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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 2, 20 19 | 44 461972-41972-41972- 20172017 Best Travel Agency Suite 300, South Oakville Centre • 1515 Rebecca Street, Oakville 905.827.1100 travel@mctavish.comwww.mctavishtravel.com CORPORATE • GROUP • LEISURE O nt Re g N o 14 37 98 5 Up to 8 Free Shore Excursions Free Beverage Package or Up to $800 Shipboard Credit Contact Us To Reserve Your Suite! *Terms and Conditions Apply. Amenities are per stateroom. Contact us for full terms Find your dream voyage in Oceania's Tropics & Exotics 2020-2021 Collection and book early to take advantage of the best value with their 2 for 1 Cruise Fares and Free Internet as well as the inclusive OLife Choice* package that includes Roundtrip Airfare* plus choose one amenity shown: RESERVATIONS NOWOPEN Tropics & Exotics Collection 201720172017 Presentations held at our office: 77 Bronte Road (Bronte Rd. & Lakeshore) Refreshments and Door Prizes R.S.V.P. 289-813-1969 www.furtherafieldtravel.ca Upcoming Presentations: Solo Travel, River Cruising,Wellness Travel Presentation Series Continues The Emerald Isle Two Exclusive Small Group Tours Average group size 18 Guest Speaker: Sandy Lidka Tuesday, May 7th • 2-4 pm SOUTH AMERICA IRELAND 50021919 PATAGonIA & CAPE HoRn Guest Speakers: D Macas / B. Stasiuk Wednesday, May 8th • 7-9 pm When Marcelo Giansante's parents first signed him up for skating lessons, he wasn't the ideal student. While his CanSkate instructors tried to teach proper ways to stop and turn, Gian- sante had a different focus. Like Ricky Bob- by, Will Farrell's character in Talladega Nights, he just wanted to go fast. "I would always be racing with my friend, and not doing the drills," Giansante said. Looking for an outlet for her son's need for speed, his mom started looking aroundfor speed, his mom started looking aroundf and found the Oakville Speed Skating Club. Mother and son knew next to nothing about the sport; Marcelo hadn't even watched it during the Olympics. With the longer speed skating blades,With the longer speed skating blades,W Giansante soon discovered going fast wasn't so easy. He realized he would have to learn the proper technique. For most of his first two years, he wasn't exactly blazing across the ice. But he was racing, and he loved it. Six years after he took up the sport, the Alton Village Public School student in Bur- lington has finally achieved his goal. He's not only going fast, he's going faster than anyone his age in the province has gone be- fore. fore. f At last month's Elite Series Provincial Championships in Gloucester, Giansante set Ontario records in the 200, 400 and 1,500- metre races on his way to the overall title in the boys' 11-year-old division. His coach, Emma O'Donnell, said even in his first couple of years, he was always will- ing to put in the effort, even if the results weren't there. Now he's finally being re- warded. "He's gotten a lot stronger and he's put more time and energy into training," she said. "His passing has improved and he's al- so had a big boost in confidence. Now he'll just go for it." Giansante doesn't just face a challenge to be the fastest skater in Ontario, though. His biggest rivals come from within his own club. Oakville swept the division with Aidan Taylor taking the silver and Lee Deluca cap- turing the bronze. "They're all good friends, but they're 11- year-old boys, so they're always trying hard to beat one another," O'Donnell said. Giansante still sees room to improve by having a better reaction time when the gun sounds to begin the race. "My starts aren't that good," he said, "but I can catch up to ev- eryone." He's not just catching up, he's passing them. Oakville had five other division medal- lists at the provincial meet in Gloucester. Izabella Zakatsiolo took the gold medal in the girls' 12-year-old division, Charlie Cot- ton (boys, 12) and Alex Giannotti (Jr. B men) earned silver medals and Zinnia Irwin (girls, 12) and Ainsley Little (girls, 14). The club also had a strong showing at the provincials for younger skaters in London. Michael Borca matched Giansante's feat, sweeping the races in the 10-year-old boys' division while setting three provincial re- cords. Tiffany Huang swept the nine-year-old girls' races on her way to the division gold medal. Sam Deluca earned the Oakville club its third division gold, taking the eight- year-old boys' title.Aveline DeSousa (girls, 10) won a silver while bronze medals were earned by Joanna Huang (girls, 11), Juan Qunitero (boys, 11), Daniel Kim (boys, 10),Qunitero (boys, 11), Daniel Kim (boys, 10),Q Logan Urquhart (boys, nine) and Emilio De- Sousa (boys, eight). COMMUNITY Marcelo Giansante of the Oakville Speed Skating Club set three provincial records on his way to the 11-year-old boys' title at the Elite Series Provincial Championships. Herb Garbutt/Metroland RECORD-SETTING SKATER ALWAYS HAD DESIRE TO GO FAST GIANSANTE SETS 3 AGE-GROUP RECORDS ON WAY TO PROVINCIAL GOLD HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com