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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 7THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 20186 SportS talk How about some rotten fish? By Michael Oke The New Tanner welcomes your Letters to the Editor, but, please keep in mind that letters must include the author's name, address and phone number in order for us to contact you if needed. Letters that are sent in anonymously will not be published. They may be edited for content or length. They are published as a first come first serve basis and we do not guarantee publication due to space availability. letterS The views expressed in these published letters are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The New Tanner Publishing Ltd. I came across an online article recently that focused on Ice- landic cuisine. One of the staples in this country of about 330,000 people happens to be baked rotten fish--one variant is called Skata or rotten skate--other interest- ing delicacies in Iceland include liver sausage cured in sour whey and dung smoked lamb. What do these foods have to do with sports, you might ask? Well, I was really keen to know the secret behind Iceland's soc- cer team's success in recent years. They famously dealt the English men's team a blow in the round 16 of the Euros in 2016, and became the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup by topping a quali- fying group that had the likes of Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey. How a country with the popu- lation similar in size to the City of Markham makes it to major championships while beating the more established and big- ger countries along the way beats me. So, I decided to have a look at what they feed their little guys. It may be far-fetched to en- courage all Canadian junior rep soccer players to start eating rotten fish from age eight on- wards, but there is something to be said about proper nutrition. Their success is down to a number of factors including long term planning and commitment and a desire to see soccer played all year round with indoor soc- cer facilities to address weather challenges similar to Canada's. Bringing the conversation home, it is inexplicable that Canada with, wait for it, 100 times the population of Ice- land and in a qualifying region (CONCACAF), which is argu- ably less competitive than the Europe, has failed to qualify for the World Cup for over 30 years. The standard argument that Can- ada is focused on hockey just doesn't hold water as handball, not soccer, is usually considered Iceland's national sport. The recent fiasco with the firing of the newly hired men's soccer coach further illustrates the dysfunction at the helm of Canadian soccer. The silver lining for Canada is that the women's program is touching the heights most soccer fans expect with recent successes or significant progress at the World Cup, Olympics and CONCACAF championships. Let's hope we don't have to resort to feeding our boys rotten fish to get them going. To the Editor, The Uni ty Serv ice he ld on Saturday, January 21, our first ecumenical community worship service of 2018, was a great op- portunity for Acton's citizens to come together to worship in unity with each other. On behalf of the Acton Ministerial Association, I would like to express our thanks to those whose contributions helped to make this service so meaningful. Clergy from each of our Churches in town led us in a very uplifting service, and Rev. Naomi deliv- ered an inspiring message. The Worship Team enthused everyone with their music, as did the singing of the ecumenical choir. Several volunteers helped with the Chil- dren's Program and the children then joined us to share what they did. Worshippers from each con- gregation came out to be a part of this very special service. A time of fellowship was enjoyed at the conclusion of the service. Once again, thank you to all for contributing to our Unity Service. Sincerely, Kathy Sanford Secretary, Acton Ministerial Association To the Editor, For the past 12 years I have lived by Fairy Lake and have dealt with snow- mobiles racing four or five at a time full out. Never mind the noise, but one time I was walking my dog across the lake and we almost got creamed by them. After several years, the police finally stopped this dangerous and illegal ac- tivity on Fairy Lake. Then we had to deal with the dirt bikers and quads on park land racing back and forth raising hell for all to hear. But I never saw any- thing as disturbing as what I saw last Saturday--three or four quads cleared a snake like path on Fairy Lake for a dirt biker to race on full out, while others where trying to ice fish in peace. On another area of the lake, a father with young children were ice fishing while this dirt biker was racing around them. If he lost control, the ambulance would be there in addition to the police. People should know the by-laws such as, no motorized vehicles allowed on Fairy Lake or park lands. This includes skidoos, quads, dirt and regular motor bikes, and boat motors, anything that runs on gas, diesel, or whatever, and can be fined up to $5,000. This incident occurred Saturday, January 20, around 4 p.m., and the police issued a ticket to the dirt biker, I believe, and maybe the quads. A concerned citizen of Acton Consideration and safety concernsThank you to those involved in the Unity Service POSTED WARNINGS: Signs around Fairy Lake clearly indicate that motorized vehicles are prohibited. - Submitted photo