically, I’ve found a comfortable setting to work out in, in a loving environment.” For more info contact: erika@boxingbysyd.com and for the full story go online to www.waterloosportsxpress.ca

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sportsfiles

It all started at Chicopee By SportsXpress Team. Photos by Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort On Saturday January 12, Kelly Vanderbeek, one of Canada’s all-time greatest skiers, announced her retirement from the sport during a press conference at Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort. Vanderbeek enjoyed a 12-year career in downhill and super-G skiing and won numerous awards along the way, including being a two-time World Junior Medalist in 2001-02, claiming a third place finish in the Lake Louise World Cup in 2006, and a second place finish in the St. Anton World Cup in 2008. Vanderbeek was born in Kitchener and started her career right here on the hills of Chicopee and is grateful for all the help she received early on and throughout her career. “To say I have been extremely lucky in my life would simply be an understatement,” she said. “Today my friends, family, old teachers and coaches, KVR, Chicopee Racers, and so many others helped me celebrate the beginning of my life after competitive sport.” After making the announcement, she then hit the slopes with Team KVR and loads of young Chicopee Ski Club racers. An Olympic hopefully in Vancouver, Vanderbeek’s career was cut short after a terrible knee injury during a World Cup event in France in 2009. The injury

Kelly Vanderbeek

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forced her to pull out of the Vancouver Olympics and set her sights on Sochi 2014. However, after extensive rehab and training, her knee just wasn’t where she wanted it to be to make a serious goldmedal push at next year’s Olympics. “Although today I announced my retirement from competitive sport, I feel I am leaving this sport richer than I have ever been,” she said. “Life doesn’t come with guarantees, but the courage to pursue your dreams will never leave you with less than you started.” Since her injury, Vanderbeek has taken up working as a commentator for CBC, CTV and Sportsnet, and plans to continue to pursue a career in broadcasting and also photography. She has also founded KVR, a K2 racing program for kids, and acts as a keynote and motivational speaker for several events and companies.

1-2-3 & Free Program at Chicopee These programs are designed to offer guests multiple opportunities to experience skiing or snowboarding, at an extremely reasonable rate. Recognizing that one of ten guests who experience skiing and snowboarding for the first time stay with the sport, Chicopee has developed this program to have more people fall in love with the sport and develop this lifelong skill. The first visit includes a one-hour group lesson with a maximum ratio of 1:10 (drop in for this lesson Monday to Saturday at 7 p.m. or on Saturday, Sunday and holidays hourly between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.), all-day beginner centre lift ticket, all-day rental and a $5 food and beverage voucher that may be used in the cafeteria or lounge après ski. Visit number two includes a one-on-one private lesson (must be

Family Fun Nights offer a chance to bring the kids to the slopes. booked in advance and is available hourly Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday hourly from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.), all-day beginner centre lift ticket, all-day rental and a $5 food and beverage. The third visit will include a one-on-one private lesson that now advances to all our runs (must be booked in advance and is available hourly Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday hourly from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.), a full-day all-access lift ticket, all-day rentals and the $5 food and beverage voucher. And finally visit number four is free with a complimentary all-access lift ticket is provided. Participants must be seven years of age and older to participate, and regular rental stipulations apply. All private lessons are based on instructor availability. Please visit us online for further information or a listing of alternative programs and lessons www.discoverchicopee.com.

Family Fun Nights Every Friday night at Chicopee we welcome families to visit us for a night on the slopes. The program has been developed to offer a place for families to come together and enjoy a healthy outdoor activity. A family of four will receive a one hour group lesson at 7 p.m., a valid lift ticket from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on all of our hills, and rental equipment for the evening for a total of $150 plus HST for the family. Families who only require lift tickets may purchase four for $100 plus HST. A family is defined as four, with a maximum of two adults (18+), and two children.

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sportsfiles

KMHA and FACS give some Christmas cheer Story by Michelle Baril The Christmas season is over, but the impact Kitchener Minor Hockey had on numerous individuals in the community will forever be remembered. Several years ago, Family and Children’s Services (FACS) implemented a program called Adopt a Family, which helps less fortu-

“This year 693 families and youth were adopted into the community and 2,570 individuals were helped through the Adopt a Family and the Adopt a Youth programs.” nate members of the community. The program was created to make sure nobody has to go without. “At Christmas, the Adopt a Family program provides gifts, clothing, and food to members of the program,” said Nancy Corbett, development and communications director at FACS. “When we adopt out a family, each family sends out a wish list of what each family member wants and it could range from everything from toys, electronics, clothing, and food,” she added. Last Christmas, Kitchener Minor Hockey joined the Adopt a Family program, and always donates a grocery cart of items. Corbett said the numbers

of people helped have increased since KMHA got on board and they are hoping they will be back next year. This year 693 families and youth were adopted into the community and 2,570 individuals were helped through the Adopt a Family and the Adopt a Youth programs. “It was thanks to Randy, a volunteer driver for getting KMHA on board. He sent out emails and asked them to adopt a family, and they were more than happy to participate,” Corbett said. FACS has developed both the Adopt a Family and Adopt a Youth programs to support those in need, and community members such as Kitchener Minor Hockey have been more than willing to jump on board. Anyone is able to adopt a family or adopt a youth at any time. In order to do so, you can drop by the FACS office, sign up on the website, or contact them by phone or email. There is a wide range of families and youth who need the support and if you choose to help you can decided upon the size of family you wish to assist. All the recipients are confidential and the social worker assigned to each specific family will deliver the gifts. It’s important to remember that it's not only at Christmas time when these families need help. For many of them it’s all year long. During the summer, Family and Children’s Services also runs a camp program and has many other families and youth that require assistance, and it’s through the generous support of donors that all of these programs, including Adopt a Family, remains so successful.

sportsfiles

Bullying just isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cool Story by Rolland Cyr In the press and at our schools we are seeing a rise in the reported cases of bullying. This is a trend that KMHA does not want seeping into hockey here in Kitchener. KMHA believes in providing a strong and healthy place to play, and we believe in educating our players. In the fight to prevent bullying, KMHA will be launching a lecture series that our players will be required to take before playing next season. This education session will focus on teaching our players what bullying looks like, how to handle it, and how to report it if it happens. All of this information will be delivered with a hockey centric approach by trained clinicians. To ensure relevant content of these sessions, the board of directors and a pilot project team of players, participated in

the first session this past fall, to which all reported the session was informative, fun and useful. By partnering with our sport governing bodies and by mandating attendance, the board of directors is leading the way in ensuring a safe and healthy environment for all of its players. Currently, the details of this project are being worked through and will be

released this year on the KMHA website. For now, details regarding our behaviour policy are posted on our website along with the Hockey Canada paper on harassment and bullying. Whether you are a parent or a player, we want you to remember that KMHA is a place for fun, friendship and hockey. Whether it be at the representative or recreational level, we are all deserving of respect and a safe place to play. The mission of Hockey Canada is to lead, develop and promote positive hockey experiences, and to assist in that initiative KMHA will also be releasing pre-game public service announcements to remind spectators about appropriate cheering and behaviour. We look forward to your support in teaching our kids that hockey is a game for life.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whether you are a parent or a player, we want you to remember that KMHA is a place for fun, friendship and hockey.â&#x20AC;?

behindthebench

A game-changing conference Story by Brendan Zwambag Many young athletes will likely, at some point in their life, be presented with an opportunity to play a sport allyear-round. It can be an enticing offer by giving them extra practice and allowing them to play more of the sport that they love, however the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) would like to see kids try other things in the off-season. It was a major concern that CAC raised at their annual coaching conference, held in Montreal, in early November 2012. “What they are finding across all the sports across the world is that athletes are reaching 15 or 16 [years old] and they are dropping out,” said Dean Fergusson, assistant coach of the Kitchener Jr. Rangers MD Rep hockey team. “They are not playing the sport any longer and they are not filling it with any other sports.” Fergusson was one of many coaches from across the country that attended the

three-day event from November 8 to 10. The theme of the conference was “Game Changer”, where the focus was getting athletes to continue playing sports longer. While year-round training for one sport may advance an athlete’s game towards professional sports, it is also likely to turn the athlete off from participating in sport in the future. “Little Johnny might be the greatest 100-metre runner that ever lived but if he doesn’t experience the other things or other sports, then somewhere along the line little Johnny feels like he is missing out and drops sports and feels burnt out afterwards in most scenarios,” said Fergusson. Fergusson believes that year-round training could not only turn that young athlete away from running, but also from participating in post-secondary intramu-

ral sports or recreational men’s leagues for other sports because he will not have the fundamental skills. Fergusson’s advice to avoid burning out young athletes is simple. “Develop your skills in other areas and don’t specialize early,” he said. He believes that that there is not enough awareness about the pitfalls of year-round training for young athletes. “I think we need to educate parents and coaches that year-round (training) isn’t good, but if athletes perform other athletic endeavors or other things…they will enjoy it more because they had a break,” said Fergusson. These are issues that were brought to Fergusson’s attention by the CAC at the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Sportif Coaching Conference. “I would recommend any coach going at least once because you get to talk to other sports, you get to talk to other coaches,” said Fergusson. “I’d like to go again. I thought it was a good place to be and a good place to learn.”

sportsfiles

Keeping it cool– making the ice we skate on Story and photos by Rachel Klein Opening its doors in September 2008, the Activa Sportsplex contains, among other things, two NHL-sized ice surfaces which are used weekly by hundreds of skaters–including the many young athletes of Kitchener Minor Hockey. Keeping these players on the ice each week requires a huge team of people working together to manage and organize players, teams, games, equipment and volunteers. But there is one very important thing that absolutely must be present before any puck gets dropped-ice. Rudi Senger has been in the business of making ice for nearly three decades. Working as the chief operator at the

Activa Sportsplex, he along with a handful of other staff, are responsible for making sure that there is always perfect ice for athletes, from toddlers on the ice for the first time, right up to adult leagues to skate on. In order to do this, there first has to be a solid foundation beneath the ice. The 200 foot-long rink has a huge system of pipes covered in smooth concrete, built with the specifications of the Activa’s main tenant (Kitchener Minor Hockey) in mind. Once this is done, the giant refrigeration system goes to work cooling the floor. Senger and his team then flood the floor with a thin layer of

water. This ice gets painted white, and all lines, face-off circles, and creases are added. Finally, a thicker layer of water is flooded over it all. But the rink isn’t ready to be skated on yet; just like the curve of water in a glass, the ice-rink has downwards bow which must be fixed. Cue the zamboni. The zamboni is fitted with a six-anda-half-foot blade which runs along the bottom of the vehicle. This giant blade scrapes a thin layer off the ice and an auger helps move the accumulated snow up into the giant storage bin at the top (by the way, did you know that the actual shape of the zamboni is a registered continues on next page >>>

trade-mark, just like a Coca-Cola bottle?). The snow then gets dumped into a giant concrete pit in the back of the zamboni bay, where melt-water gets drained into

vehicle in the 1940s, it took a team of workers about an hour to do the job the zamboni does in 10 minutes. “Weather is typically his biggest

(not to mention grumpy) hockey players.” To adapt to this, the arena is airconditioned to control temperature and humidity. But even cold temperatures in the winter can be a problem, since very cold ice can be too brittle and crack. The ice staff depend on the machinery to run without a hitch in order to keep the ice in perfect skating condition–and when something goes wrong, Senger and his team have to scramble to fix it. In nearly 30 years, he says that 99 per cent of problems with the ice are a result of machinery gone haywire, so he is used to dealing with this constant possibility. Luckily people like Senger are always there, in every arena that kids play hockey–working tirelessly to keep our facilities running smoothly. It would be pretty difficult to enjoy a game of hockey without the ice.

“The 200 foot-long rink has a huge system of pipes covered in smooth concrete, built with the specifications of the Activa’s main tenant (Kitchener Minor Hockey) in mind. Once this is done, the giant refrigeration system goes to work cooling the floor.” the sewer. The bottom of the zamboni contains almost 800 litres of water, and in order to make perfect ice, the machine has to put down exactly as much water needed to replace the ice scraped off, so that the thickness always remains the same (about 1.5 inches). So how does Senger know if the ice is the proper thickness? Well the answer is pretty simple: no high-tech laser measurements are needed, just a hand-held drill and a log book. Ice maintenance staff will walk the surface of the rink about once per week and drill a couple dozen holes all over the ice to check that the thickness is just right. A task many hockey fans have always dreamed of doing, Senger says driving the zamboni is still fun, but he’s been at it for nearly 30 years, so he’s sort of gotten used to it. No surprise, since a zamboni’s top speed is about 16 kilometres/hour and the average machine travels about 12 kilometres in a day while re-surfacing the ice at least once an hour in addition to between periods. But Senger is still thankful for the existence of the ice machine; because before Frank J. Zamboni invented the iconic

obstacle,” Senger added when asked about the biggest challenges of keeping the ice perfect in an arena like the Activa Sportsplex. “When summer weather hits, the building can get too warm and humid, which means bouncing pucks and tired

sports@school

Spending a PA Day with Olympians Story by Rachel Klein and photos by Hockey Canada Most kids spend their PA Days on the couch, happily enjoying their time off school by watching television or playing video games. However, a few kids in Kitchener have found a slightly different way to spend their PA Days: on the ice with two Olympic gold-medalists, learning new hockey skills and more importantly, building confidence and a lifelong love of sport. Girls in Kitchener Minor Hockey can now take part in the Girls’ Hockey PA Camp, a new program introduced this year which allows girls to sign up for a day of on and off-ice drills, run by former Team Canada members Becky Kellar and Cheryl Pounder. The idea for the PA Day camps came as members of the KMHA talked with Pounder, who helped out at the Girls’ Hockey Day event last year. Pounder and Kellar run several hockey camps around Southern Ontario, and eventually a plan was formed to hold a camp during students’ days off from school. The first camp was held this past November, with a full session of 30 young girls between the ages of 6 and 13 taking part. The camp included a full day of on and off-ice training to develop hockey skills, but one of the most valuable things this group of girls learned is confidence, says Jarid Peterson, GM

tant to bolster their confidence as they progress in a sport like hockey, where it can be intimidating to play against boys, and where girls have traditionally been in the minority. While Peterson says that the enrolment total for girls is still lower than boys, the rate of registration is increasing by leaps and bounds each year. This season, KMHA has over 500 girls registered in its programs throughout the region. There are all-girls teams at every available level, which means that girls can bond with teammates and grow confident in themselves and their abilities in a comfortable environment. As the sport grows more popular with girls, there are more opportunities like the PA Day camps which allow girls to bond with one another and develop lifelong friendships. Having role models like Becky Kellar and Cheryl Pounder is yet another way for young athletes to see their own potential, as both women have gone from playing hockey as young children to being internationally recognized athletes, among many other incredible accomplishments. Kellar, from Hangersville, Ontario, has been a member of the national team since 1997. She has been a part of four Canadian Women’s Olympic Teams, participating in the winter Games in 1998 in Nagano, 2002 in Salt Lake City, 2006 in Torino, and 2010 in Vancouver. Kellar

“The first camp was held this past November, with a full session of 30 young girls between the ages of 6 and 13 taking part. The camp included a full day of on and off-ice training to develop hockey skills, but one of the most valuable things this group of girls learned is confidence.” of the Atom B Kitchener Lady Rangers (whose daughter took part in the camp). Kellar and Pounder are, according to Peterson, two of the most humble Olympians he has ever met, and are incredible role models for this group of young athletes. With high drop-out rates for girls in sport (especially in the developmental years), it is incredibly impor-

and her teammates brought home medals at all four Olympics, three of which were gold. Aside from her stellar Olympic career, Kellar has been an integral part of many other championship teams, winning a gold medal with Team Ontario in the 1993 National Women’s Under-18 Championship, and partaking in seven IIHF World Women’s Championships.

She is also a graduate of Brown University, where she was named Most Valuable Player on the Brown Bears Ice Hockey Team, and won numerous academic and athletic awards. Pounder, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, is also a gold-medalist, participating in Team Canada’s victories in Salt Lake City and Torino. She won the Under-18 Championship with Kellar on Team Ontario in 1993, and was named to the All-Star Team. As a student at Wilfrid Laurier studying kinesiology, she was named Female Athlete of the Year, and was inducted into the university’s hall of fame in 2005. Pounder has achieved five World Championship gold medals and seven Nations Cup gold medals over the course of her career as one of the top female hockey players in the world. Registration is open on the KMHA website for future Girls PA Day Camps.

Becky Kellar

Cheryl Pounder

Midget B The team is having a tremendous season with a record of 13 wins against 1 loss and two ties early into the new year. The ladies are working hard, which has paid off with gold medal wins in the Waterloo Tournament in November and striking gold again in the Woodstock Tournament in January. The team is headed to Erie, Pennsylvania in February for its next tournament.

left to right–1st row–Claire Guistini, Marianne Hemmerich, Lindsey Jones, Holly Dinsmore 2nd row–Rachel McNab, Chanelle Patterson, Leah Buhler, Allie Sharman, Rachel Wilkinson, Sara Mayled 3rd row–Kendra Ertel, Amanda Robinson, Katherine McMillian, Hunter Johns, Isabella Richmond, Emily Nagel, Nicole Koehler.

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See what it really means to play like a girl Story by Rachel Klein and photos by Kevin Fleming

Every girl through one door, on one day, was the original vision for Mike Richmond, former director of girls’ hockey for KMHA. From there the idea grew into a committee which featured three more girls’ hockey boosters. With the addition of Yvan Aubin (current director of girls’ hockey), Reagan Yuke and Jarid Peterson, a solid foundation was created and a vision became reality. As the event began to take shape last year, so to did the realization that this game meant so much to the girls and young women of our community. With one day featuring all of the roughly five hundred female athletes in the Kitchener Minor Hockey Association playing in one facility, the number of girls ballooned to a 1,000 when you include all the visiting teams who also came to play that day. The girls’ ages ranged from five to 30 with varying skill levels from house league to representative travel and girls playing boys’ hockey. Last year’s event was a resounding success, and featured appearances from Olympic Gold Medalist Cheryl Pounder and Olympic hopeful Mandy Bujold. Even mayor Carl Zehr came by to catch some of the action. Growing on that day from last year was not going to be an easy task, but the committee was up to the challenge.

Finding corporate sponsorship with RBC was just the beginning as this year also featured a Learn to Play Hockey event, offering females of any age the opportunity to suit up and take to the ice with Olympians Cheryl Pounder and Becky Kellar. Also featured during the day was the Atom A Girls whose efforts in collecting the most food for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region was rewarded with custom made Kitchener Girls’ Hockey Day jerseys. As a collective group, the girls of Kitchener Minor Hockey raised almost 4,000 pounds of food, and particularly the Atom A (ages 10-11) ladies raised 2,000 themselves. The Food Bank was also on site for the day’s events to continue to take donations. If this year continues to build on the momentum it has started, we could

certainly be showcasing some of the best and brightest that our wonderful community has to offer. The KMHA’s 2nd Annual RBC Girls’ Hockey Day took place on January 13, 2013. Kitchener Girls’ Hockey, in partnership with RBC, asked all fans and players in attendance to continue to donate items for the Waterloo Region Food Bank. This year Bauer also joined in cooperation with Play It Again Sports with a special shooting challenge, with all proceeds from the event going to the Food Bank. With the addition of the “Learn to Play” feature this year, girls and women of any age were also invited to come learn the game with the help of Olympians Becky Kellar and Cheryl Pounder. KMHA would like to thank Tim Horton's for all of their support during this year's Girls' Hockey Day event!

Lane Yuke (Kitchener Lady Rangers Atom A), Cheryl Pounder (Olympic Gold Medalist), Steven Cabral (RBC), Becky Kellar (Olympic Gold Medalist), and Devin McDonald (Guelph Thunder Atom A)

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Adam from the Waterloo Region Food Bank, Steve Cabral of RBC and Yvan Aubin from KMHA.

Ella Fleming (Lady Rangers Atom A) and Olympian Cheryl Pounder.

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Rangers in Russia Story by Michelle Baril, with contributions from Ryan Metivier and photos by OHL Images/CHL Images At the recent World Junior Championships in Ufa, Russia, Canada may have come up short, but several members of the Kitchener Rangers came away with amazing hockey experiences. On paper, the Canadians were projected to at least medal in Russia, but the timeless Canada/U.S. rivalry was once again rekindled. This rivalry however, hit closer to home than in previous years. In the historic, Ufa setting, in a showcase tournament of the world's best junior players,

five members of the Rangers’ squad flew across the globe and turned to face each other head-to-head in a battle of the best in arguably the most exciting tournament in all of hockey. “We weren’t really in touch when we were over there. It was hard to keep in touch with Tobias, Radek and Gibby,” said Canadian defensemen and Kitchener Rangers' Captain, Ryan Murphy. Murphy was referring to Rangers’ forwards Tobias Rieder (Germany) and

John Gibson

Radek Faksa (Czech Republic), along with goaltender John Gibson (U.S.A.). “But when we saw each other on the ice we obviously gave each other the head nod, but more so with Tobias and Radek. With Gibby it was a pretty big rivalry between Canada and the U.S.A. so we weren’t really smiling at each other on the ice too much.” Murphy joined his coach Steve Spott and dawned the Maple Leaf. As for goaltender John Gibson, he joined his

teammates but on the other end of the ice in stars and stripes. “You have a mutual respect in an event like that. John had a job to do, Ryan and me had a job to do and he (Gibson) really elevated his game,” said head coach Steve Spott. “He deserved the gold medal and being named player of the tournament,” he added. Canada started the tournament strong beating their rival Americans 2-1 on opening day of the tournament. The Canadians remained undefeated until they hit the medal round. They made it to the semi-finals where they once again met the U.S. This time it was a different story. The Americans came out strong and with Gibson between the pipes, the Canadians fell 5-1 and their gold medal dreams were shattered. “I just wanted to represent my country and it didn’t really matter who I’m playing against, I just want to win. We just all bonded and we just all came together as a family and I think that’s why we were so successful and we just kept playing our game,” Gibson said.

“They were a lot faster than I expected. You have guys like NugentHopkins playing at a pro level and he made plays that I never knew were even possible. So having those guys around me and playing with me was a huge opportunity for myself and I learned a lot of from them.” Gibson not only returned to Kitchener with a World Junior Gold, but also player of the tournament honours. In his first game back he was welcomed home, to the Aud with a standing ovation. “John is such an even-keeled goalie. His highs are never to high and his lows

are never too low. He comes to work every day and he understands he has a job to do and does it. He is outstanding in net for us,” said Spott. Even though the Canadians returned without a medal, the tournament gave the guys not only an unforgettable learning experience, but a chance to take what they learned in Ufa and implement different styles of play to improve their own game, which will translate into a more successful team back home in the OHL. “They were a lot faster than I expected. You have guys like Nugent-Hopkins playing at a pro level and he made plays that I never knew were even possible. So having those guys around me and playing with me was a huge opportunity for myself and I learned a lot of from them,” said Murphy. “They were young adults, and that’s what everyone was over there. We were young adults and grown up.” Coach Spott said coaching this team was a great opportunity for him and his team meshed really well together. Most of the guys that competed on the Canadian team this year competed in the Under 17 and Under 18 championships and Spott said they had a lot of chemistry going into the tournament and just kept creating more, which was his goal. “It was an amazing advantage that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was able to come. It was important for us and for him to be around his peers. He’s quiet, and leads by example,” said Spott. “Our players look up to him and they all appreciate how good he is.” Nugent-Hopkins may have ‘world junior company’ this season as the NHL finally gets underway, with both Murphy and Gibson are attending their respective NHL training camps. “I’m going to go into the camp, I’m going to work hard, I’m going to do

everything that I can to crack the line up and if I get sent back here I’ll be happy, but if I end up making the squad it will be a huge accomplishment,” said Murphy.

Steve Spott

Ryan Murphy

WaterlooSportsXpress.ca

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Join us for dinner

Local sports volunteers recognized by KSA

Our dinner meetings are held at the Edelweiss Sports Bar at 6:00 p.m. Upcoming dates are: January 15, February 19, March 19, April 16 Also join us for the following events: May 21–Athlete of the Year Presentation & Dinner June 11–Scholarship Awards Dinner

Submitted by the Kitchener Sports Association and photo by Carrie Debrone The 24th annual KSA Volunteer Recognition Dinner took place on November 20 at the Edelweiss Sports Bar in Kitchener. There were 27 volunteer awards this year including two husband and wife teams. MC for the event was the “voice and choice” of the Kitchener Rangers, Don Cameron, who has hosted the event since the turn of the century. The proceedings included a special floral bouquet presentation to Carolyn Fedy in recognition of her 50 years of volunteer work with the KW Skating Club.

Don McKee, this year’s guest speaker, entertained attendees with anecdotes from his many years of coaching, teaching and volunteering. Some of the highlights revolved around Don’s Montreal hockey sweater, which he brought with him, and the memories and dreams it invoked. One never knows how farreaching the effects such a single item or single volunteer action can have. Don thanked all the volunteers being recognized and encouraged them to keep up their good work.

Information on KSA funding KSA provides funding to local minor sports groups and charities for participants meeting our residency criteria. KSA offers travel, hosting and capital grants in addition to the KSA Scholarship and several other special programs. (The deadline for scholarship applications is 5 p.m. May 21, 2013.) For more information visit: www.kitchenersports.ca

2012 Volunteer Award Recipients Front row: (L-R) Christine Rupert (KW Synchronized Swim Club), Jacquie and Ron Rashleigh (Waterloo Region Track 3 Ski School), Carolyn Fedy (KW Skating Club), June Woolridge (Kitchener Minor Baseball), Catherine McKay (Region of Waterloo Swim Club), Julie Wetzler (Special Olympics Ontario KW) Standing: Stephen Green (KW Predators Volleyball), Jeff Wilson (KW Water Polo Club), Cathy Burton (Conestoga Sailing), Brian Horne (KW Sports Council), Mike Burton (Conestoga Sailing), Dr. David Venturi (Waterloo Regional Boxing Academy), Wendy Buckley (KW Youth Basketball), Erwin Banasch (KW Minor Boys Softball), Lisa Ross-Black (KW Rowing Club), John MacDonald (KW Sertoma Speed Skating), Don Herner (Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club), John Harvey (Stanley Park Optimist T-Ball), Toni Pottier (KSA–Volunteer award), Dave Smart (KW Minor Lacrosse), Tracey Hudson (Kitchener Ringette), Mike Aultman (Kitchener Minor Hockey), David MacLellan (Kitchener Girls Minor Softball), Gord Dearborn (KSA–President’s award), Dale Sukhall (Stars Orienteering), Michelle Whittle (Sports for Special Athletes) Absent from photo: Jack Black (Tsuruoka Kai Karate Do), Thomas Fitzgerald (Laurel Creek Track & Field) KSA President Bill Pegg accepts thanks from Eric Skovsgaard (Director, Sponsored Kids Program) for KSA’s $2,500 donation to Donna Weber’s Sponsored Kids Program. (Nov 20, 2012)

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Volunteer with SHI

Coaches are allowed on the ice during games to assist players that need it. If one team’s line has a player with very low skills then they will be allowed to add an extra player to compensate. But they all still participate.

Submitted by SHI Desire. Desire to play. Desire to succeed. Desire even to make it to the NHL. That's where Special Hockey comes in. There are no age groups. There are no tryouts. They don't even need to be able to skate. All they need is what they already have–desire. They will learn how to skate, how to hold a stick, how to handle a puck, how to make a pass, how to take a shot, how to make a save. Some may learn by the end of their first season, others may take years. What they will all do immediately is participate at every practice and at every game. That's because they don't have to meet anyone else's expectations, only their own. Special Hockey allows the developmentally challenged to achieve their own goals on their own schedule. They will learn about teamwork. They will gain self-confidence and self-esteem.

They will learn from their coaches, but more importantly they will learn from their peers. They will see and imitate the better players. A seven year old may play on the same line as a 17 year old or even 27 year old. They will be matched by ability but the coach may also include a better player as a positive role model. And these more experienced players look forward to be being mentors for the rookies. This may mean laying back a bit to let a rookie skate with the puck without being checked. Or it may mean a goalie may “not try too hard” to stop a shot. And they love doing this, because they too were rookies once and they too like seeing the smiles as much as we all do. The rules of the game are also modified. There is no icing, no offside and definitely no body checking. Male and female, young and old all play together.

Volunteer Information and Application If you wish to be considered as a volunteer for the Special Hockey International (SHI) 2013 Tournament event, please read the information below and then complete the Volunteer Application Form. • Dates and Venue–The Special Hockey International 2013 Tournament will take place Thursday March 14-Saturday March 16, 2013 (March Break 2013) at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium and the Activa Sports Complex. • Application–To be considered to serve as a volunteer for this event, volunteers must complete the three-page application form, which can be found at

www.shikitchener2013.ca/volunteer

fromthesidelines

Who’s behind the shield? Submitted by slotsartstudio.com Michael Slotwinski, the artist behind Slots Art Studio, is a recent honours graduate of the Studio Arts and Dramatic Arts programs from the University of Guelph (BA 2011), as well as a graduate of the Althouse College of Teachers at the University of Western Ontario (BEd 2012). Finally finished his education, Michael created Slots Art Studio to showcase the type of artwork that captivates him the most–in the hopes that others will be awe-inspired by the works created by him. Currently Michael is working on two projects; the Hockey’s Masked Men collection and the Finnigan Mulligan. The first is interpretative large scale oil paintings of hockey’s most notorious goalie masks. Each mask has a story and the mask protects the identity of the face hidden behind this

shield. The paintings are dramatic and meant to create conversation and controversy. Recently, Michael has been touring all over the OHL to show this project and hopes to attend a Rangers’ game at the Auditorium soon. The second is the creation of his own official fine art cartoon series, Finnigan Mulligan, which he runs alongside Slots Art Studio. The Finnigan Mulligan series is about a golfer named Finnigan who fails miserably at life for the benefit of our laughter. A man of all trades and terrible at all these trades – he is dopey, unwise, exceptionally awkward, and terribly unlucky; always ending up in crazy scenarios and odd predicaments, which is something we can all relate to. You can check him out at: www.finniganmulligan.com More info at: www.slotsartstudio.com

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Get off the couch and try something new Story by Ryan Metivier and photos by Colin Galbraith For parents who’ve found themselves looking for a way to get their child outdoors and participating in sports, the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo organized a special Try-A-Sport Day on September 29. The first-time event took place at two locations; Lions Arena in Kitchener and RIM Park in Waterloo, and was organized with the help of Kin Canada and in association with CBC’s Sports Day In Canada. “We chose to partner with CBC knowing it was a national sports day all over Canada and were able to piggyback on them for advertising,” said Ashley Purvis, athletic coordinator for the City of Kitchener. “We were able to promote many sports and got kids to come out and try different sports for free.” The goal of the event was to reach out to affiliate sport groups, as well as some public groups, and have them prepare a one-hour program where they could give children a demo of the sport, and then also allow them to get on the field or ice and try and it on their own. Kitchener Minor Hockey (KMHA) was one the several sports groups to take part in the day by bringing their events team to Lions Arena, as well as their minor bantam AA team to work with kids on the ice. Helmets, skates, sticks and pucks were on hand, giving several

children who had never even skated, a chance to learn the game of hockey. “Anytime you get kids interested in getting off the couch and playing games it’s a successful day,” said Rolland Cyr, general manager of the KMHA. “I think we have a great building block and foundation for a solid event in the future.” Numerous local sports groups participated in the event offering lessons in sports such as ringette, karate, ultimate frisbee, rowing, football, cheerleading, lacrosse and several others, and the hope is that more groups will sign on in the coming years. “We hope to be at a larger site next year so we can have multiple sports running at a time,” said Purvis. “Ultimately our goal would be to have all 41 minor affiliated sports groups come out and showcase their sport to have kids in the area learn what they can do, while helping to raise awareness and membership for our sports groups.” “In the long run we want kids to live healthy lifestyles and

be good citizens,” added Cyr. “We’re happy to be part of a community that believes in our children, believes in our health and believes in the future.”

sportsfiles Happy to be in Kitchener Story by Haleigh Japp and photo by Terry Wilson/OHL Images The Kitchener Rangers added to their abundant talent pool this summer when they acquired Matt Puempel from the Peterborough Petes. The trade paid dividends for the Rangers, as Puempel has been one of team’s top scorers so far this season. After three seasons with the Petes, Puempel decided it was time for a change and asked for a trade. “Kitchener was right at the top of my list,” said Puempel when asked about the trade. “Peterborough was great about it, they understood where I was coming from, the GM at the time Dave Reid was unbelievable. For him to set this up for myself to be here worked out great. I just asked for a trade going into hopefully my last year (in junior), you know, I wanted a chance to win and that’s what I have here. It’s great that I ended up here and I couldn’t be happier.” Puempel has said he loves playing for the Kitchener fans, but also appreciates the support he got from Peterborough fans as well. “It was different, Peterborough was a smaller community, and the team struggled there a bit,” Puempel explained. “The fans there are great, but they are more on the quiet side.” Puempel has had an impressive junior career, having 194 points, including 105 goals, in 174 career OHL games. His knack for scoring goals caught the attention of the Ottawa Senators of the NHL, and they traded two second round picks to select him with the 24th pick at the 2011 Entry Draft. “My favourite team growing up was Toronto, and they and Ottawa have quite a rivalry right now. Going into the draft, you hope to get drafted by any team, but going to Ottawa was ironic because I grew up liking Toronto,” he said with a laugh. “I talked to Ottawa before the draft, and I kind of saw everything there and I was getting excited. Once they called my name out, it was great,” he added. With a great season so far, Puempel was poised to be considered for this year’s World Junior tournament representing Canada. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder sprain in the November 27 game against the London Knights. and was left off the World Junior team. “It was tough,” said Puempel. “I was on it before I got hurt, and to have this injury and the bad timing of it is unfortunate. I’m just worried about making the NHL and playing for Kitchener, I’m not worried about that at all.” “Those things don’t really determine anyone’s future. There’s a lot a great players that didn’t play on there. Not everyone there will make the NHL and vice versa. It’s just a quick tournament and everyone wants to play in the NHL.”

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Season’s Beatings By Ryan Metivier with contributions from Michelle Baril The season of giving just past and the Waterloo Region Boxing Academy (WRBA), had a few punches to give out of its own, during their 8th Annual Season’s Beatings event held at Activa Centre on December 18. The purpose is to raise money for members and local charities, and in the beginning it started off where the club had some issues where a member or family member had health concerns, and the funds would go to assist with these issues. “We’re a very family oriented boxing club and are affected by everything in our society, so we would use this event to raise awareness,” said WRBA head coach Rick Cadilha. “The last couple of years, knock on wood, we’ve been lucky in our family locally, but a charity that has been near and dear to us is the Children’s Wish Foundation. We like what that they do and have used this event to help with their cause.” Last year WRBA raised $1,000 for the foundation, along, with 5,000 pounds of donated food for the Food Bank, and the goal this year was to top those numbers. “With our club, we're a not-for-profit organization. We do have a lot of kids that

come who are under-privileged, some of them can't afford the monthly fees and Rick gives them an opportunity to do stuff in lieu of having to pay fees,” said WRBA coach LeVar Piper. “Like, maybe they'll come help out with cleaning. We also have some of the kids who come who end up coaching and it gives them something else to do other than getting in trouble,” he added. Season’s Beatings is also an opportunity for the club’s younger members to get a taste of bigger competition. “We take what we call our recreational kids who we aren’t sure if are ready to move up to the next competitive level and give them a chance at boxing on a bigger stage,” said Cadilha. “But we’ve now built on the environment where it’s similar to the environment of a real boxing match. They wear the uniforms, the headgear, the mouthpieces, they have coaches, they have entrances; we wanted to make it as similar as possible to a real event and then we would see how they would do in that environment with the lights. Many of the club’s competitive members also participated in hand pat and skipping demonstrations, in an effort to let the general public come to the boxing club, see the facility and members and see exactly what the sport is all about. The event had scheduled 18 athletes to fight in nine boxing matches for the general public, who were provided with free food and drinks afterwards. For this event there are no winners and losers, but rather an opportunity for some members who have never gone through a full boxing match, to have the opportunity, such as 11-year-old Sam Jenkins who took up boxing in early October to get a taste of the hard work and adrenaline rush that boxing offers. “I’ve really enjoyed boxing the facility. It’s clean and it’s nice cause Rick trains us hard and it makes me a better boxer,” he

Kyle Mooney

said. “I’m looking forward to the event cause it’s going to be like a real boxing match that I’ve never really experienced and there’s going to be a big crowd watching me and my partner box.” Kyle Mooney, is 10 years old and joined the club originally to get in shape but has realized he has gained a lot more than just fitness. “They’ve taught me how to properly skip, and how to bounce so I can get quicker on my feet. It helps a lot,” explained Mooney. “They're funny, and they help, they're really good. They talk to kids. Other kids should start boxing because in a month they'll see themselves improve and meet a lot of new friends,” he added. The philosophy and atmosphere in the club goes far beyond boxing as a sport. “It is a lifestyle in terms that it's not a team sport,” said Piper. “It takes a lot of self-motivation actually to do this sport. You train by yourself a lot of times, you're in the ring by yourself a lot of times and everything is a direct reflection of what you do. So what you put in is what you're going to get out. So the kids learn that fairly early on and that also helps them with the self-discipline and motivation.”

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Waterloo Synchro Story by Carey Brooks and photos by Steve Brooks On Saturday, January 12, the Waterloo Regional Synchro Club hosted the 18th annual Waterloo Synchro Invitational meet at Wilfrid Laurier University. The event has become the largest invitational meet in the country, drawing 485 athletes from 15 clubs across the province. Once again, the host club came out on top, earning more points than any other club and winning the Aggregate title for top club at the meet. These are exciting results for the local club, putting them on track to win the prestigious Provincial Aggregate title in May at the Ontario Open Age Group Championships; a title they have won more times that any other club in the last decade. Making these results even more special for Waterloo Synchro was the club-wide successes–every single athlete went home with a medal, 21 athletes went home with gold. Club founder Leanne McDonnell credits these out-

standing results to the club’s philosophy: “every athlete counts”. “Being the only club in North America with our own pool definitely helps our athletes and coaches achieve their goals,” added club president Erika Lindner. To see a complete list of winners and photos go online to: www.waterloosportsxpress.ca

A fun league for the adult community Submitted by Co-Edge Sports League Co-Edge Sports League was founded in 2007 in Kitchener-Waterloo by Richard Robichaud and Corey Tucker. Volleyball is by far our most popular sport, running six leagues each season. But we also run soccer, dodgeball, multi-sport, floor hockey and ultimate frisbee for the active adult community. All of our sports are co-ed, as we feel it’s more fun that way. During the fall and winter sessions we play 6’s in rec, intermediate and advanced indoors at some premium courts. We also play 6’s and 4's beach outside during the spring and summer at some equally amazing courts, as high quality facilities and equipment is rule number one for our league. Closely followed, is the belief that the time on the court is only half the fun, meaning we organize as many social events and trips as we can, like our ski and snowboard trips and brewery tours with our sponsors at Brick Beer. A big part of Co-Edge Sports League is giving back to the community we operate

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in and reducing our footprint. Co-Edge runs a charity tournament every season with all proceeds going to the Canadian Diabetes Association and Play it Forward, which donates sporting equipment to under-funded schools and at-risk youth programs. We also do equipment drives throughout the year and donate profits from some of our leagues. For more photos of champions from the fall season go online to: www.waterloosportsxpress.ca

Monday Fall Ball Hockey champs– Just Enough

Upcoming trips & events for 2013 All four annual Co-Edge Tournaments as well as special events are for charity and we raised over $3,000 last year and hope to exceed that in 2013. Here is a list of the events planned already for 2013: February 9–Our Ski & Snowboard trip is happening February 9, and Co-Edge is picking up members in a huge bus and driving them down to Blue Mountain for a day on the slopes followed by apres ski. April 20–Is the Spike into Spring Charity Volleyball Tournament June–Softball Tournament July 20–Is our Fun in the Sun Beach Tournament October 26–Is VOLLEYBALL'o'ween, where all contestants in the volleyball tournament must play costumed. Spooky fun. Fall–Paintball Challenge (date to be announced)

sports@school

5th annual Think Pink campaign raises over $28,000 for CBCF Submitted by the Waterloo Warriors The University of Waterloo Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that their fifth annual Think Pink campaign has raised a total of $28,050.25 and counting for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF)–Ontario Chapter. That amount was expected to increase as online donations were accepted until December 31. Over a span of five years the Warriors will have donated over $88,362.24 ($4,137.39 in 2008, $8,745.33 in 2009, $22,376.13 in 2010, $25,053.14 in 2011, and $28,050.25 in 2012) to the CBCF–Ontario Chapter. The Think Pink campaign originated from the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) women’s basketball coaches association and has now expanded to a department wide initiative that runs on a yearly basis. Many schools across Canada have taken on this initiative and have provided thousands of dollars in donations to the CBCF. In its fifth year, Waterloo set a goal of $20,000 in donations, which was exceeded even before heading into their final weekend of varsity and campus recreation Think Pink events. Throughout the event, the Waterloo events crew put on a series of events to attract students and fans to varsity games and campus recreation events. Fans and students were treated to seven different varsity games, pink hip-hop, spin-a-thon, pink zumba, a dance show, a 3-on-3 indoor soccer tournament, and many more events to help raise awareness and money for the cause. The promotional team and campus recreation staff in the department should be commended for their hard work and dedication throughout the campaign. Additionally, 13 different varsity teams were an integral part of money raising efforts. Leading the charge was once again the women’s basketball team who raised over $6,000 on their own. Also playing a significant role in donations received was

the cheerleading and field hockey teams. Rounding out the top five in donations received was the Waterloo Warriors men’s and women’s hockey teams while the Warrior events crew was also an integral part of money raising efforts.

advocate of the campaign since 2012, was second with over $1,254 and was a big part of creating awareness and momentum for the campaign by recruiting teammates to take part. Fitness and conditioning coordinator Stacey Hamilton was third overall thanks to her late push to raise money and cut her hair for the beautiful lengths program. Marketing and events coordinator Jenny Mackay was thrilled at the overall result of the event and the support received by UWaterloo, the community and Warrior sponsors. “There were many different hands on board to make the campaign such a success,” mentioned Mackay. “Each year the campaign continues to grow and everyone across campus and the community was very receptive to the cause. I’d like to also thank all of our sponsors and local businesses for making everything possible.” Those businesses include Holiday Inn Kitchener, Boston Pizza Waterloo, Campus Pizza, McGinnis Front Row, the Canadian Breast Cancer FoundationOntario Region, First Impressions Hair Salon Kincardine, East Side Mario’s and Chainsaw Saloon.

“Each year the campaign continues to grow and everyone across campus and the community was very receptive to the cause.”

The highlight of the 2012 campaign came during the final weekend of events when six members of the men’s hockey team shaved their heads at intermission and the following night 25 more cut their hair at the men’s basketball halftime. The 25 hair donors were made up of studentathletes, staff and fans of the Warriors. The hair cut on Saturday was donated to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program, a program that encourages women and men to grow, cut, and donate their hair to make real hair wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments. Thanks to the hair donated from Saturday night, over four wigs will be made for the program. Individually, Lauren Novak of the cheerleading team led the way in donations with $2,116 raised. This year’s Think Pink campaign raised over $28,000. Andy Smith, who has been a huge

WaterlooSportsXpress.ca

sportsfiles

It’s all aces for local table tennis star Submitted Taffin Sekulin and TopSpin Table Tennis and photo by International Children’s Games This past summer, Alex Foley a member of Kitchener Waterloo’s TopSpin Table Tennis Club, was selected to attend the International Children’s Games held in Daegu, Korea along with four other athletes. Foley has been a member of the club since he was 11 years old and is now beginning his fourth year with the club. In Daegu he had the privilege of participating in both the opening and closing ceremonies where all of the athletes walked across a stage at the front of an amphitheater when their city's name was called out. “It was a lot of fun, and we got to see all of the different countries and cities that we would get to see (and compete against) over the next couple of days,” Foley explained. While he was there Foley competed in four matches against four different competitors. On the fist day he played three of his four matches against athletes from Beijing, Singapore, and Osaka where he won one out of three matches. On the second day he moved onto the consolation draw where he played against another boy from Lithuania, and although he played very well, the match ended with a score of 3-1 and this was Foley’s last match of the tournament. Foley mentioned that he learned a lot through participating in the Games and when asked what he took away from this experience he answered, “I learned a lot about how fortunate we are here in Canada. We saw that lots of the other countries (and cities) didn't give them anything to take over to the Games while we got pins from Kitchener, Waterloo, and Ontario. Also, we brought over little red and white bracelets and we couldn't believe how much people wanted to trade for them because they were from Canada. I also learned that South Korea is extremely tech savvy, everywhere we went in Seoul, there was Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, we couldn't log on to it because it required you to be a Korean citizen to access it.”

WaterlooSportsXpress.ca

Korea aside, Foley had his best year yet in 2012 as he says he has learned a lot and has played very well. This past season he placed 11th in singles and 5th in teams at 2012’s provincial tournament. These achievements caused his rating to climb 132 points from 164 to 296, which is the highest it has ever been for Alex. Last spring he placed second in a tournament and played considerably well in the fall as well, winning a fair amount of matches at his home club. In early

December Foley played at a tournament and got past the round robin in the U800 category, though was unable to make it to the quarter-finals. This year Alex is focusing on getting his rating above 1,000 points and also to enhance his performance skills when playing against others using different playing styles such as unorthodox styles or players with pips/anti-spin rubbers. Good luck this season Alex and congratulations so far!

Alex Foley hitting a powerful serve in a match at the International Children’s Games in 2012 Daegu, Korea.

Alex Foley (blue) warming up with the competitor from Osaka at the International Children’s Games.

WaterlooSportsXpress.ca

sports@school

Laurier names Faulds new football head coach Submitted by WLU and photo by Matt Tonkin The Wilfrid Laurier Department of Athletics and Recreation is proud to announce the appointment of Michael Faulds as the new manager of football operations and head coach of the Golden Hawks effective immediately. Faulds, who has served as offensive coordinator for the York Lions for the past three seasons, was successfully selected out of a pool of 25 applicants to become the sixth head coach in the 52-year history of the Golden Hawks football program. “I am very excited about the opportunity that has been given to me,” commented Faulds on his appointment. “Wilfrid Laurier University has a football program with a rich history and tradition and I am honoured to lead the team heading into the future.”

WaterlooSportsXpress.ca

“We are tremendously proud to announce the appointment of Michael Faulds as our new head coach,” stated Peter Baxter, Wilfrid Laurier's director of athletics and recreation. “Michael combines maturity in football experience as a player and coach with a leadership style that connects with this generation of student-athletes.” An offensive-minded coach who enjoyed one of the finest playing careers in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) history, Faulds has masterminded the rapid succession of a York program that has gone from 26th in the country in yardage per game to seventh in just three seasons. Last year in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference, York ranked third overall in both passing and total

CIS all-time passing leader becomes sixth head coach in school history. yards per game using a no-huddle prostyle offence. “Michael was the unanimous choice of our search committee, whichincluded six prominent alumni, and since that time has hit the ground running,” added Baxter. “He has reached out to many of our Laurier football alumni, calling to engage them in moving the program forward, something he gained a lot of experience in doing with the York Lions.” Faulds takes over the head coaching duties from Gary Jeffries who stepped away from the program back in November. For the full story go online to www.waterloosportsxpress.ca

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