The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Oakville high school, Little League help Dominicans play and laugh by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Quest for Gold assists 15 local athletes Fifteen Oakville athletes recently received funding through Ontario's Quest for Gold program to help them train and prepare to represent Canada at national and international competitions. Local recipients included Rachael Burrows (para athletics), Robert Gutgesell (cycling), Evan McEachran (freestyle skiing), Reid McEachran (freestyle skiing), Hayleigh Cudmore (women's ice hockey), Daniel Mathie (rugby), Christie MacLennan (shooting), Alanna Bray-Lougheed (sprint canoe/kayak), Rebecca Plouffe (women's eld hockey), Robbie Andison (freestyle skiing), Zachary Gallant (men's ice hockey), Kristyn Capizzano (women's ice hockey), Stephanie Black (rugby), Diana Matheson (women's soccer) and Ryan McAnuff (short-track speed skating). The Quest for Gold program will disperse a total of $6,402,500 among nearly 1,300 athletes this year. The program enables athletes to pursue sports training while ful lling their academic goals, increases access to high-performance coaching, enhances training and competitive opportunities, and encourages athletes to stay, live and train in Ontario. Since the program began in 2006, Quest for Gold has provided Ontario athletes and coaches with more than $90 million in support. "Ontario's athletes have been performing exceedingly well on the national and international stages. I am proud of our government's commitment to support them," said Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn. "All of Oakville celebrates these 15 athletes for their strength and dedication, and we continue to look forward to watching them compete with the best in the world." 23 | Friday, April 3, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com On previous mission trips to the Dominican Republic village of Los Alcarrizos, King's Christian Collegiate students donated shoes, tools, school supplies, money and other necessities. This year, in addition to the usual staples, they helped provide another essential -- the ability to play and laugh together. Thanks to a sizable donation from Oakville Little League, King's students brought four full bags of baseball equipment that was given to a local baseball coach known for working tirelessly to give community children hope and joy through the sport. The shirts, hats, gloves, bats, helmets and catchers' gear were given to the Dominicans during a friendly game between King's students and Dominican children aged 8-15. "It's so integral to being human to play and to laugh and to be together with people. It's maybe not as essential as food and water and your house, but it's pretty essential to being a full, complete human being," said King's vice-president of instruction Kevin Smith. "We knew we'd made an impact that way... we spent the afternoon with them, and there was something so beautifully human about the joy that was passed over gloves and bats and balls. "One kid on the Dominican team was using a glove that was hanging together with shoelaces and tape. He got a new glove. There were big smiles and pointing at the bags, and they were pretty pumped," added Smith, noting the youngsters "destroyed" the King's team. Oakville skier wins second straight overall title at U.S. easterns Eleven-year-old Oakville skier Evan Dermott recently repeated as overall Combined Young Gun Champion at the Eastern Freestyle B Championships in Ellicottville, N.Y. Dermott nished rst in his age group in both the slopestyle and aerial events, and added a third-place effort in moguls. The Young Guns title is based on overall placings in the three races. In 2014, Dermott won the Young Guns crown by nishing second in moguls and aerials while placing third in slopestyle. A Grade 5 student at Linbrook elementary school, Dermott skis for the HoliMont FLITE team. He hopes to follow in the footsteps of Oakville resident and former HoliMont teammate Robbie Andison, who recently won dual moguls silver at the Canadian championships. The Eastern Freestyle B Championships is the culmination of competitions for the eastern region of the United States, which includes Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Two Dominican Republic youths show off their Oakville Little League caps. | photo submitted The OLL donation was arranged by longtime league vice-president John Mooney after Smith informed him of the school's annual trip. "A couple of years ago, our school sent some baseball equipment... and they loved it," Smith said. "Baseball is the king of sports there. So I told John about this opportunity, and he jumped in from there. "I know that what makes John happy is more kids playing baseball. He just helped dozens more kids play baseball in the Dominican. I know he's happy." APRIL 26TH, 2015 # GetActiveOakville FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! REGISTER TODAY AT MERCEDES10K.COM MERCEDES-BENZ www.oakvillebeaver.com OAKVILLE 10K Presented by New Balance Oakville PROMO CODE Soccer Player Development OAKVILLE10 $10 OFF socceR pRoGRaMs that Develop plaYeRs InnovatIve technIques to Develop InDIvIDual skIll Game Based LearninG Brain Based LearninG 10K Run / Walk 5K Run / Walk Junior Jog Toddler Trot Oakville Summer Registration Now Open! 905-467-2775 pRoGRaM DIRectoR: DIno lopez powered by Media Sponsor: Site Sponsor: In Support Of: www.apexfootylab.com Learn More and register at Register Now! Mercedes10k.com /Oakville10k @Mercedes10k