Storm washed away first snow

Skiers wait hopefully for

Snow on local mountains

E The ski clan in Greater Vancouver added their tears to last weekend’s storm when
it became apparent that the big rain had washed away the first snowfall from Grouse,
Seymour -and Hollyburn, thus setting back the eagerly-awaited opening of another season

of Skiing on the West Coast.

Skiing in the early days was simply a means of

o

travel in snow-bound countries, and

continues to be. But today it is
also big business in North Am-
erica, and the continent’s snow-
belt is dotted with resorts, big
and little, lavish and modest,
but adding up to a billion dollar
industry.

Ski lifts have added to the
popularity of the sport here, and
every weekend through the
winter months hundreds of skiers

will be heading for the North}

Shore.

Records show that the first
mention of skis in Canadian his-
tory is contained in an account
of a snow-ice carnival in 1759,
but there is. nothing written

{/about skis in the United States
{| prior to 1840, so it is highly pro-
i/bable that Canadians introduced
-|the sport to

their neighbors

¢|/south of the border.

This unusual action shot shows skier going almost straight
down a hill at Squaw Valley, California. The course is a tough
One and has been recommended as a site for the 1960 Olympic
Skiing events.

_ Peg parks board hits
Professional sharks

By GEORGE BARR

The parks board, which supports the clubs on city-owned land,

any professional ‘organiza-

ti ” . .
On.” To make it plain they

Weren’t kidding, board members >

fomised they would throw out
te Pros themselves if the club
ari Ors didn’t take immediate
Ction.
con ompliments are due to all
earned for this positive at-
oh ie (the first in Canada, to
ing] nowledge) to counteract the
ki Weoee of pro sports among the
a Recreation director Charles
i, Our didn’t belittle the situa-
fesgi When he stated that the pro-
: ional tie-up will “kill organ-
B ockey” unless checked soon.
Pike arbour pointed out that if
leag Only concern of community
c€fs was to produce winning

Arata then the pro “sponsorship”

int
as

Up was okay. But if we were
‘rested in having as many kids
Possible participate, with no

deliberate policy of just develop-

‘ing a handful of stars, then the

status quo must be changed.
Although it’s more or less taken
for granted that the pros have
infiltrated: the youngest ranks of
organized sport, the scope of their
operations is wider than we 1Im-
agined. The frightening facts were
given by Reg. Mitchell, president
of the Manitoba Bantam Hockey

‘League, who pointed out that

National Hockey League teams,
alone spend at least $10,000 a year
among Winnipeg youngsters.
Now that this disgraceful sit-
uation has been officially re-
cognized, it would be a good
idea if the city councils in the
other centres followed suit and
began to kick out the pros. Un-
less professionalism is kept out
of the community centres, their -
main. purpose will not be
achieved.

Skiing originated, of course, in
Europe. The oldest pair of skis
in the world—they may be 5,000
years old, according to the gues-
ses of experts—are in the. Dju-
garden Museum at Stockholm,
Sweden.

Norway, Finland and Sweden
have produced many of the
world’s best skiers, but in recent
years the Russians have made
great progress in the sport, par-
ticularly in cross country ski-
ing, and are expected to win
several medals at the next Win-
ter Olympics.

It is not known if skis were

brought to Canada from Europe:

or were created by Native In-
dians, who had ‘long used snow-
shoes in the deep snow and may
have made skis for use down
steep mountain sides.

Paris football team managers
were ‘reaching for their cheque-
books. The newspapers weré
jubilant.

Istvan Sakas, goalkeeper of
the crack. Hungarian football

team Honved, had deserted, they

said. .

British, Canadian and USS.
papers picked up the story. After
Honved had beaten the Racing
Club de Paris team 5-3 the goal-
keeper decided to stay in Paris.
He was missing when his team
mates left on the Budapest-
bound train, said the reports.

The evening paper France-
Soir actually interviewed him.
He had been given presents of
cloth, silk and _ stockings . after
the game, he said. He could
speak six languages:

And then . . . Istvan the goalie
turned out to be a phoney. He
was in fact Andrecca Jacob. All
Paris was asking: ‘Who the heck
is Andrecca Jacob?” ;

Certainly no footballer. An-
drecca confessed that he was a
Rumanian waiter. working in
Paris. The nearest he ever got
to athletic fame was compulsory
P-T- in’ the “French. Foreign
Legion, in which he once served.

The Journal du Dimanche,
stable-companion of the evening
paper which had broken the
story, confessed the error. Jacob,
said an. article, had “abused the
good faith of journalists and
sports officials.” Fi
’ French football fans heaved a
sigh of relief. What, they were
wondering, would have happen-
ed if the waiter had actually
turned out as goalkeeper for a
First Division Paris team?

North American snooker champion George Chenier is shown
demonstrating one of his famous trick shots.

Cue ball caroms

off three cushions, knocks away the other cue ball and fills the

vacancy in the rack.

Gert Whyte's

SPORTLIGHT

MY granddad, viewing earth’s

“worn cogs,

Said things were going to the
dogs;

His granddad in his house of
logs, ;

Said things were going to the
dogs;

His granddad in the Flemish
bogs,

Said things were going to the
dogs;

His granddad in his old skin
togs,

Said things were going to the
dogs; ; é
There’s one thing that I have
to state— d :

The dogs have had a good long
wait. :

This piece of doggerel of un-
known authorship comes to

mind when I listen to some
of the opponents of Sunday sport
sounding off.

Most fair-minded citizens take
the view that Sunday sport
within fairly wide limits should
be allowed if the people want
it, and there is a strong demand
for it.

These folks are willing to let
the voters decide the question
on December 14 when they go
to the polls. 2

A- minority of exceedingly
vociferous bigots who want to
retain our present Sunday blue
laws (which do not interfere
with the pleasures of the rich)
try to cloud the question with
talk about “a wide open Sun-
day, with pool rooms going full
blast and people going to horse
racing tracks instead of to
church.”

Racing officials have already?
made it clear that they have no
intention of staging horse races
on the Sabbath.

As for pool rooms (or billiard
parlors, if you want the polite
term) there is no suggestion
that they will be allowed to
operate, although many pro-
prietors might wish to stay

open.

Billiards, snooker and pool, all
games of great skill, actually
are no more dangerous to the
morals of our younger genera-
tion than tennis or ping pong.

This isn’t the issue, in any
case. If people vote for a sen-
sible Sunday, some sports will
be allowed (with paid admission)

on Sunday afternoon between
1:30, p.m. and 6 p.m. Horse
racing, pool and certain other
sports and forms of recreation
will not be included in the list.

The snobs who want things to

go on as at present, with ex-»

pensive golf and tennis clubs
operating but the “common”
people denied the right to watch
or take part in organized sports
claim they don’t want things to
“so to the dogs.”

Move over, all the granddads
in ‘history—you’ve got com-
pany

bo: bos %

In New Zealand, where they
have Suhday sports, a few
zealots from the upper clawss
are trying to apply a ban.

A working class paper, the
Peopte’s Voice has this to say:

“There has been a big develop-
ment in Sunday sport in Auck-
land over recent years.

“Sunday sport should be used
to bring a greater number of
people into active sport partici-
pation.

“Sunday sport is meeting with
popular support and the op-
position of a small but noisy
group should not be allowed to
retard a development which is
in the best interests of the
people as a whole.” -

x x x

Some time ago, in his capacity
as president of the International
Olympic ‘Committee, Avery
Brundage severely criticized

‘Australian official bungling in

connection with the 1956 Olym-

‘pic Games, which will be held

in Melbourne.

Since theh the Aussies have
perked up and reports indicate
that everything will be ship-
shape in time’ for the Games.

Australians aren’t satisfied,
however, with conditions for
training athletes within their
country. The Menzies govern-
ment, they say, spends too much
money on war preparations and

e

not enough on athletic facilities. .

_ Sydney, Australia’s largest
city, “hasn’t a gym that wouldn’t
pass for a hayloft or a wine
cellar,” writes Henry McCarthy
of the Australian Tribune. “John
Landy and others had to go
overseas ‘and train on suitable
tracks before they smashed
records.” ;

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — NOVEMBER ll, 1955 — PAGE 11

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