Page 12A

The Castlegar Sun

Wednesday, May 17, 1995

Kettle kayaking

Submitted

Nothing cools you off faster on a hot weekend than a paddle down
the frothing waters of the Kettle River. There were a lot of cool cus-
tomers on that same river near Christina Lake last weekend for the
boundary area’s first ever kayak race.

Saturday was a practice and clinic day, with many new people get-
ting out in the river for the first time, and there were lots of instruction-
al clinics for all levels of paddlers,

Sunday was equally stunning,’ with racers coming from all over to
join in the fun, The age range was from age 11 to 50. This race was
designed as a practise race as well as for the people from the West
Kootenay area who are training to become nationally certified gate
judges in ion for the Canadian Whi Champi ip
being held on the Slocan River in the third week of July. Be sure to
mark your calendar for the biggest kayaking event ever to come to the
Kootenay-Boundary area, July 21-23.

The winner of the Men's Open K1 class was Patrice Gagnon of
Chilliwack, The Women's Open K1 class was won by Natalie
Mainville of Sh while Doug Pin of Castlegar prevailed in
the Men’s Novice K1 division. Dean Horsfal of Nelson won the Junior

K1 first prize and the C2 event featuring decked tandem canoes was’ "

won by Ken and Tiana Leonty of Penticton.

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Derek Handley continued his hot play last weekend in

~“Newfouridiand at the National Championships in St.

John's Newfoundland. Handley will be coming back
with silver and you can look for a complete list of stats
and reaction next week. SUN SPORTS PHOTO / Jeff Gabert

Baseball
Coaching

“HERE TO HELP”
365-2166 1761 Columbia Ave.

Throwing and Receiving
Drills

These following basic drills
can be used to improve player
» mechanics and overall perfor-
mance in both throwing and
receiving.

Throwing Drills

Have your players pair-off in
two lines facing each other about
six metres apart making sure
there is adequate room between
everyone, As they warm up,
players should move further apart

i harder throws.

ing—-starting with the leg oppo-
site the player's throwing arm.

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For example: a right-hander
would stride left-right-left and
then throw.)

Another drill that can be used
is to have players throw from a
sitting position, then from both
knees, then one knee (throwing
side knee remains on the ground).
This drill teaches players to prop-
erly rotate their hips when throw-
ing (since they cannot use their
legs):

Grip Drill: Each player tosses
the ball in the air to themselve:
and_catches it with the throwing
hand. Practise finding the correct
grip before simulating a throw.

Crow-Hop: Every player has a
ball and they toss it in the air in
front of them, catch it, crow-hop
and simulate a throw.

Target Drill: Pick a target on
their partner (i.e. the chest and
face area). Award one point for
every ball thrown accurately at
the chest and two points for a
successful throw to the face area.

Receiving Drills: Like throw-
ing, the proper methods of
receiving a baseball must be
stressed.

Shuffle Step Drill: Quick,
short lateral steps are important
in getting the body into a good
receiving position. Without using
balls, have all the players shuffle
quickly to their left-and back to
their right. After two or three of
these quick steps, they should
pretend to receive a ball on the
throwing side of their body using
two hands.

Soft Hand Drill: Have partners
throw to each other with no
gloves. This drill forces them to
throw easily and to draw back
their hands to cushion the impact
of the ball when receiving.

@ Blackwell ——

Her realistic goals have her
playing for a university in the
U.S..which should be achievable
, Since there will be plenty of

*scouts in Minneapolis. She and
her parents are excited about a
possible scholarship in the
future.

And down the road, you
never know. In a community
that values its hockey stars
above all other, maybe Lisa
Blackwell. will shine the' bright-
est of them all.

Uniforms
& Jackets

PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Castlegar Slo-Pitch
League is now accepting
applications from
Non-profit organizations
wishing to run concessions,
beer gardens and security
for the 1995 season.

Please send applications to:
P.O. Box 3241

t has been a few years since Winston
Churchill bellowed the words the only thing
to fear is fear itself. Fear of failure, fear of
=injury-and fear of the unknown are_just some

of the fears felt by individuals every day.

over four hours.a day. His training led him to the
1988 Canadian National Champi: ips held at
B.C. Place where he entered in the open division
which featured-some of the best climbers in North
America.

C mh

limbing is a different experience

Success in life is usually linked to quering
those fears and failure is, usually the price of
defeat. Castlegar resident David Bristow knows
fear and to him it has become a four-letter f-
word.

Bristow is a rock climber and has been for 10
years. During that time he has seen a lot change in
the sport and a lot of
change in himself.

It all started with
the misguided enthu-
siasm of youth.

“One day I was out
with my parents on the
beach and I started
climbing on the rocks,”
said Bristow. “I got
pretty high and I had
trouble getting down
My parents told me
that if I wanted to keep
climbing I should take
a course.”

So he signed up for
some sessions with
the Kootenay Moun-
taineering Club,
found a climbin

artrer named Mar!

amilton and got
hooked on climbing
rocks. They went
every single day after
school and as much
as possible on week-
ends. They didn’t
know a lot about
climbing but what
they didn’t know they
made up as they went
along. :

Back then, Bristow ©

altogether from normal rock climbing. It takes
place on a massive wall that starts out straight but
soon ends up in tough overhangs.

To make matters worse, the entire wall is set up
like an elaborate 80-plus metre maze. There are
many different paths up the wall but it takes a wise
climber to find the one
that leads to the top. The
further you get up the
wall the harder it gets
and the person who
makes it up the. farthest
wins. }

Bristow played the
maze well and eventual-
ly found himself in the
semi-final round. It was
his first-major-competi-
tion and he was more
focussed on conquering
the wall than eyer. In
fact, he was sojfocussed
he didn’t even fully feel
the pain in his shoulder
when it dislocated part-
way up the wall after a
difficult maneuver.

“At that point I was
so focussed on climbing
that it was my full time
job,” said Bristow. “I
wanted to make the
national team and make
it on the World Cup cir-
cuit. I was so close. I
was right on that edge
but the shoulder injury
really did me in.”

He placed fourth in the
competition but his shoul-
der needed to be placed in

was climbing to con-
quer a common fear,
but looking back he
now realizes that there

You can’t climb outside all the time and
although the wall at Selkirk College isn’t
hard for Bristow you can still have some fun.

a cast. But Bristow wasn’t
ready to stop. He, refused
surgery, he refuted a lot of
good advice and he was

were a lot more battles being fought on the granite
edifices looming over the West Kootenay.

“The challenge is different for every person,”
said Bristow. “For me it’s more of a feeling — I
feel a lot of fear. When you first start out it’s the
fear of heights.

“I don’t have a fear of heights anymore because
you are forced to come face to face with your fear
in general. When you get up on the rock all your
daily fears are amplified and you get to move
through those fears and conquer them.”

Climbing is a peculiar sport. In most sports you
must conquer the opposition, which may come in
the form of opposing players or a time clock. But
the only competition in climbing is yourself. It’s
a battle with fear and physique that often-borders
on religious.

“That’s the big thing about climbing - it’s an act
of faith the whole way up,” said Bristow. “You’re
dealing with an incredible amount of fear but also
an incredible amount of strength and fitness -
sometimes way beyond your limit. You just got to
get to the top.

“At times it’s a mental, spiritual and physical
integration.”

The amount of concentration it takes to climb is
almost beyond most people's perception. It is hard
for most to imagine what it is like dangling by two
fingers suspended hundreds of metres in the air
when your next move could very well be your last.
A climber may seem like an insignificant speck on
a monstrous rock face which seems unconquerable
but all climbers have tunnel-vision and that road
leads straight to the top.

“You get so focussed that you just have to keep
going,” said Bristow. In fact, you’re so focussed
that sometimes when you fall you don’t even real-
ize you've fallen until you're dangling at the end
of the rope.”

In his first few years of climbing Bristow began
to foster a dream of climbing professionally as
part of the Canadian National team. He was
focussed and he moved to Vancouver to train and
fulfill his goal.

That was six years ago and back then he trained

back on the wall three weeks later.

When his shoulder blew apart the second time, it
was very serious and Bristow was permanently
grounded for two years.

“I hate to say it now but there was little else in
my life than placing on the national team and com-
peting at a high level,” said Bristow. “I was so
close and it was my total focus in life. It took a lot
of work to get where I was but I was so driven.

“T had to make a real effort to hold myself back.
It wasn’t a matter for me to motivate myself, it
was a matter of training smart and not over-train-
ing. The over-training did me in.”

In his time off Bristow moved back to Castlegar
and went to Selkirk College where he has just
grad d with a dipl in Comp Information
Systems. He has been back climbing now for three
years and has had three more dislocations to the
shoulder on which he refuses to get operated.

“If I had surgery, it would be taking care of the
symp but not the pi .” said Bristow. “It’s
my inattentiveness to injuries and my overzealous-
ness that I have to control. I need to hold back
more.”

In the last year he has been training a bit more
intensely but the shoulder has stayed intact. He has
a different outlook on the sport now but the same
dreams. His rise to the elite level in rock climbing
has already taken 10 years and it may even take
him ten more but he is prepared.

“The 10-year dream of making the national team
is definitely still alive but it’s going to take longer
than I anticipated,” said Bristow. “That's what I'm
working toward but I have decided because of
money and the injury that it will be more of a long
term progression.”

Realizing the immensity of life and the road
ahead can be a sobering thought for anyone. For
many, it can be downright scary. David Bristow’s
future is the climb of a lifetime with few good
handholds. The guideline is thin and the weather
may turn bad.

But Bristow has been climbing that mountain
for 10 years now and he has no fear. After all,
maybe living is the only thing worth dying for.

A tenuous grasp at best! Above- David Bristow knows how to hang

tough in the

face of a gaping crevasse. Below~ When you are precariously perched on a rock

face high above the ground, fear is not an option.

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Story and photos by Jeff Gabert