Sports

Prairie diversity and growth...50 years of commitment and service...

FAVOURITE SPORTS

Well...business expansion and aviation has taken over most of these interests...but they're here anyways for the memories!

SKIING

Ski Canada with the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance. This organization provides leadership in ski instruction. Rob Cote, a Canadian Demo Team member from Sunshine, was my instructor.

Perfect Form

Northern Ontario

As an instructor, my favourite ski area is Northern Ontario, especially Mattawa's Mt. Antoine, Sudbury's Adanac, Sault Ste. Marie Searchmont and the toughest little hill of all called Onaping Falls just outside Sudbury. Onaping Falls is run by the 1956 World Champion from Austria who uses only natural snow. The Champion creates some really spectacular and deceptively difficult hills, even when compared to the Rockies.

Sudbury's Adanac is a really fun hill right in the City where we skied every night except Mondays and weekends when we went off to the bigger hills. It was a great social event, meeting new people and joking around on the little hill just 20 minutes from home. Interesting challenges can happen. I remember well the day the snowmakers created a great big "tit" of solid ice over night from the water sprayer. The tit was about 3 metres high. My friends Jason and Steve tucked into the hill first while everybody watched below in awe. I went last and tucked a bit too fast going straight vertical--with the really bizarre feeling of wondering when I'm going to come down--just missing a huge water pipe. From then on, I became known as "Chinese Downhill"!

Best Buddies in the Land of Ice

Many friends who I believe were the most amazing skiers in Ontario (Jason and Trevor Forget, Steve Morley (Zeus-Sander), Debbie King and Greg Miller [hmmm...wonder where they are now?]) taught me from Ice Zero how to ski the icy beaver pellets and hop the bumps on the slopes of Ontario. They'd meet up and continue to lead the challenge while I puttered along, slowly getting better and better:

"...edge...edge...edge...said Jason...not ice...baby...ice...."

(a different time...a different lingo...a different genre)

I owe a lot to these friends, with their exceptional generosity and fun. After all, who was I but a mere unknown mortal to these Ski Gods of Northern Ontario while the others watched their skillful antics in awe? We went on many trips to far away hills together, staying up the night before, listening to heavy metal (i.e. Motley Crue) enroute and finally getting to the hill for the Gods to Demo how to mush the bumps and really fly. The local skiers would try to out demo, protecting their "hill", and like a match pitting the best knights one after another against the Gods, they failed...often flat on their butt. Sooner than said Jason and Zeus would win the local prize of a long group of groupie skiers who would follow us up and down the hill for the rest of the day. We'd next visit the town for food and rile up the locals towns people--then head home. Anyways, they sure took a lot of corporate life off my mind and I thank them wholly for keeping me in the groove--thanks Very Mucho guys.

Favourite equipment of the Gods includes K2 Slalom Race skis, Raichle Flexon Comp Racing boots and Descente clothing.

NEWS!

I've finally found my buddies Jason and Trevor Forget and Steve Morley (Zeus-Sander)! They're doing great. Trevor, the great technical skier, is a head cook in Campbell River at an exclusive restaurant creating elaborate food presentations. He no longer skies due to injury but may make a come back with his son. Jason just finished Law School (Ottawa) and is now a practicing lawyer in downtown Toronto.

Wow!, it's great to get in contact with the Ski Gods!

Other unconfirmed news is that Mt. Antoine near Mattawa is now closed due to financial concerns but may reopen.

UNIVERSITY SPORTS

Great University Sports with the CIS--check out the Brandon University Bobcats. I remember Coach Jerry Hemmings while I was at BU.

BU is now part of Canada West of the CIS.

CYCLING

A great place to race bicycles is Sudbury, Ontario. I met many friends who raced together on almost a daily basis. My favourite bike is the made in the USA carbon fibre Trek 2300, although most in Sudbury raced the exotic Italian breeds. Sure is interesting compared to the CCM Silver Ghost I used to ride with pride.