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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 8,1987, PAGE 17 spo TS Roller skate champ Crouch: ooks toGames« JAMIE CROUCH and Heather Paterson will be seeking their eighth Canadian rollerskating dance title next week in Calgary. He's had the ultimate success in Canada in the sport but it's only now that Jamie Crouch is beginning to feel that his rolerskating career is taking a full loop. The 25-year-old Whitby man has won four individual titles in figures. And he and partner Heather Pater- son of Hamilton, will be looking for their eight straight Canadian seniors title next week in Calgary. They will also compete in the Pan American games in August at In- diannopolis, Ind., and will demon- strate the sport in the 1988 Olym- pics in Seoul, Korea. "After 14 years, it's starting to pay off," says Crouch of the prac- tice sessions and rehearsals at the Terrace in Toronto which occupy most of his time when he isn't working. "We always hoped and we were always told we would get there. "For the longest time, you'd say 'I rollerskate' and people would say 'Oh - rollerskating."' Crouch is hoping the image of the sport will change with the Games events. At the dance level, roller- skating is very similar to figure skating - including the politicý in- volved in judging. ("It's not duite Evanshen rues Alouette denuise Poor management and inadequate publicity can be blamed for the demise of the Montreal Alouettes, says a former team member and CFL great now living in Brooklin. Terry Evanshen, 43, now part owner of a growing micro-furnace company, says he and other former team stars had never been ap- proached to help publicize the team - a strategy successfully employed by other teams, such as hockey's Montreal Canadiens. He says today's team players were also not permitted to speak to the press, a communication he believes necessary to keep the team "alive" to the public. "In Montreal, talk was sup- pressed," says Evanshen. "I'm a businessman, and in business, like a football team, you have to market your product. You have to take the product to the people." Evanshen, an outstanding receiver from 1964-1979, two-time winner of the Schenley award as top Canadian player and a member of the CFL Hall of Fame, is the proud bearer of a Grey Cup ring as a member of the 1970 Alouettes. Two years ago he attended a 1970 team reunion in Montreal. "People went crazy in the parade," he remembers of fan reaction. "It was really an emotional day." Players were more established with a team, became popular and identifiable, and that helped to draw crowds, he says of former days. Now he says, "they change people like they change under- wear," referring to lineup changes. He replies "absolutely" when asked if he would have helped in at- tempts to keep the franchise afloat if he had been asked. He says he and other former players would gladly have purchased season's tickets and used their influence to produce other ticket-buyers. But current management didn't use that approach. "They didn't want people there with vision," he says. Evanshen says he had heard rumors through the winter about the possible demise of the team. He says there was no apparent plan to rescue the team even when it was known it was in."dire straits". "They never said anything before it happeéed," he adds. He notes that the Montreal fold- up shows why the league is "in trouble". Although he was aware of the team's troubles, Evanshen admits he was still rocked by the news. He was born and raised in Montreal, and CFL football was a "dream" for him - "It got me out of the slums. "It's sick," he says of the situation. "There's no reason for it."9 Montreal had Canada's first organized football team, in 1868. It later became known as the Winged Wheelers (won a Grey Cup in 1931) until 1936, and was reborn in 1946 as the Montreal Aloulettes under Lou Haymen with Sam (the Rifle, Et- cheverry as quarterback. A premier quarterback then, Et- cheverry nonetheless lost in three Grey Cup finals to the Edmonton Eskimos led by Jackie Parker, 1954-56. Etcheverry coached the 1970 teand 'vhich downed Calgary in the Grey Cup. Evanshen joined the CFL with Montreal in 1964 when. he was named rookie of the ypàr. He ear- ned $5,000 in salary tha year. He then moved to Calgary in 1965 and hooked up with quarterback Peter Liske. Evanshen recalls that offensive play began to become more varied at that time, especially in the passing game. Evanshen went back to Montreal in 1970, stayed four years, and them went to Hamilton in 1975. His final season was 1979 with Toronto. His 15-year career as wide receiver was unusual since the average CFL lifespan for a player is three years. Redmen go 12-O A lot of things come in dozens, in- cluding victories for Brooklin Redmen this season in Ontario M Lacrosse Association (OLA) major-seniot action. Brooklin made it 12 wins in a row last Friday as they traveleed to Fergus for what had been touted as their toughest game so far this year. With only two losses under their belts this season (one to Brooklin, one to Owen Sound North Stars) Fergus is regarded as tough, especially before the home crowd. But RedImen burst their own bub- ble, holding tnem to one goal in each period as they rolled to a com- ftable 17-3 win. John Fusco proved to be the dominating force with six points for the night, three of them coming from goals. Kevin Antrim, a recent acquisition from the defunct Brampton Excelsiors, also picked up a hat trick for Redmen and ad- ded a pair of assists. Dale Ker- nohan added three goals while Jim Merideth counted for a pair. SEE PAGE 19 - as bad as ice skating, but it's close behind.") - and the sport has been around for awhile. The 33rd world championship wil·. be held in Palmerson, New Zealand in October. Crouch and Paterson will each be paying the $1,458 return air fare for the trip - getting sponsorship is the sport's problem, although the Games' trip will be paid for. Robert Fernando and Laurie Welsh of Georgia are probably the tough competition in senior dance this year - but Crouch says anything can happen. "We don't feel we're far behind them. It's really just what hap- pened on the day of judging. We hope to be in the top five."· Music from 'The Phantom of the Opera,' the hit musical in London, England, will provide the accom- paniment for Crouch and Paterson. "It's all about love and fear - that's what we express when we're skating," says Crouch. Ie ad that this performance will9 b the first in which.c team has done a "theme routine." There are usually four different pieces of music in a routine, but 'Phantom' provides all. Dances in the compulsory part of the program will include the Starlight Waltz, Italian Foxtrot and Iceland Tango this year (they change every year). The second area of competition is the original set pattern dance and the third, the free dance. "We skate really, really good compulsory dances. But we enjoy the free dance most," says Crouch. Crouch teamed up with Paterson two years ago after a previous par- tnership with. Sherry McCunbr SEE PAGE-23 WES VICKERY rounds first base and will eventually circle the diamond as his home run broke a 7-7 tie and gave Sorichetti Group the championship in the Whitby -Minor Baseball squirt house league tour- nament at Peel Park July 1 Free Press photo