With the NHL lockout battle between billionaires and millionaires now appearing to be of the season-long variety, it’s really refreshing to see the non-professional athletes in this valley going all out for the sport they love.
Instead of NHLers and team owners butting heads over how to divide a billion-dollar sports entertainment pie, around here, along with all manner of youth sports, we have hockey players of the junior A and B variety, along with hockey academy players, who are on the ice giving their all on any given night.
While it’s possible millions of NHL dollars may be in the future for a player currently playing locally, hockey players on rosters here in the valley are much more inclined to be playing for the love of the game – with a more realistic ultimate reward the possiblity of a full-ride college scholarship.
Then again, out on the snow, Canadian Alpine Ski Team members are preparing for the Nov. 21 to Dec. 2 Bombardier Lake Louise World Cup, while national team cross-country and biathlon skiers eye World Cup and NorAm titles – including the Dec. 13-16 Cross Country World Cup at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
For athletes on skis, millions of dollars are less likely to be in their future, but dedication, love of their sport and the possibility of donning the Canadian flag in representing this country is at their very core.
Unlike with sports where a pro career and a huge payday is the ultimate end game, amateur athletes wage their battles, deal with injuries, receive little funding and endure year-round training for the love of their sport and the desire to challenge themselves and compete at the very highest level they can attain.
Fortunately, whereas mainstream media outlets continue to cry the blues ad nauseum because their reporters, broadcasters, panellists and on-air “talent” can’t cover NHL action, local coverage of amateur athletic endeavours will continue unabated in the pages of your Outlook.
Beyond the fact that a community newspaper’s mandate is to provide news, sports and entertainment coverage not found in other mediums – we enjoy it.
Of course, here in the Bow Valley, we at the Outlook are blessed in that national biathlon and cross-country ski teams are headquartered here, many top alpine skiers call this area home, after some futile seasons the Canmore Eagles currently hold a hot hand and, because the entire Valley is a recreational paradise, athletes from many disciplines grace our pages.
You see, within the pages of your community newspaper, “other sports” that the big guys can’t be bothered with are our bread and butter.
Part of the problem is that in North America, professional sports dominate reporting. “Other sports” like biathlon and cross-country skiing, for example, are pretty much non-entities with major media; barring the leadup to an Olympic games every few years. It’s not just media, of course; among the general public interest in pro sports is also much higher than with amateur sports, again, barring Olympic years.
The thing is, when Olympians like Chandra Crawford or Mike Robertson strike gold and silver respectively, it’s big, shocking news to many because their names have never been seen in media reports.
For readers of the Outlook, though, Crawford and Robertson medalling in cross-country skiing and snowboard cross was simply the culmination of a long list of athletic endeavours documented in our pages.
If only other “big” sports media could be encouraged to more often look beyond the professional ranks for their sports coverage. Then, as proud Canadians, we would have known who 2010 Olympic gold medallists Alexandre Bilodeau (freestyle skiing), Christine Nesbitt (speed skating), Jon Montgomery (skeleton) and Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse (bobsled), among others, were ahead of time.
