SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN | ‘SKEENA. ANGLER, ROB BROWN Taimen 7 here was a collective gasp. For a fleeting moment Joan was convinced that she — they — everybody in the jet, was hurtling toward oblivion. Instantly she realized that the last act of her life would be listening to the ignorant philosophy of the large obnoxious man pressing against her from the next seat — that the last words she would hear would be his claim that growth was good and that the Lord believed in it. Joan remembered Elsie, the childhood friend who had paddled from the river bay where they often swam, and was swept away in the strong current. “Before Avro and his brother pulled me out, I was pulled down to the bottom. I saw myself in a casket at my own funeral. And, it was funny, I was onthe bottom of the river about to die and I had this big smile on my face,” she told Joan. The incident was so dramatic, so odd, that Joan never forgot it. It came back vividly now that she was on the verge of destruction, feeling amused, tickled by the absurdity of the moment. The plane shuddered. The lights came on, the free fall apparently over. The jet continued to pitch like a dory in heavy chop. People began talking anxiously. Billy ‘looked at Joan and let out the breath he’d been holding for what seemed like a long time, but hadn’t been. “This is Captain Saul speaking,” the voice on the intercom had a mechanical calmness. “It's our Captain,” said the corpulent man next to Joan. “Our Sky.,Pilot,”. Joan, said, her. voice, not.be:D. _traying-a-trace of: sargasm. She.was-tempted to. ask her fat fellow traveler whether he thought the pilot believed in the goodness of growth, but thought better of it. Captain Saul’s mellifluaus tones continued to _ flow from the speakers. “We are experiencing some turbulence. We will be making an emergency landing in Prince George, There is no reason to be alarmed. Please remain seated and keep your seat belts fastened.” After this the talk throughout the plane be- came furtive and intense as the passengers speculated on the reason for the emergency landing and why, if there was no reason for alarm, the jet was setting down on an airfield where it did not normally land. The man next to - Joan was red and sweating profusely, apparently talked out: She leaned over to Billy. “I hope the rest of the trip is less eventful,” she said. Billy smiled, shook his head and stroked her hair, The air turned from chop to swells then went flat calm. The flight attendants unclipped them- selves and went about their chores perfunctorily, then sat down again. In minutes the jet touched down smoothly. The passengers burst into spon- laneous applause. Captain Saul's dulcet voice filled the jet once more. “The tower tells us that the unexpected and severe storm that we hit head on has moved in- land. We believe, well, actually we’re sure now, that our plane was struck by lightning.” All movement in the jet and what little talk there was ceased. “After a short stop, we will be continuing an to Vancouver,” said Saul, “But, given the situa- tion, we are giving all passengers the option of deplaning here in Prince George. You will be given a hotel room with our compliments as well as the choice of another flight to Vancou- ver tomorrow, or a bus ticket. If you choose to stay here, thanks for flying with us, and our sin- cere apologies for the unavoidable inconve- nience.” The man next to Joan fell out of his seat, pop- ped the compartment overhead, clawed out his luggage and scrambled toward the eit. Almost everyone else in the jet followed like panicked viewers fleeing a blazing theatre. Joan looked at Billy for an opinion. “We're staying,” he said without hesitating. “What are the chances that a plane will be hit by a lighting bolt twice on the same flight?” In two hours they were walking across the tar- mac in Vancouver. Half an hour later they were riding in the back seat of a taxi to one of the hotels near the airport. As Billy leaned into the front and shuffled through his wallet for the fare, the Sikh driver flicked on the overhead light. Its rays caught an iridescent, three-dimensional picture of a ferocious figure that was set in the dash. “Who's that?” asked Billy, “Dat's God,” replied the Sikh. “I think he flew down in ‘the plane with us tonight,” said Billy, = . pants to take on five exciting out- ‘ing, cross country mountain bik- the challenge? TERRACE STANDARD The second annual Terrace Standard Adventure Challenge kicks into high gear soon. Who will be crowned adventure sport champions this time? By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN ATHLETES throughout the region are pearing up for the northwest’s only adventure sport series ~ the second annual Terrace Standard Adventure Challenge, The series challenges partici- door sports competing for points, bragging rights and big prizes. Last year’s innaugural event saw more than 160 competitors from throughout B.C, compete in downhill mountain biking, off road running, outdoor rock climb- ing and a BMX/skateboarding competition. This year's series features all the same events with the excep- tion of the BMX/skateboard event which has been replaced with an open-water swim. The door is wide open for new challengers to compete for the tap spot in one of four categories: men’s open, women’s open, a ju- nior division for people 13-16 and a youth division for children 12 and under. Last year’s champions will tell you the secret to success is competing in as many of the five events as possible, . Husband and wife, super-sport ,. competed in all five events last year to secure enough points to claim top spot in the men’s and women’s open. That meant taking on events A RIDER charges toward the finish line at the All Seasons down- hill mountain bike race last year. It's one of five events featured in this year's Terrace Standard Adventure Challenge. competitors are challenged to a 250-metre race. The races start bright and early at 8:30 a.m. at the Kinsmen Kids Kamp followed by a beach party including volleyball, a barbeque and other activities. @ July 20 All Seasons Source for Sports downhill mountain bike race at Shames Mountain. Riders negotiate a root-infes- ted, exciting downhill course which weaves its way down the face Shames’ Panhandler run. Race starts at noon but riders are encouraged to come a few hours early to test-ride the course, MW July 27 The Skeena Valley Runners Club presents the 26th annual King of the Mountain foot race. Runners complete an 8.5 kilo- metre course which weaves its way up and over the stunning Ter- race Mountain trail, Start time is 10 a.m. at the Ter- race arena. @ August 2 Azad Adventures’ outdoor rock climbing competition at the Chist Hwy37 from Onion Lake. Climbers test their skills on a speed climb and a difficulty route. ovSits Sear MMe The" Winiiéiss This is a top-rope event which means climbers are secured by a rope at all times. Start time is 10 a.m. B August 4 McBike’s Eight Hours of Onion they wouldn’t have ever entered Lake endurance mountain biking before like the King of the Moun- tain footrace. “I despise running,” says Shane Spencer, who managed to place right in the middle of the pack in that race. “It was a good challenge just to try and see if [ could actually do’ it - Pve never run Terrace Mountain.” The Adventure Challenge is designed specifically to get people trying new sports in some of the most stunning locations the Terrace area has to offer. “I think the biggest thing it has done is sort of opened the door of Opportunity for people to try new and different things in an environ- ment where other people are doing the same thing,” says Mike Christensen, who organizes Mc- Bike’s Eight Hours of Onion Lake biking challenge ~ the final event of the challenge and the only competition where participants can be on a team. “Qn the surface that sounds like a whole. lot of agony,” he says of the test of endurance. “But then people realize, hey, you ride for 25 minutes, then you hang out with your. buddies for an hour or so and then ride for an- other 25 minutes, “For a lot of people that was their first taste of cross country ri- ding and they realized that it is a whole lot of fun and isn’t as hard as it might seem,” Taking on a new sport was also the winning choice for Travis Ya- gelniski who clinched top spot in the 2002 junior division. He had never even tried on a climbing harness when he took part in the Azad Adventures rock climbing competition last year, but competing in the event earned him the points he needed to clinch the top spot. Each individual event is open to anyone who wants to take part — participants can compete in as many or as few of the events as they see fit. Here’s a schedule of this year's challenges: Bi July 13 Ruins Board Shop’s open water swim and beach party. This is the Adventure Challenge’s newest event, Adults swim two laps around the 600-metre triangular course at Lakelse Lake. Juniors swim one lap and the youngest event. Riders can compete solo or in teams of up to four people, in an. effort to see who complete the most laps around a 6. kilometre course. Event starts at 2 p.m. and fi- nishes at 10 a.m. Grand prizes are awarded im- mediately following this event at the Snow Valley Nordic Ski Club’s warming hut at the Onion Lake cross country ski trails. Registration forms are avail- able June 1 at the Terrace Stan- dard, Azad Adventures, McBike, All Seasons Source for Sports, Ruins, and the CFTK/The Mix studios on Lazelle Ave, For details contact Sarah at 638-7283 or send her an e-mail at newsroom @ terracestandard.com. To be continued. : Local fighter qualifies for world karate championships By SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN VAL JEFFERY went through serious physical trauma earning the two bronze medals that are her ticket to the world karate championships in Ireland this fall. A week after the May 16-18 Canadian na- tionals, the blue and black bruises covering Jeffery’s left arm and leg are starting to fade. “She was totally black,” says her instructor Renshi Marwan: Abu Khadra about her war wounds. “All these bruises happened over the three days ~- continuous fighting is very. rough and tough.” The bruises are a constant'reminder of the 22 fights in just three days she powered through to earn the medals — one for contin- uous fighting one for point-fighting.- in the women’s over 35-years-old, under 65 kilograms division. The rigorous tournament sanctioned by the World Karate Association-Canada, saw an influx of women in Jeffery’s weight and age division entering this year over jast. — “] had two fights last year opposed to 22 fights this year,” she explains. “It didn’t just test my skills but I learned so much from doing this, just pushing yourself to the extreme to continuously fight day after day.” The petite 54-kilogram fighter got off to a tough start going up against the Teigning con- _ tinuous fighting world champion in her division _ in her first match of the event. — “You should have seen me in this fight, I. had a bloody nose so I had to fight with gauze stuck up my nose," she recalls laughing. “118 pounds of fighting fury!” She lost that fight but says having a go with a much more experienced fighter was exhi- larating. Abu. Khadra, who runs the Shogun Dojo where Jeffery trains, says she shouldn’t have lost the match, “The first fight she could have done much better because she és better,” he said. “She has talent - what she needs is more confidence in herself and her ability.” The 2002 -national event saw Jeffery take home a silver medal and a goid medal. Though those medals reflect a higher standing she says the third place finishes this year are better de- served, “Even though I didn’t walk away with the same medals as I did last year I worked much harder for what I achieved this year,” she says. Jeffery qualified-for last year's WKA world championships but wasn’t able to go. “If [ had gone to the worlds I don’t think I could have appreciated the magnitude of the competition,” she says. “And the amount of fighting that I did in one weekend to qualify (this year) 1 think bet- ter prepares me for Ireland.” - The WKA world championships are set for October 14-19 in Kilarney, Ireland. Jeffery says she’s not going to miss her shot cat an international competition this year. . The trip is expected to top $5,000 — money. . she’ ll have to ralse over the: summer, | KICKING BUTT: Val Jeffery has her sights set on the WKA world championships. She hopes Abu Khadra will be ringside, “The thing you need to know about me is if I fight and my master is pleased with how I ‘fought the really, truthfully, a medal or whe- ther I won or not doesn't really matter,” slie.. says. “Medals are nice, but in my heart, what brings me to this sport.and keeps me going isope “i ‘how I feel about what I do with it.” 8 638-7283 Creek forest recreation site across Combined scores from both. -. ite