B4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 1, 2006 A MARGARET SPEIRS _ROB BROWN _ ‘Rick's reel. . attuned to the ‘requirements of discerning | “anglers. There are old St: Georges, newer St Georges but, Sadly, the newly made St. Georges are no more, discontinued.in favour of smooth . | ‘running, disc dragged, overly- -perforated winches that lighten the wallet and take a lot of the thrill and’ suck almost all of the skill from the act of playing a fish. The St George; the large St. John and the smaller “St. Aiden were the three reels in what might have ~ -been called the House of Hardy’s Martyr Line. With its line guard, the St. George is the most el- : egant of the three,'and, to my mind, the most practi- * cal, since it has enough line capacity for salmon and a drag that can‘be adjusted to the requirements, of © “trout fishing. And, it has heft. - The’ real reel craftsmen of yore understood that rods were levers and: that the angler’s hand and “arm were fulcrums. Consequently, they assembled ‘their reels with sufficient weight to counterbalance . the section. of rod and line extending beyond the ‘caster’s grip. . There is a modern. misconception that light-_ weight rods are’a good thing. Because of this, long _ featherweight poles armed with anorexic reels are _common. This kind of outfit is unbalanced. Carbon fibre may be light but actually takes as much. or. more, effort to make. it work than..does.a . Properly balanced cane or glass fibre rod. - 4° “Rod manufacturers need to keep selling product, which explains the new generations of lighter rods, each one supposedly a dramatic advancement on its predecessors, — Truth be told, the best generation of graphite rod was one of the earliest. J: Kennedy Fisher made them for itself'and other companies, including Har- dy and Orvis. These rods were heavier than their antecedents by a few ounces but they were respon- sive and pleasant to wield. _ [still have one, It’s my favourite plastic rod, and when I slip a St. George in its reel séat, run the line . 1. through its guides, then place the end of the cork grip on an extended index finger, it balances beauti- . fully: _. When you want to ‘dampen the run of a. strong fish or prevent a bird’s nest on a St. George, you have to deftly insert your index finger inside the reel cage and slow the spool by applying Pressure to the line. ‘The act requires skill, It forces a fisherman to . pay close attention to what is playing out before his _ eyes. It also heightens the excitement, and conse- quently, the enjoyment of that aspect of fishing. - . The St. George has:a click drag. A screaming reel is about as musical as a ratchet, but its associa- tions with past successes make it a fitting punctua- tion to a good cast and a well-drifted fly. The older’ St. Georges, recognizable by their screw-mounted brass. feet and their patina, are the best of them. They were made when mass produc- tion was in its infancy and a few craftsmen and their apprentices could still fulfil the demand for fishing reels for the House of Hardy. - . The St. George isn’t the perfect fly reel. The Per- ’ fect: a St. George designed to have a spool inside . the cage that can be manipulated without fear of having your knuckles whacked by the handle, but the St. George is right up there. . ” I’ve had bad luck with my St. Georges. One was ruined by a reel repairman who had trouble distin- guishing between glue and lubricant. In order to escape drowning, I left one in the _ Clore River. Miraculously! Andrew Scruton found it still attached to part of the rod a month later and a mile downstream of the mishap. He cleaned it and returned it. It’s still clicking but it’s frail. I was elated to acquire a mint condition St. George, still'in the box, last year, only to lose it -along with all my wet flies and my camera when I. " drove off with my angling bag still hanging from a jack on my camper. ~ Karen told‘ this tale of woe. to Paul. Lawrence _ when they met'on: ‘last year’s fundraising walk for cancer. I have one of those reels, said Paul, then he told her how he’d picked it up atia Kingfishers’ Rod and Gun Club auction. , The reel, said Paul, had belonged to steelheading phenom, Rick Olmstead, who’d donated it along with the rest of his fly tackle, because he couldn’t catch as many steelhead as he needed using the fly. ‘Rick was a driven guy, obsessed with catching more steelhead and bigger steelhead than anyone ever had. That obsessive part of his nature took him. to dangerous places and dangerous behaviours that eventually killed him in mid-life. , Karen bought Rick’s reel from Paul. She boxed and wrapped it and slipped it under the tree at Christmas with a short history enclosed. It was as fine a gift as I’ve ever received. =<) he St. George i isa capital machine, ; a reel . -_ of fine design designed by fine designers. S TERRACE STANDARD @ MARGARET SPEIRS . EVERY PLAYER had his ‘chance on the ice’ at the peewee. zones and coach -— Don Leblond is proud of his squad, who took third place. The peewees tied Kiti- | _ mat 3-3 and then fell 5-0 to ~ Smithers. ra) -. Terrace kept ‘up with Smithers 2-0 until the third period, when. attempts to score led to being scored on, said Leblond. “The ‘goalies were « the — big story on our team,” he “|. Kyle.Gray. said about Brett Dehoog and To its credit, Smithers _has only one first-year play- er on its team compared. to__ seven new guys on the local squad. _Leblond chose not to shorten the bench, instead letting all the kids play. And it paid off. First-year player Brendan Kennedy assisted on two goals, one of which he shot from the point anda team- ~ - — - Or five kids better is not my ’ goal anyway,” he. said. ‘mate tipped in. Leblond said everyone contributed to the series. ° “In. the end, that’s what ‘ it's all about. Making four TERRACE PEEWEE rep defenceman Jason Vandeveld, right | in dark jersey, tangles v with a ‘Smithers player while goalie Kyle Gray looks on during a’ peewee zones match at the arena Feb. 18. MARGARET SPEIRS PHOTO He achieved his goal of helping all the, players have a good year. Even with the tie and loss, Leblond is impressed. with the improvement his kids have shown over the season. . In their first ‘couple of meetings, Terrace lost to | Kitimat and Smithers by ‘Margins from. six to 13 points. Petites clinch second: gold, _ “We climbed a big. moun- tain,’ he said. ° |... ” ® The zone final saw Smith- ers beat Kitimat 2-1 in over-. | time. — Juniors nab silver at Sweetheart THE RAINCOAST Petite B ringette squad nailed its-second consecutive gold medal victory, and the Junior B team scored a silver at the Sweetheart tournament in Kelowna. . The team slid past Coquitlam/ ‘Moody and Vernon 5-3 before blast- ing Delta.11-3. The team blasted Surrey/Whiter- ock 9-2 in the semifinal and slammed Enderby 11-4 in the final. “We're dealing with | 1-year-olds here but their hearts are really in it and that’s what makes a difference,” says coach Roger Tooms. “The team came to play and did what they went there to do.” Taylor Grant played in goal for the first game then moved up to de- | fense to lead the scoring. Katie Wafzig and defensive part: ners Brittany Seymour and Ashley Dennome were the most reliable and consistent players throughout the tournament, Tooms says. Tristen Metcalfe played four - games between the pipes, defending the net against a heavy pummelling _by demonstrating their fair play on “the ice along with their friendly and of opponents’ shots. “He was definitely a factor in the team’s success and was by far . the best goalie down there,” says Tooms. 7 Seven players welcomed their second Petite Sweetheart gold med- - als; they played on the gold medal Petite C team last year. This year they moved up to B division, the second highest in the province, where the competition is - much tougher. | “T have coached most of these players for five years now and know that they.truly love to be on the ice,” says Tooms. “They work hard to prepare for ” these competitions and not only have they learned to play the game well, but they have become great representatives of our community THE RAINGOAST Petite B ringette team shows off its ‘second gord medal from the Kelowna Sweetheart Tournament. courteous behaviour off the ice.” of competition and larger number of . way to the final with a short bench .. Tooms says the Sweetheart win is even more satisfying than winning at" provincials thanks to the higher level teams to play. The Terrace Junior B Ringette ‘team won silver after fighting its -of only 10 players. STEPHANIE HADDAD, left, and skip Jody Kucha- _ryshen plan the next throw during the first draw at the 50th Valentine’s Bonspiel Feb. 9. Kucharyshen’s rink finished fourth in the A event and she placed second in the Hot Shots competition. MARGARET SPEIRS PHOTO a By MARGARET SPEIRS: ‘CURLERS from around the region left the 50th Ladies Valentine’s Bonspiel with words of praise for a weekend full of entertainment and fond memories reminiscing about past years. and one of the club's most- ‘loved “|. founding members. Locals battled it out in the A event with the Pettersen rink winning over the Griffith rink, Prince Rupert’ s best competed for top . spot in the B event with Atchison beating Billings. . Terrace’s Bakker team took victory away : from the Smith rink of Prince Rupert in the C event. ; Maureen Kinniburgh of Smithers led her _ Tink to. the win over the Bazanski rink of - Prince Rupert i inthe Devent. In the Hot Shots Challenge, Cheryl Wy- - att took first, junior J ‘ody Kucharyshen came second and Margaret Copeland took third. Kucharyshen’s rink, the only juniors in the tourney, won its first four games, beating locals Marie Matthews, Wyatt, Copeland and long-time curler Lyn Apolezer before losing to Griffith, which placed the juniors _ fourth in the A event. “I was really pleased with how we did, * Kucharyshen said, adding she didn’t expect to do that well before the event began. “I was just concentrating ‘and really into this and I wanted to do really well. - “I’m very proud of them (her team).” She focused on the Hot Shots competition - and missed first place by only two points, another pleasing finish, she said. Jean Billings, who skipped a rink at the very first Valentine’s Bonspiel in 1956, came from White Rock to curl with her daughter Susan MacKenzie of Prince Rupert. Cont'd Page B10 | Curlers rock at Valentine 'S ‘spiel “It's great to be back in the north,” she said, adding she returned just for the golden anniversary celebration, “It's good to see so many old timers still around.” She. credited the club with putting on a- “fantastic” ‘spiel in every way. ' She remembered her victory on the origi- nal three sheets of ice in the former club where George Little Park is today. “Yes, we did win one of the events,” she said. “It was difficult. People were just learn- ing to curl in the north.” ‘Billings, who knew of curling club found- er Vesta Douglas, expressed her sadness of Douglas’ passing. “That was too bad, so close to joiningyin the festivities. She used to be a great story " teller,” she said. Bonspiel chairperson Cindy Brown €X-: - pressed her pride at the community’s top- notch-hosting of a spectacular event. “Larger clubs in larger cities would never receive the community support required to | -host an event such as this,” she said. “And thanks. to the many teams who joined us from out of town, I think we man- aged to properly honour our founders.” —_, . Organizers hosted a weekend of celebra- tion and remembrance with formal opening ceremonies, a champagne brunch gala ban- quet, entertainment, and plenty of prizes and raffles. A tribute in honour of long-time supporter. . --and good friend Vesta Douglas, saw every- one sign a photo of her, which was framed and hangs at the curling rink in memory of her dedication and friendship. Forty-one teams from around the region joined in the festivities.