Editor: Norm Nelson Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: nnelson@haltonsearch.com \v i;i > n k s i ).\ v . SPORTS ii \ i ;jr>. 2(x>;i · i i >4 Disney proving to be a wonderful world for five Oakville Skating Club alumni By ion Kuiperij OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Jack ie F isher (bot tom photo) is c er tainly used to p e r form ing on w ater -- b u t usually the frozen variety! N evertheless, she ham s it up, here. She will lace up fo r Disney O n Ice this y e ar along with several o th e r local sk aters. Top photo includes Fisher, Ian P aszkat, D an Pursoo a n d S tephanie Kennedy. Harrison Smith · O akville Beaver Someone at the Oakville Skating Club must be wishing upon a star. Five former skaters from the club will partici pate in this year's Disney On Ice international pro gram . two more than last year. Ian Paszkat o f Oakville and Dan Pursoo o f Acton will join local residents Jackie Fisher, Stephanie Kennedy and Tim Hewitt in bringing classic Disney stories to life on the ice. "I ju st finished com pet ing this year, and this is som ething I'll finally get paid for instead o f having to pay for it," says the 23year-old Paszkat, a gradu ate o f Stoney Creek High School. Paszkat and Fisher will appear as ensemble skaters in Beauty & the Beast pro ductions, traveling to Japan, southeast Asia and A ustralia over the next year. Pursoo. 18, will tour the east coast o f the United States as part o f M onsters Inc. Hewitt, who was involved with D isney's Jungle series last season (The Lion King, The Jungle Book and Tarzan), has been offered a princi pal role in Toy Story 2 and will travel across North America. Kennedy returns to skate in Peter Pan and 101 Dalmatians but will also be featured in productions o f The Little M ermaid and Lilo & Stitch. The 20-year-old former student at St. M ildred's Lightboum School will appear in many North A merican cities and possi bly M exico as well. Fisher, a graduate of T.A. Blakelock, says she initially intended to skate with Disney On Ice for one year and then attend university, but the opportu nity to travel caused a change o f plans. "I enjoyed the traveling, and they offered me an overseas tour," says the 20-year-old. "I couldn't turn it down.** The same goes for Kennedy, who fully intends to obtain a post secondary education in the near future. "This is a once-in-alifetime opportunity, and there's no question I'll go to school eventually," she says. The strong O akville representation in Disney On Ice is unique, the skaters say, and reflects well on the club. "They have good pro grams and good coaches," Kennedy says. "Something must be going right." Another World Cup medal for vanKoeverden Oakville's Adam vanKoeverden is one of Canada's best stories in paddling this year, earning a bronze medal in his kayak this past Saturday at the presti gious Duisburg Regatta in Germany. Over the 1000 metre distance, the Burloak Canoe Club member clocked a 3:37.941, only 1.676 seconds behind the winner from Australia. It marked a seven-medal haul for Canada at the event. And it also marked van Koeverden's third medal this year on the European circuit. vanKoeverden, only 21, is establish ing himself as Canada's top male K-l paddler since world champion Renn Crichlow ruled the waters in the early 90's. "I'm gaining more and more confi dence," said vanKoeverden, also sev enth in the K -1 500. "1 have high goals this year for the world championships. Finishing third doesn't put me at ease in anyway. It just makes me hungrier." McGrath invited to U-18 training camp Forty of C anada's best under-18 hockey players, including Oakville's Evan McGrath, have been invited to attend Canada's national U-18 summer team development and selection camp that will run from August 1-7 at the Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary. Twenty-two o f the players at camp will be selected to the national U-18 summer team, which will participate in the U-18 Junior World Cup in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, from August 11-18. C anada has participated in an August U-18 tournament in Europe since 1997, capturing gold at all seven events. M cGrath, who starred for the Oakville Blades for one year, helped the K itchener Rangers win the Memorial Cup in his rookie year. Oakville Little League Juniors are getting set to host provincial championships The Oakville Little League organization will host the Ontario junior championships at Glen Abbey ball park. July 21-28. The winner heads off to La Plaine, Q uebec for the Canadian cham pionships the following week. Stephanie Lambert is head ing the organizing committee which is largely made up o f the players' family members. She is assisted by Rob Proctor, Jennifer and Dave Downer, with Peter Keresteci and Sergio Lujan, on the spon sorship side. The committee is responsi ble for everything connected with the tournament which will include: · a host night, chaired by parents Mary D eG root and Kelvin Wilbore, which kicks off the tourney on the evening prior to the first game; · a breakfast/banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn, chaired by Ira Lujan, Cindy Malhotra and Sandi Channing, on the o p e n in g day; · special guest speaker, being taken care o f by Hugh O 'B rodovich and Peter Lambert; · ground crew, headed up by Henry Benzoni and Bruno Jurgaitis; · official scorer. Cam Stewart; · announcing, Mack Murray and Greg Mallough; · sound system , Doug and Jan Camall; · scoreboard, Peter DeGroot; · um piring, Peter Lambert. The committee has many plans for the fundraising side, with local businesses being called on for assis tance. Meanwhile, the Oakville juniors, who have already qualified for the tourney, are traveling to St. Constante, Quebec, this weekend, fol lowed by two Detroit area tournaments on successive weekends. It's a busy schedule, but one that should have the team in top shape for the provincials. Run Farther this Saturday The Running C om pany's `Run Farther' program is still accepting reg istration at its second sem inar this Saturday, 9 a.m. Some super guest lecturers have been lined up, including Sylvia Rueger, C anada's female m arathon record holder and a Canadian Olympian. Call the store at 905-815-1952. For All Your Soccer Apparel and Equipment Needs S O C C E R L JU O R L D A Great Selection of Rugby Gear and Apparel also Available 187 Cross Avenue (Across from Oakville GO) www.soccerworldcentral.com Mon., Tues. & Wed. 10-6 · Thurs. & Fri. 10-7 · Sat. 10-6 · Sun. 12-6 (905 )8 1 5 -8 9 3 9 Harrison Smith ·Oakx'ille Beaver GALA DAY! the Oakville M inor Lacrosse Association held its house league G ala Day last Saturday at River O aks rec centre and this game was in the tyke cham pionship between the Roughnecks and the Storm . See results, inside, on page D3. Canadian Tire 's Athlete of the Week f mnnDinn \ tire / Canadian Tire and Oakville... A Winning Combination! 4 0 0 D u n d a s S t. E a s t · 2 5 7 -T IR E STORE HOURS: Mon. Fri 8:00am-9:00pni · Sat. 8:00am-6:00pm Sun. 10:00am-6:00pm Je n n ife r Knobbs N a tio n a l U -1 4 s y n c h ro sw im m in g c h a m p io n Je n n ife r K n o b b s a d d e d to h e r tro p h y m a n tle in a big w ay this year, sw e e p in g g o ld at all le v e ls, fro m p ro v in c ia l, to e a s te rn re g io n a ls to n atio n als. D U N D A S & TR A F A L G A R R O A D O A K T O W N S H O P P IN G P L A Z A 550 K e rr S tre et · 8 4 4 -0 2 0 2 STORE HOURS: Mon. -Fri. 8:00am-9:00pm · Sat. 8:00am-7:00pm Sun. 9:00am-6:00pm Way to go!!! Visit your local Canadian Tire Store to receive your Gift Certificate