St Johns Ravenscourt School - Eagle Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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SPORTS

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Letter writing seems quite inadequate at present, but I do feel that I should make some attempt to inform you of our trip and adventures in the World Hockey Tournament, 1966 . As you probably know, the tournament has taken place in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia from March 3rd to 13 th. During this period we have played seven games against the best repre¬ sentatives from Europe and Asia. Playing seven games in ten days is very demanding, and it almost leaves the body in a state of mental and physical exhaustion. Feeling tired, as I do, and having been subjected to a series of poor refer¬ eeing, as well as being involved in a form of political war¬ fare, I am having difficulty proving to myself that our cause is justifiable. In 1964 Father Bauer assembled a group of young men with the intention of forming a hockey team of international calibre while the boys were still able to further their uni¬ versity education. In other words, we hoped that we would combine hockey and education. I must add that I feel we have been successful in this area, as most of our players have enjoyed two highly successful years at university. Dur¬ ing our hockey ventures, we have attempted not only to be enthusiastic, but also ambassadors of our country. It is in the latter where we have encountered problems. We will¬ ingly accepted the responsibility of representing Canada, hoping that we could best exemplify the true character of our democratic country. However, little did we realize the true involvement of such a responsibility. Members of Canada’s National Hockey Team are, to put it quite truthfully, being used as pawns in a form of political war¬ fare. The Communist countries are definit ely using victories over Canada and other democratic nations as a political propaganda in the well known cold war.” Officials from Communist countries, or from countries bordering a Communist country, often are pressured into bias. Because of this, we often are unjustly penalised, and therefore are unable to play to our full potential as a hockey team. This is extremely frustrating. If the hockey teams were allowed to play hockey without political interference, I am sure that international competition would be a much more enjoyable and satisfying experience. Ljubljana is a beautiful city. Temperatures have been very mild, and the nearby Alps provide a beautiful back¬ ground for the city. Although Yugoslavia is a Communist country and is divided into six Republics, the people are united in a strong national pride and spirit of independence. This has become quite evident to most of our JLetia jfiom JLjdljcm players. Our accom modations are ideal. We are staying at the Hotel Tabor, a new building which will become an old people’s home when we leave. The food has been excellent (usually we are subjected to large quantities of greasy food). While some of the boys have had difficulty in selecting a suitable beverage, I have been drinking large quantities of Italian Pepsi and goats’ milk. I am not over impressed with either of them, but they will do for now. As for the games themselves, I feel that we did quite well. Our first game was against the U.S.A. which we Continued on page 42

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mW ' mm iv M i m 1 iTWB if Ik U Til ' BACK ROW: Wilson, Francis, Toy, McTavish, Yonge, Williams, Honeyman, Gray, Fenny. THIRD ROW: Cottick, Nanson, Macdonald, Ryder, Meredith, McDonald, Fudge, Naiman. SECOND ROW: McGaughey, Campbell, Cousins, Gardner, McBeath, Hammond. FRONT ROW: Merrihew, Mr. Girard, Young. PETER BOWES HALFBACK An import” from our bantam team. Peter has a fine pair of hands and ran well in the last two games. He should come on strong in ’66, especially if he shows a little more enthusiasm in practices. MICHAEL BROOK O. and D. TACKLE Mike used his size and strength to do a fine job on the opposition. He was a hard hitting blocker and a fine tackier. ANGUS CAMPBELL FULLBACK and D. SAFETY Gus was a good offensive ball player, but he showed on defense with his ability to come up with key pass interceptions. PETER FAHLGREN O. and D. TACKLE Hard and tough, Pete loved to bash it out along the line. It is certain that many a would-be tackier was disappointed by this footballer. MARK FENNY O. and D. GUARD Tiger, Tiger” . . . Mark was one hundred and seventy pounds of dynamite. His bone¬ jarring tackles and fierce line-play could be heard from the bench. Most worthy as the co-owner of the title of most valuable player on the team. CRAIG FRANCIS O. CENTER and D. LINEBACKER Like his brother, John, Craig made a dandy center. He was perhaps a bit light for his posi¬ tion. Nevertheless, he did it well. BILL COTTICK FULLBACK and D. LINEBACKER Bill did not like practices very much, but he showed a fine running ability from his five-back spot. KENT COUSINS O. and D. END Elected as one of the two most valuable players this year. Kent was the heavy-duty man on the squad! He caught man y fine passes, ran hard with the ball, and seemed always to appear where he was needed for tackles. All in all, Kent is a fine footballer. SAM FREED D. SAFETY Tough, speedy, and hard-hitting, it was a pity that Sam was injured in our first Portage game. Despite a lack of weight, Sam was a sure and fierce tackier. CARLYLE FUDGE O. and D. GUARD Old Fedge” put the leg back into S.J.R. football. When he put his boot to the ball, it was long gone. His punts proved to be live- savers on several occasions, and point-getters on others.