26 Sports Oakville Beaver MEN'S · WOMEN'S BALL HOCKEY NEW SEASON STARTING IN AUGUST! CALL TO REGISTER! www.burlingtonballhockey.com 905-637-8118 SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2006 Open exemption fulfills Shepley's life-long dream By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR KEVIN HILL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER WORLD CLASS: Samantha Santamaria, Brittany Gillies and Jaclyn Santamaria, pictured left to right with ribbons they've earned over the past several years, will compete in the International Rope Skipping Federation world championships this weekend in Toronto. Skipping onto the world stage By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR A trio of Oakville girls is set to skip its way onto the world stage this weekend. Brittany Gillies and her cousins, twin sisters Samantha and Jaclyn Santamaria, are competing in the International Rope Skipping Federation World and Maple Leaf International Championships that officially began yesterday (Thursday) at Humber College in Toronto. This is the first time Canada has been chosen to host the event, which will feature approximately 800 athletes from 14 countries. It's also the first international rope skipping competition for the three local teens, all members of the Brampton Acro Ropers, though all are armed with plenty of big-meet experience. Gillies and Jaclyn Santamaria each won masters (individual) titles at the national championships earlier this year, also helping their Rope Illusions squad to a second-place finish in team competition. Samantha, meanwhile, was part of the U Can't D-feet Us team that finished third. The 14-year-olds have not set lofty expectations for the world championships, cognizant of the fact they've already accomplished a lot this season. "I'm really happy to qualify," said Gillies, who will join Jaclyn in the team competition at worlds and will also compete individually in the Maple Leaf masters division (a younger age group, since worlds is for those 15-and-older). "I'm hoping for top 10 or something (in the Maple Leaf)." Samantha laughingly added, "Anything better than last. We don't expect first or second -- we're there for fun and hopefully top 20." Samantha will participate in team competition with U Can't D-feet Us, as will Jaclyn with Rope Illusions. Additionally, Jaclyn will compete individually in masters action despite being a year younger than the minimum age. "I want to do my best, but it's really more for the experience since this is my first time," she said. "I have other years hopefully to qualify." Individual rope skipping features four different events: 30-second speed, threeminute endurance, power triple-unders and freestyle. The 30-second speed and three-minute endurance events simply measure the number of times the athlete can jump the rope in the allotted time, while power triple-unders awards the athlete for each time they clear the rope three times in a single jump. Freestyle is a mixture of the three different elements (speed, endurance and strength), with an overall title awarded to the athlete with the best aggregate score. In team competition, squads participate in eight different events including speed relay, power relay, single freestyle and pairs freestyle. The routines are choreographed, synchronized and feature a wide array of artistic elements. Gillies was the first of the three to skip rope competitively, with the Santamaria sisters following suit several years later. Their interest in rope skipping was sparked during their days at St. Andrew School by then-physical education teacher John Shaw. "This sport is a sport you fall in love with," said Nadia Gillies, Brittany's mother. "There's probably no career in it but there's a lot of fun stuff." The girls have done a number of demonstrations over the years, appearing on YTV as well as CityTV's Breakfast Television, largely in an effort to promote rope skipping in Canada. Following the world championships, the three Holy Trinity students will head to Virginia two days later for the Junior Olympics. -- Jon Kuiperij can be reached at sports@oakvillebeaver.com. Jessica Shepley and her golfing career have come full circle. The 23-year-old Oakville resident accomplished a long-time goal last weekend, qualifying for the upcoming CN Canadian Women's Open with a fifth-place finish at the latest CN Canadian Women's Tour stop in Ottawa. Making the feat even more special for Shepley is the fact the Canadian Women's Open will be contested at the London Hunt & Country Club, where she first took up the sport as a nineyear-old. "I took my first golf lesson there, I saw the du Maurier Classic (the former name of the CN Canadian Women's Open) there... that was where I was introduced to the game," Shepley "I took my first golf said. "I have a lot of friends and family within two hours (of lesson (in London), I London)... it's going to be a big saw the du Maurier deal. This is definitely something Classic there... that I've been looking forward to and was where I was hoping for and working towards." introduced to the Exemptions to the Canadian Women's Open were awarded to game." the winners of each of the first Jessica Shepley three events on the Canadian Women's Tour, along with the top four competitors, not otherwise exempt, in the tour's Order of Merit point standings prior to the Open. Shepley went into the final round of last weekend's tournament in Ottawa knowing she needed only a top-seven finish to earn her exemption. She started her second round slowly, three-putting the first hole and then hitting her tee shots behind trees on the second and third holes. However, Shepley convinced herself to become more aggressive and she went on to card her second straight score of 71, finishing the two-day tournament at twounder-par. "I was glad I was able to turn it around during my round and not wait until afterwards to figure it out," she said. "I didn't get too rattled and I think that's just from playing so much. There's 18 holes for a reason and you have to play all 18 of them." The University of Tennessee grad, who is also competing on the Futures Tour this year, will now take a bit of time off from competitive play. She plans to return to Oakville next week and fine-tune her game with coach and local native Sandra Post, paying extra attention to her short game. "I think I'm going to have to work on my putting. The greens will be a lot faster than I'm used to playing on," Shepley said of preparing for the Open, which will take place August 713. "I think I have a lot of work to do... but if I keep working on the things I've been working on, I totally feel I can play on the weekend." -- Jon Kuiperij sports@oakvillebeaver.com. can be reached at CANLAN ICE SPORTS OAKVILLE · SUMMER HOCKEY CAMPS & MULTI-SPORT CAMPS · MULTIPLE WEEK & MULTIPLE SKATER DISCOUNTS · VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR WEEKLY OFFERINGS REGISTER TODAY 905-845-6989 www.icesports.com