SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN . SKEENA ANGLER - ROB BROWN Blood Sport (takes more time and effort to reach if the laces of my wading boots these days, and it took more time than usual that August day, The air was thick. The wind was gentle but laced with elec- tricity. Dirty gray clouds were tumbling over the bat- ilements of Mount Weeskinisht. The sky behind it was a blue dome. It, rambled. There was a rumble closer by and nearer the ground. I looked down the road: Bill Burke was approaching on his quad. | stopped. I looked past Bill to the fad- ing white van parked in Dave's field as | waited. Bill pulled up and turned off his machine. | leaned against the carrier. , ’ “How’s it been, Bill?” I asked. “Kind of slow, Rob, Had one good day, though - about a week ago. Since then there’s lots of pinks,” he said. “Is that Del’s van by the way?” “Yep. He’s gone to bed. Said he wasn’t fee- lin’ well. Had a bad headache.” “We should keep an eye on him. He had stroke a few years back,” I said. “My dad died of a stroke,” Bill stroked his fingers alongside his Adam's apple. “Had some- thing to do with his neck.” We both looked up in the direction of the distant thunder. "That's an impressive mountain isn’t it?" I said. “Mount Weeskinisht. You can hike ta the top of jt You drive as far as you can up the road that follows Coyote Creek then walk from up there. My brother and 1 did a couple of times.” My eyes followed the uppermost ridge to the point where it disappeared into the clouds. “Dangerous?” “T guess,” said Bill. “My brother chickened out at the last part, where you have to walk this narrow path...” “Steep?” “Like the peak of a roof — thousands of feet down on both sides — if you fell they'd have trouble picking up the body. it’s ckay though, All you got to do is take your time - walk until you feel like you're going to fall then sit down ‘and wait until the dizziness passes, then get up and get going again.” “Tm not sure I could handle it, Bill.” I slid off Bill's machine and put both feet on the ground again, “Better get moving if I'm going to catch some salmon.” ‘ I walked down the bank toward the river as Bill roared off to his chores. Far downstream, past the orange wires of the reaction ferry, past ihe spot where the derelict post office crouches, staring blankly through its.smashed out eyes like a sad cat, some salon rolled. [ couldn't tell what they were. [t was a good sign. The repetitive casting stroke became hypno- tic. My mind drifted. [ took three steps down river. There was no reason to do this. The sal- mon were moving. Eventually they would pass by. On cloudless days when the light is right, you can watch salmon slide in behind the larger rocks. They stare at you with their inshore eye. Today the light was wrong. When Bill returned, it was almost dark. There was a strange orange light between the darkening sky and the land. [t glanced off the top of the rifles. Black clouds covered Weeski- nisht. Lightening flickered far down the valley. My rod bowed. I had a salmon. It was strong and quick. [ could be a coho, in which case I would have to release it, or a sockeye, in which case | didn’t want to lose it Bill moved downstream, “Suckeye?” he asked. “T think it is, and I think it’s hooked fairly,” 1 said. My fish rolled within eye shot. It had the unmistakable torpedo shape and silvery blue sheen of a sockeye. My shoulders felt tight as I played it through the shallows, over the smooth stones, the place where fish come unstuck, When you’re out to kill a fish you've more to lose; there is more ferocity to the fight and more excitement, | fought against the urge to hurry, against an impulse to clap my hand over the ireel and quickly back up the beach. The fish lost power. [ slid it up on the stones where it flipped. Before it could come free, [ whipped my priest from the back of my raincoat and hit it a sharply on the head. It twitched and straightened. Its pupil slid to the centre of ils eye as ils brain cells died en masse. I took the green fly frorn its jaw and knelt for a moment watching it flicker in this eerie coruscating or- ange light. To be continued... BB - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 15,2003 TERRACE STANDARD PORTS _ Terrace to host 2004 provincial 638-7283 boys soccer championships | By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN TERRACE scored a major coup last week when it was awarded the title of host for the 2004 B.C. boy’s provincial soccer champion- ships. Alex Redpath, 13, has played at the presti- gious Nike Cup three times with Terrace se- lect teams and he knows exactly what ‘kind of action soccer fans here are in for next July. Over the past five years Terrace select teams have consistently proven they've got what it takes to win zones and carry on to pro- vincial competition — they’ve also come home bearing bronze a silver medals - a testament to the quality of play here. “I chink from an exposure point of view it gives us recognition that we are in fact major tournament. nesses. “It’s intense soccer with a high level espe- cially with teams going for the gold,” Redpath says. “It’s B.C.’s best 1 guess, everyone tries their best to win a game.” Redpath and his teammates know a thing or two about winning at that level of play. In their three visits to the provincial tourna- “This will be the year we get gold...It’s our home town and there'll be a lot of fans cheering for us.” in July 2004 drawing 800 players from the top teams around the province. Once visiting players, coaches and parents are factored in, there could well be nearly 2,000 visitors descending on Terrace ‘for the Thal means tourism spinotts for local busi- “It's absolutely monstrous,” “says Sinnott. “You're guaranteed a couple of parents. for each of them plus coaches - we should prob- ably fill every hotel and restaurant-in town.” The enormity of the event means Sinnott is recruiting an of volunteers to coordinate ac- commodations, first ‘aid, entertainment, open- ment they've come back home with two -sil- vers and one bronze medal, themselves on the provincial soccer scene. “This will be the year we get gold,” he pre- dicts, adding now there’s play even harder next season in order to make it to the championships, “It's our hame town and there'll be a lot of he says. Stepping aside fans cheering for us,” making a name for extra incentive to players in youth soccer jn the province,” says Les Sinnott, a Terrace resident and director on the board for the B.C. Soccer Association (BCSA). “It'll give our young soccer players the level of soccer they can aspire to.” Games will be played on seven fields be- tween Christy Park and Mountainview School ing ceremonies, meals, transportation and ban- quets, just to name a few. on the planning. Some of those committees will be put toge- ther as early as this week to get a head start Terrace beat out a southern Vancouver Is- land cily. The Oct. 4 vote by the BCSA board of dir- ectors was unanimous save for just one person who did not vole for Terrace, Sinnott said. After 16 years at the helm of the Terrace Elementary School Sports Association, Dighton Haynes is moving on to other coaching pursuits. Les wel By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN DIGHTON HAYNES could be called the emperor of elementary school sports in Terrace. He has organized, over- seen, coordinated, planned and «advertised, is Just about any ‘School sport you can imagine in Terrace. ; Thousands of students have benefited from his or- ganizational prowess over the years. After roughly 16 years at the helm of the Terrace Elementary School Sports Association (TESSA) Haynes is stepping down as chairperson. The move comes as the local teacher graduates from elementary school administration to junior high. As the new principal of: Thornhill! Junior High School, Haynes is grace- fully bowing out of the or- ganizational duties affilia- ted with the association that coordinates a mini- mum of seven sporting events each year. Teachers, students and parents alike laud the work Haynes has done for the youth in the community. “If ever there was somebody that was out DIGHTON Haynes, centre, has graduated from coaching elementary leams to taking on the Thornhill Junior boys volleyball team. SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN PHOTO there doing things for kids and putting out extra ener- gy to do it, it’s him,” says Phillip Barron, principal at Thornhilt Elementary School, where Haynes was vice-principal for the past two years. Haynes is the first per- son to say he’s had a. tre- mendous amount of help from other teachers and parents in organizing the tournaments and track meets over the years. ’ But there’s no denying the amount of personal the northwest as the ment takes to the ice race Arena. FILE PHOTO M@ Ringette regatta THE TERRACE Ringette Association is gear- ing up to host dozens of teams throughout Merrill Meyers tourna- Oct, 17-19 at the Ter- time he’s devoted ta keep- ing. the program going since 1987. “If it weren’t for Dight- on 1 don’t think there would be a TESSA,” says the association's new chairman, Uplands Grade 4 teacher Edward Grey. He points to the annual year. end elementary school track and field meet which draws more than 350 young athletes competing in oodles of events. “Even though we didn’t have a track the last two years he went out and mapped out a track, made a track, and that was just a huge amount of work,” Gray says. But Haynes says “that time and effort is not something he monitors. “It's all overlap with coaching,” he explains. “Part of it ‘is you don’! really count the hours when you enjoy doing something and participa- ting with the students and youth who enjoy doing it.” He says students not only benefit athletically bul socially and acade- mically as well, : “The research shows that students who are ac- live in these events do better, academically,” he Says. We: ““Ineterms of :my* own* experience, I have seen students who have. gone into a tournament and seen the success they've had there and then gone back into the classroom and. seeing that success in their studies.” While his TESSA days are behind him, Haynes is still keeping busy with plenty of extracurricular activilies, He's one of the found- ing members of the Ter- race Track and Field As- sociation. That group formed a community track team two “years ago and is working to raise $250,000 to put.a rubberized surface on the: new track at Skeena Junior Secondary: He's also coaching the junior boys volleyball team at Thornhill Junior. “I don’t see it as leaving,” Haynes says. “I'm just contributing ina different way.’ Men wanted for volleyball league TERRACE’S mixed vol- leybail need is in desper- ate need of some male players. "There are eight or 10 women on the waiting list to play and no men,” says organizer Mark Neid. “It’s awesome and | don’t want lo see them sil around especially when there’s an interest — [ know there’s people out there that play.” The league has six competitive teams and eight non-competitive teams already, but there's definitely room for more. Most of the women on the waiting fist are looking at getting involved with the non-competitive side of of the league and Neid’s convinced there are men oul there who play but may not know they can still register. The league plays every Monday and Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Thornhill Junior School. People of all exper- ience levels are welcome. Call Mark for details at 638-0910. Athletes prepare for cross country skiing CROSS training is something many ath- letes are turning to lo stay in shape year- round and Terrace is no exception. Cross-country skiers and cyclists are invited to attend an introductory one-day clinic to get into shape for the upcoming ski season and stay fit for the cycling season next year. The clinic is at the Onion Lake cross- country ski trails Oct. 25 and focusses on equipment, fitness and workouts to pre- pare for the ski season. Registration forms are available at McBike. For details call Terry Brown at 798- 2227.