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30 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday July 1, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Channel provides motivation for Kent to keep swimming Continued from page 29 KEVIN HILL / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER CHANNEL CHALLENGE: Oakville's Rob Kent is training for an English Channel crossing attempt later this summer. The 41-year-old says the biggest challenge of the 38-kilometre England-to-France swim will be the strong tides and the cold water, which can cause hypothermia even in the summer. He expects the swim to take 14 hours. swimming. "It can be mindnumbing. At least when you're running a marathon you can look around, see people and talk to them." Kent first started thinking about swimming the channel three years ago but an ear operation set his timetable back. Still, the thought was always in the back of his mind. A competitive swimmer in the 1980s, Kent qualified for the Canadian Olympic trials in 1988. After his competitive career ended, he didn't want to continue swimming. "I really had no interest in going back to relive the glory days when I knew my times weren't going to be as fast as they used to be," he said. The channel, though, gave him the motivation he needed. For Kent, it is more about personal satisfaction of achieving a goal. "There is no way I would be slugging it out in a pool if it wasn't for this," he said. "Once you make the mental commitment to do it, then you've got the motivation. This is more of an endurance test. And no matter what I do, it will be my best time." Kent spent the winter swimming with the Burlington Masters Swim Club six times a week. He has been running and cycling as well but it's in the water where he'll get the best indication of what he's in for. In order to attempt a Channel crossing, swimmers must first complete a six-hour open-water qualifying swim in 16-degree Celcius water. He has been working toward it, setting out from the Burloak Canoe Club each weekend. Two weeks ago he had to stop after three hours when hypothermia began to set in. And that's where the biggest challenge comes from -- the battle against the elements. "(The cold water) sucks the life out of you," he said. "What ends up happening is after getting sips of salt water for 14 hours, you lose all your nutrition, you start to slow down and you get colder." Kent hit the four-hour mark this past weekend and hopes to have his qualifying swim finished by the end of July. And while Kent says this is a personal goal, he also wants to show others what they can achieve. "Talk is cheap. We say `You can do anything,' but most people don't. When you know someone who has accomplished something like this, you believe it." -- Herb Garbutt can be reached at sports@oakvillebeaver.com. Schedule set for Buzz series with Halton Hills The Oakville Buzz will begin its first-round Ontario Lacrosse Association Jr. B playoff series with the Halton Hills Bulldogs on Monday at home at Maplegrove Arena. Last year the Buzz came within two wins of winning the OLA title and advancing to the Founder's Cup, the national Jr. B championship. The 19-1 Buzz sqaure off with the 10-10 Bulldogs. Oakville won all four regular-season meetings between the teams but Halton Hills, which lost four one-goal games this season including one to the Buzz, should provide a good test for Oakville. Halton Hills plays its home games in Georgetown. The schedule for the best-of-five series is as follows: GAME 1 --Monday, July 3,2006 @ 7 p.m. Maplegrove Arena GAME 2--Thursday, July 6, 2006 @ 8 p.m. Alcott Arena GAME 3--Saturday, July 8, 2006 @ 7 p.m. Maplegrove Arena *GAME 4--Sunday, July 9, 2006 @6 p.m. Alcott Arena *GAME 5--Tuesday, July 11, 2006 @8 p.m. Maplegrove Arena Triathlete Jones competing for national championship Oakville native Kyle Jones will vie for a national triathlon championship this weekend in Brampton. The 21-year-old Jones, a graduate of Queen Elizabeth Park High School (now Abbey Park), is coming off a 14th-place finish at a recent World Cup race in Mazatlan, where he defeated last year's under-23 world champion Jarrod Shoemaker. Simon Whitfield is the defending men's champion, but long-time Canadian coach Barrie Shepley considers the field to be wide open. "A number of people can win this race. (Defending women's champion) Sam McGlone and Simon Whitfield will have their work cut out for them," he said. The races will be held at Professor's Lake, with the elite women beginning at noon and the men following at 3 p.m. ANCASTER CHAMPS: The Oakville Thunderwolves U11 Select Girls defeated Hamilton 3-1 to win the Ancaster Heritage Soccer Tournament. Team members are: (back row, from left) assistant coach Caroline Borcsok, head coach Frank Montelpare, assistant coach Tim Wade, (middle row, from left) Madison MacDonald, Rachel Bright, Caroline O'Brien, Marya VanBeilen, Julia Pupulin, Haleigh Hutchinson, Victoria Borcsok, Holly Burrows, Ketie Bray, Cassi Ellis, (front row, from left) Jessica Sibley, Sarah MacDowell, Taylor Wade, Holly Miller, Erin Rykhoff, Mannie Montelpare, Courtney Clarke and Gillian Sandison. Thunderwolves down Hamilton to win Ancaster tourney The Oakville Thunderwolves Under-11 girls select team went undefeated in four games, topping Hamilton 3-1 in the final to claim the championship at the recent Ancaster Heritage Soccer Tournament. The Thunderwolves outscored their opponents 10-2 in posting three wins and a tie. Marya VanBeilen scored five times in the tournament to lead Oakville. She scored twice in the championship game while Julia Pupulin had the other goal. Oakville opened the tournament with a 3-0 victory over the host, Ancaster. VanBeilen, Pupulin and Holly Burrows scored for the Thunderwolves. VanBeilen had Oakville's only goal in a 1-1 win over Hamilton. Rachel Bright scored twice in another 3-0 triumph over Ancaster. VanBeilen had the other Oakville goal. The Thunderwolves played outstanding defence throughout the tournament, allowing only two goals in four games on their way to the championship.