DAVE TAYLOR SKEENA ANG ROB BROWN Local boards ate last Fall Webb dragged me along to a meeting of ithe local Sportfish Advisory Committee. These bodies were one of Jim Culp’s excellent ideas during his term as Sport- fishing Ombudsman working under the Depart- . ment of Fisheries and Oceans. It was a difficult job. Jim worked hard during his tenure, informing his sporting constituents of important policy issues flowing from the Ministry of Fisheries while relaying environ- mental and regulatory concerns of north coast fishers to the Feds. The DFO wasn’t exactly sportfishing-fricndly in those days. Jim toiled over annual reports to ensure that they fairly represented the diverse interesis of those to whom he had spoken in the preceding year, yet * many of his recommendations were ignored. Jim is a democrat with an abiding faith in no- tion that, given enongh honest information, people can solve their own problems. It was be- cause of this inclination he set up the local fisheries advisory bodies when it appeared there would no longer be a Northern Ombudsman. The local committees operating out of Kitimat, the Bulkley Valley and Terrace feed recommendations to a larger North Coast Com- mittee and the Sport Fish Advisory Board. In theory this is fine, but my experience at the last meeting of the local committee convinced me that there are problems at this level. During the mecting, for example, Elmer Fast, Sportfishing officer from DFO indicated that fisheries officers suspect there may be 2 poach- ing problem on the Gitnadoix River. After some discussion, Elmer suggested two options: closure or a flyfishing-only restriction. At this last suggestion some members at the far end of the table jolted wpright as if a ‘surge of elec- ticity bad just passed through their chairs. One young man started chanting about elitism, an- other fellow yelled that the river should be closed rather than have a gear restriction, even though such a regulation would keep 2 sport- fishery alive on the river during the chinook mun. Elitism is polilical term, namely a belief that some people are better than others, and only the best should rule. Flyfishing is a angling techni- que available to everyone with the means to purchase the necessary tackle, and the willing- ness to spend a few hours learning how to usc it. To use the term elitism in this context is in- correct, As for the gentleman who would rather see a river closed than left open to those who opt to angle in a way he chooses nat to; how would he feel about a fisher who prefers to fish with a gaffe and argues volubly that a river should be shut down rather than be restricted to those who use such effete tools as a rod and reel? Lots of people use words withoul knowing what they mean. Plenty of people are guilty of woolly thinking born of inexperience and motivated by self-interest, but what bothers me is thal some of the peaple who advanced this argument at that forum ate so-called “‘anglers- at-large’’. This begs a number of questions. For whom do these men speak? Who makes up their constituency? How do they gather input? What questions do they ask their constituents to elicit a response? The Sport Fish Advisory Board is a large one. Lee Straight and Peter Broomball serve on it as anglers-al-large. The other members ail represent organized interests. Lee and Peter are there for the wealth of experience they bring to the lable, theirs is more of an advisory role to the SFAB. On the much smaller local com- mittee, the anglers-al-large are there because they shdwed up. The obvious problem with this is they wind up advancing their personal, gencr- ally uninformed interests thereby undermining the representative integrity of the committee while hindering ils ability to do business, The chair should be elected by the local board which should consist of elected representatives of the B.C, Wildlife Federation, the Steelhead Society, the Guides Association, the Salmonoid Enbancement Society, the Terrace Flyfishers, someone representing the tourist industry, a rep- resentative of the business community, and any olher representative from a group with a large interest in the sportfishery. The board should report out to the public at an annual general meeting where clections should be held for the positions of chainman/angler-at-large and recording secretary, These changes would provide a much-needed jubricant for the Terrace Board and turn it into an effective working body. Skiers shap ONION LAKE will be a busy place this weekend as dozens of top cross country skiers from the area con- verge for the winter games time trials at the annual Kitimat Open ski race, The action starts on Satur- day, wilh three events scheduled for the weekend. The Kitimat Open is a big race on its own, bul skiers will also be attempting to qualify for both next month's Northern BC Winter Games in Terrace as well as the upcoming BC Winter Games in Campbell River. Skiers from all over the north, including Burns Lake, Smithers and Prince George, will be competing in the race. ‘We're expecting up to 100 skiers, depending on the weather conditions,’’ says Kitimat cross country ski TERRACE STANDARD. the way to 50 and over. “Some adults in Terrace seem lo have really clicked into racing,’ says race organizer Cheryl Brown. ‘We've got lots of 20 and 30-year-olds getting into it’? Brown says that cross country skiing in general seems to be = gaining popularity in Terrace. “It's been really big. in Kitimat for a long time,” she says. “But now we're starting to see more Terrace families come out.”’ Brown credits the great facilities at Onion Lake for some of the sport's popularity surge. The lake boasts some 25 -kilometres of trails, ranging from 1 km beginner runs to 13 km ad- vanced treks. Those trails are all machine-groomed, so they’re packed and easy ski “Now we're starting to see more Terrace families come out.’ «Cheryl Brown- ‘club president Brenda Har- wood. ‘And the race is open to everyone, young and old.” Top race times for each age calegory will be used to qualify skiers for the games, A new 11 and 12-year-old age group has been added this year for the Northen BC games. Because the youths only have to tum 11 sometime in 1997, children 4s young as ten will be able to race. And unlike the BC games where skiers have to be, un-- der the age of 22, the north-' em games are open to adults as well. Age categories for the games here extend all THREE YOUTH bockey players from Terrace have been selected to teams that will represent the North West Zone at the February BC Winter Games in Camp- bell River. The female Under-18 team for our Zone Seven was selected at a Granisle camp in mid December, and only one Terrace player was on as well, Plus, there are two warm- ing huts to get out of the weather and the ski club of- fers different events days for skiers young and old, For instance, Sundays are masters and family ski days, while Wednesdays are for moms and dads, so parents can go out on a quiet ski while other parents take turns watching the little ones, There are two waxing clinics coming up here in , February, anda BC Rabbits * learn-to-ski-program starting January 12 for young: Ter- race skiers. picked. Forward Lindsay Smith will go to Campbell River February 20-23 to partici- pate in the games. Smith was up against twenty-five other players participating in the weekend camp, which was both a leaming exercise for the athletes and a competition for team placement. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 8, 1997 - B5 __ 638-7283, e up for Games aah CROSS COUNTRY from all over the northwest will c onverge at Onion Lake this weekend for Northern BC Winter Games time trials and the Kitimat Open race. Terrace three head to Games The female Zone Seven team is dominated by Kitimat players, and a coaching staff exclusively from the aluminum cily. Meanwhile, the male Under-16 rep team from our zone will include two Ter- race players. Goalie J.J. Boudreault and forward Darren Bentham, along with 14 other north- west youths were chosen from a field of more than 40 top players in the region, Other Terrace players wha were chosen for the camp but did not make the team include Garth Earl, Brad L’Heureux, Lance Armn- strong, John Montgomery and Corrie Wood, The coaches for the North West Zone male Under-16 rep team both hail from Ter- race. Head coach Steve Smyth and assistant coach Garth Muller will head to Vancouver Island with the team in February, Unfortunately, the new team will only have one weck-cnd to practice togeth- er before the games. That practice will be held ine Granisle, February 1-2. Novice tourney hits the ice YOUNG ATHLETES from around the northwest found hot competi- tion in Terrace last weekend at a novice under-10 tournament. The pitt-sized stars played well and showed a surprisingly high level of play that kept spectators entertained. The first game saw Tertace’s R- 40 Construction go up against the Carpenters of Kitimat. Terrace thoroughly dominated the play but great goaltending by Kitimat kept them alive into the third period. That’s when Kitimat’s Tyler Jason Adam tore away from the defence midway through the third and made a spectacular wrist shot to break the stalemate. SHOOT, A Kitimat Carpenter sneaks one through the legs of a Terrace A-40 Construction player during one of the games in the Novice Under-10 tournament held. here on the weekend. Teams from around the northwest showed up for a little hockey and some inter-leagu up until the third period, when Terrace brake away to take the win, = e fun. This game was close Medeiros matched a first period goal by Terrace’s Mark Biagioni, tying the game at 1-1. The Kilimat goal slowed Ter- race’s atlack, but not for long. Jason Adam of Terrace tore away from ithe defence midway through the third period and made a spec- tacular wrist shot to break the stalemate. That goal seemed to boost the lo- cal team’s confidence and it opencd up the floodgates for a gush of Ter- race goals. Mark Biagioni scored twice more for a hat trick, as did Jason Adam who potted two more in a row. Robbie McColl added some last minute insurance on the way to a 7- 1 Terrace win,