Little Balls For Cancer

Mark, Lyle, Andy and Bundy strike a pose

For the eleventh straight year I recently took part in the Terry Fox Golf Tournament and although we remained dry, everyone had a bad hair day thanks to the gusty winds.

The forecast heading into the day was calling for wind gusts up to 80 km/h, rain and cool temperatures. Luckily we only saw a few brief drops of the wet stuff and thanks to being dressed for the day it wasn't all that chilly after all. However the winds didn't disappoint which made for some tricky club selections.

OK, the truth is we usually try to win the tournament as I think we've won it at least four times in the past but there were a couple of teams that may have brought in a few ringers which meant our chances were very slim. But other than bragging rights, the real reason we play is to raise money for the cause...cancer research.

Well, we didn't win. In fact we struggled all day long in the best ball game and eventually finished at one over par. It's the first time in eleven years that we didn't have a single birdie the entire round. We weren't the only team to struggle.

It was amazing how many times we'd hit what appeared to be an excellent tee shot only to have the wind swallow the ball up and drop it or move it no where near the trajectory should have taken it. Mother Nature had our number and all we could do was keep our hats from blowing off and shake our heads in disbelief.

For the second year in a row our team consisted of Mark Adams, Lyle Williams, Andy Koetstra and myself. We had a lot of laughs as we struggled along and over $8000 was raised for the cause. I don't know if they'll be having the tournament next October but if they are, you can bet we'll be there again.

Tragedy and Triumph to Start Games

One thing that seems to be true of all Olympic Games, whether they be Winter or Summer, is to expect the unexpected.

I don’t think anyone could have expected the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics to begin in such a shocking and tragic manner with the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia. During his training run before the Olympic Games had even officially started, Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled at over 140 km/h and was launched off the track and into a steel support beam. The injuries proved deadly for the young luger. Some feel the blame for this rests squarely on VANOC for not allowing enough time for foreign athletes to train on the track ahead of time. I strongly disagree. This young man made a mistake and sadly it cost him his life. When you’re traveling at those speeds it only takes a brief moment for an accident to occur.

Nobody could have predicted this could happen. If they had, they would have been able to prevent it. At the Opening Ceremonies his teammates from Georgia walked into the stadium without smiles and with black armbands. They did not stay for the rest of the show which included several mentions of the accident and one minute of silence.

The Opening Ceremonies were impressive and despite what some Quebec politicians think, I believe there was a good balance of both English and French during the show. But as usual, there are those in Quebec who are never satisfied. If it had been 90% French they would have been angry that it wasn’t 100% Francophone. Of course this comes from the province that won’t allow English signage. The saying “do as I say, not as I do” comes to mind.

The big thing from a Canadian perspective for these games was the question of not if but when and how soon will Canada have its first Gold Medal on Canadian soil? At the two previous Olympic Games held in Canada in 1976 and 1988, no Canadian athlete had won Gold. I believe five Silver Medals was our best at the ’76 Summer Games in Montreal.

Jenn Heil was the early favourite to achieve this in Ladies Moguls on Day 2 but despite putting together a fantastic run, she was edged out by an American girl and had to be happy with Canada’s first medal, Silver. Next up was Charles Hamelin in short-track speed skating who seemed likely to finish with a medal in the 1500 metre event if not at the top of the podium. But, fate played a cruel trick and Hamelin failed to qualify for the final and instead had to settle for easily winning the “B” final.

Next up was the Men’s Moguls on Sunday night where there was potential for Canadians to sweep all three podium positions. That didn’t happen of course as two of our athletes finished fourth and fifth. But the Gold Medal drought seemed like it could end on this night. With one last Canadian at the top of the run ready to make history, Alexandre Bilodeau took off and put in the performance of a lifetime and moved into top spot moving the defending champ to the Silver position.

One final skier remained and needed a perfect run to upset Canadians across the country. As I watched the French athlete make his way down the run, even a novice moguls competition watcher as me could spot a couple of major mistakes in his run and I knew it was in the bag. A few moments later it became official and Canada had its first Gold Medal on Canadian soil. The whole country celebrated and Bilodeau became an instant celebrity and hero to millions. Now that the goose egg has been broken, we can only hope this will lead to many more Gold Medals. Of course as Canadians, we’ll be proud of our athletes regardless of how they finish.

The biggest and most humourous Gaff of the Games so far has to go to NBC and their broadcast of the opening ceremonies. I’m sure some Americans wouldn’t have caught the mistake but it was a real doozy if you did.

As the Olympic flag was brought into the stadium, the flag bearers were introduced and the very first one was Betty Fox. Of course any Canadian with half a brain will tell you that Betty is the mother of Canadian hero and one-legged runner Terry Fox who died while running across Canada to raise money for cancer research. It was known as the Marathon of Hope and since 1980 the Terry Fox Run has been held in Canada and numerous other countries raising millions upon millions of dollars to fight cancer. The brain trust at NBC were right on the ball and quickly identified Betty Fox as the mother of Canadian actor Michael J. Fox…complete with pictures. Ouch!

October This and That

I was just sitting in front of the computer and figured I should probably post an update on the blog but I really don't have any particular topic that has peaked my interest lately.

My Habs have been playing fairly well despite a bad night tonight in Vancouver and the fact they're starting the season with a long road trip and the Leafs haven't won a game yet, so that's all good. Plus my hockey pool has begun and that helps to keep the season interesting.

The world has been dealing with some crazy stuff lately with typhoon's, tsunami's and earthquakes and thankfully none of it has really affected me at all other than feeling sorry for those who have suffered.

I tried my luck at Geocaching the other day but gave up after about ten minutes. I just don't have the patience to trek through the bush looking for hidden "treasures" just for the heck of it. If I was searching for the secret location of a group of undersexed sorority girls then that might prove to be a bit more motivating.

I went out golfing earlier tonight for the first time in about a month and it wasn't a compete failure. It was cool, the winds were blowing at about 1000 km/h and my tee shots looked great until I made contact with the ball. Eventually the sun came out and the colours of the leaves on the trees were amazing. I had a lot of fun golfing with the guys. Truth be told...I've golfed a lot worse and actually hit a few good tee shots. My putting sucked though. Hopefully I play better on the 17th as I take part in the annual Terry Fox Golf Tournament.

Thanksgiving is coming up on Monday and I'll be working all day so that won't be too exciting. On the plus side I'll be enjoying some delicious dead fowl drowning in golden gravy on Sunday night. I love my mothers cooking.

And the other day I had some fun watching the local Air Force Search and Rescue Techs practicing their skills on the bay south of Brighton. Of course, I had my camera in hand and managed to snap a few frames (see below). I've seen this stuff before but it's still impressive to watch as they drop guys in wetsuits into the water and then come around to pluck them out over and over.

So aside from some boring work related stuff, that's about all I've been up to lately. I hope your life is more interesting than mine.

Copyright © All rights reserved.

Copyright © All rights reserved.

Canadian Hero: Terry Fox

The 27th annual Terry Fox Run takes place in Canada on Sunday September 14th.

Terry Fox became a National hero in 1980 when he dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean to begin his Marathon of Hope. I was 12 years old when his dream of running across Canada and raising $1 for every Canadian began. Terry was running to raise money to fight cancer and to help with research to one day find a cure.

Although Terry died before finishing his cross-country journey, his message was received loud and clear. At first Canadians responded by raising $3.5 million during the first run in 1981. Since then, the dream grew and the run is held all over the world and over $400 million has been raised for cancer research.

Terry may be gone but he touched us all and he left his mark on. In a world that isn't always perfect, Terry's dream and the efforts that followed remind us that there is a lot of good left in us all.

I don't know if anything is taught about Terry in Canadian schools today but it should be. Here is a brief and inspirational video about Terry's story.

Golf Winners Again

I don't like to brag...probably because I rarely have an opportunity to do so but I thought I'd do it just this one time.

Back on October 13 I took part in the Terry Fox Golf Tournament for the seventh year in a row. My current team (foursome) has been together for six of those years and of those six we've won the tournament four times, including this most recent event.

Of course we play mainly to support a good cause but with so many members of our golf club taking part we also enjoy bragging rights for a year.

It's a good time and with so many of us taking part there are usually some impressive shots during the round. This year was no exception.

Tee Off For Terry Fox

The 5th Annual Tee-Off for Terry Fox Golf Tournament was held at the Murray Hills Golf Course on Saturday October 15th. This fun day of golf is put on by the Student Government from ENSS in Brighton each year and has been a major contributor of funds in their efforts to raise money to fight Cancer.

I have golfed in all of the tournaments over the 5 years and along with my team-mates, we've had a fair bit of success.

Once again this year, about 39 teams of four hit the links on one of the nicest days for the tourney ever. We had a mix of sun and cloud with only about 5 minutes of light rain to dampen our grips. The winds were quite gusty which made playing that much more challenging.

To make a long story short, my team of Andy Koetstra, Fred VanLingen, Lyle Williams and myself won the tourney by 3 strokes as we finished minus six on the day. We had made it as low as minus 8, however bogies on the last two holes dropped us a bit.

With so many groups participating, our foursome had to play with two other foursomes. The fact that the other two groups were all members of the golf course like us made for a fun day of joking and good competition.

My gloating wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention the fact that this was the second win in a row for us and third overall in the five years in this event. We've done well to say the least.

But the bottom line is the money raised and I'm pleased to report that almost 9-thousand dollars was raised for the Terry Fox Cancer Foundation and a lot of fun was had by all. I congratulate the organizing committee on another well run tournament and I look forward to next October.