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SPORTS MENU C2

ROB BROWN”

Not a class act

OURISM IS the largest industry in
the world. Think about that for a mo-
ment, Ponder the fact more people
toured last year than ever before.

Then consider this: the United States is no longer
the most affluent country in the wortd; it's 11th,
ané when Japan overtakes it — an imminent
vent according to prominent economists — it
will slip to 12th, leaving another large purple
bruise on the American psyche,

I don’t know about you, but when I pour all
these facts into my cranial cavity and give my
head a shake I come to the conclusion that
tourism is in a serious growth mode — that the
Europeans and Oriental voyageurs with fat wal-
lets will be arriving here in increasing numbers.
When I make my obligatory annual trip to the
lower portion of the Lakelse River.and, in one
afternoon, mect people from ‘Switzerland,
‘ Germany, Italy and the U.S. fishing elbow to el.
'. bow for coho, I’m confirmed in this belief.

If you know the sport fisheries on all the great
salmon rivers of the world are either extinct or ex-
clusive, and that most of the formerly paradisal
sport fishing: Tivers in the western U.S, have had

the pith pounded out of them by iil advised

hatchery schemes, damnable damming projects,
’ urban metastasis and overfishing, you don’t have
to call Jo-Jo’s psychic network to find out if
_~ anglers of the nonresidential variety will soon be
~" swarming our rivers like ants at a picnic,

- Since there will be a Jot more dough to be cap-

_ tured in the tourism sector, you'd expect the:
-'~ politicians to-be. falling over themselves to create,

_ hew tourist magnets on one hand while preserving
- existing opportunities on the otfier. Well, let’s sec
how they’ve been doing on classic steclhead
waters in Skeena, some of the last great sport
fishing waters on the globe, rivers designated

, Class One by the government five ' years age.

First we'll hop a chopper at Smithers then fly
north past the upper reaches of the Suskwa and
over the Babine. Valiey past Mount Shedin over
Bear Lake then to Johanson Lake and the‘head-
waters of the Sustut. Below us, at the foot of the
Swannell Ranges, lies the country whose visual
impact and fishing so moved American anglers
flown there by Buzz Fiorini forty years ago, they
pronounced it a steelhead paradise.

.. You wouldn’t expect a mining road in paradise,

~ but there’s one there now; running down the val-

». Jey.-to the confluence of the Sustut and Bear

Rivers where cars will take ore to market on the
_-tails‘of the B.C.R. Once this infrastructure is in
place it will not be long before timber miners join

.. the ‘ore miners to tum a wilderness Eden into an-

*. other industrial corridor. In fact, logging plans

-*: have been in the offing for some time now. There

“ds not much hope that the most northerly of our

_- Class one rivers will be able to lay claim to that

“status for much longer.

© On the way back to Smithers we'll pass over the

Babine River, home to millions of salmon, giant

| . steelhead, great bears, eagles, striking vistas and,

for all those reasons, lucrative lodges. Here is a

Po place, home to a real sustainable resource, that

~ economic and spiritual logic insist should remain
.. intact. Despite its international renown, its unique
» .wildemess values, and the fact it tests on unstable
’~ golls, roads are to be cut through its heartland and
- the Babine too will be logged.
“For. our last stop we'll zip around the back of
Hudson Bay Mountain to the headwaters. of a
“third class one stream, the Zymoeiz. Like the
“Babine, the Zymoetz nins through shaky ground,
~ especially in its upper floors. Careless road build-
. ing here casily precipitates a slide that may ruin
- the quality of the water and the fishery
, downstream with it You guessed it, there are
roads all over the landscape and’ logging is un-
“derway, Past experience and river after ruined
river ought to tell us that. stripping too much
_: forest cover from the upper ends of watersheds is
Stupid, but somehow the message has not reached

~.. the Ministry of Forests.

_ The middle sections of the Copper where creeks
_with picturesque names like Many Bears, Nogold
“and Treasure feed the Zymoetz might have been
‘ able to withstand some logging of the sensitive
~ varlety — small cut blocks and wood extractlon
over am extended period amounting to many
' years. That didn’ t happen. Tnstead a big chunk of
-, forest has been removed in a crude manner over a

very short period. On the latest clear cuts loggers
in their haste have Ich stumps six fect and higher
all over the moorscapes. The wood is still coming
out, Anglers presently travel through mile upon

‘mile of ugly logging at its worst, walk’ ‘through a

small island of timber only to find the river opa-

que, Hardly a first clasa experience.
The last of our class one rivers, the Gitmadoix,
fares not too badly; but, before we credit .the

politicians who. had the valley declared park, we.

should realize it’s a small corridor that contains
negligible timber values,

Ir’s GOING to be a
memorable. season ‘for the

" Bluebacks if the swim club’s
__. Showing in its opening meet is
“anything to go by.

‘Individual performances that

‘brought nine medals and’ six
.. pool records plus victories in
nearly” half the ‘relays’ trans-
lated to a 100 point margin of

overall victory at the meet.

It was good far the’ entire
club,”’. said coach Mike Car-
tyle. “We had medallists in
just about all the age groups.”

Given| the number of
Blueback participants and that
this was the first competition
of the season, Carlyle was also

very impressed there had been |

only ..three _ disqualifications
over the two-day meet,

All the work done on techni-
que — starts and turns — had
obviously paid off, he added.

Leading the record breaking -

binge was Marina Checkley,
The 14-year-old broke two
pool marks, including her own
in the 50m Back, and tied the
100 IM record set by Aimee

Peacock in ther banner year at

‘that age. .
Noting Peacock was now a

coach with the Bluebacks,
Carlyle said she and Checkley
“had a good laugh | about it
afterwar

Checkley won all five of her
races in sewing up her age
group gold medal.

Bluebacks triumphant |

**They are their own compe-
lition,”’ said Carlyle, a conten-
tion underlined in a couple of
races. In the 50m Free the pair
both posted. best times,

Kerman taking the race by

12/100ths of a second. Later,

| ‘in the 100m IM, it was per-

sonal bests again but with
Coxford touching first by

-;: While the ‘more experienced swimmers had put

in sharp performances, it was exciting to see the
younger “up and coming” Bluebacks going so

well

seserstarserseervesseoereaseosioes COTIYIC.

Other Blueback

in. the Seniors 100m IM,
Tristan Brown (11-12. years

50m Back) and Chris Kerman:

(13-14 years 100m Back).

‘Kerman tallied four wins and
a second to edge clubmate
Garth Coxford in the battle for
gold in the Boys 13-14 years
division, one the duo are ex-
pected to dominate in regional
meets this season,

‘records
came from Kevin Andolfatto_

2/10ths.

‘In the 11-12 years division,
Brown easily took top. spot

overall in what is probably his ©

last regional meet in that age

‘ group. Unbeatable in all five

of his races, he posted three
personal bests including chop-
ping three.’ seconds off. his
100m IM mark.

Andolfatto narrowly lost the

race for gold in the Senior
Boys where Seth Downs took

* younger

bronze, Thomas Detietzer sil:
vered in the 9-10. ‘Boys,
Natalie Gour did the same on
the Girls side of that age group
and Audrey Erb. collected
bronze in the 13- 14 years divi-
sion.

While the r more experienced
swimmers had put in sharp
performances, Carlyle said: it
was exciting to see. the
“up and, coming”’
Bluebacks going so'well.

William Shack, for example,
had finished ahead of the other

nine-year-olds in taking fourth
" overall

in the 9-10 years
group. Kaela-Mari Cammidge,

§, finished with three wins and

two seconds, posting three
personal bests in the process, |
And Kelsey Wood, another 8-
year-old, went five-for-five in
top-three finishes with a
couple of best times.

Although the Bluebacks 2 are

still strongest in the older age

groups, Carlyle: said results
like that showed the depth of

‘talent in the club was growing.

‘Haldane takes Olympic aim

Crowns
bring

talents to.

3
if

BASKETBALL fans are in for some fine en-
terlainment next Thursday evening,

’ That's when the Crowns will take to the
court at Caledonia to play a local Teachers’ All
Starteam.

Founded 40 years ago by ex-Harlem Globe-
troiter Chico, Burrell, the Crowns are now
managed by player Herb Scaife and continue,
to combine skillful play with. zany antics that’
" promise lots of laughter. © i.

“The regulation four-quarter game gets un-

“derway at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 9. and ~
. there will be a couple of door prize draws at |
= time, one’ being for a definite ata

ant

AT AGE 24, Jason Haldane i is
young for an. international vol-
leyball player, .

But the Canadian national
team is looking to the skill and
leadership . qualities: of ’ their
Terrace bor and raised star to —

-take- them -..l0--next..:year’s. - .

Olympic Games i in Atlanta,

Haldane’s rise» has. “been

meteoric, Hé joined the. Cana- ©
dian team | straight out. of

Grandé Prairie College three.
years ago.

Last year he was ‘signed up -
by Belgian professional team: . .

Zonhoven, -playing an eight -
month stint he describes as’**a
tremendous experience."?

Although he’ says. the skill
level wasn’t any different
from what he was used to, the ©

pressure to perform ‘was.

‘You really had to push, even. 7

when you werent: having. a
good day.”” .

The pressure. now is to make
the Olympics. Canada. -just

missed doing that-at_ Septem---.

ber’s “NORCECA

Championships where they. ° |

took the bronze — Haldane
was named “most valuable

player of that medal match,
That third place finish was.

enough, however, to qualify
the team for this. month’s.
World Cup in Japan, a first for
a Canadian Men’steam,...0
A top two finish at the World

Cup would eam Canada" AN.
Olympic berth, but that’s.a tall: -
order given’: “the ‘calibre’ of

teams that will be there, * .. .’

Failing. shat, the “team has . e
two more chances to book. -:

their trip to ~Atlanta: - the

Olympic zone qualifier i in Cal-

gary, Dec. 13-16 and tourna-
ments to.be held next May to:

settle the final. three: berths at.

the Games. :
Only .12: teams’ ‘compete at
the Olympics and’ Canada is
ranked #14 in the world. That
doesn’t faze Haldane at all. .

|

with the. event raising money. ‘for. travel, eX.
penses for the Caledonia Kermodes Boys bas-
ketball team. To get tickets, contact the Gal of-

fice at 635-6531.-.
Meanwhile, the Friday: evening action: con-.

tinucs in'the Terrace Mini-Basketball league

where the Raptors remain. unbeaten ‘after five

games. The squad: had a close ‘call last week, -
- though, just getting by. the: Celtics $3-47. Kyle
Leighton sank 18. and Conrad: campbell 17 for.

for ihe Celtics;

-Brian- Matthews, a, De Derek Matthews (21)
and:Kiel Davis (20) led the Magic:in a-50-20°

rout of the Grizzlies. to take sole possession of . :
second place.

t

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