Page 11 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 31

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Girls’ Bantam Team: Small Turnout Turns into a

Successful Season

By Molly Kett

he Cornwall Girls’ Hockey
TAssociation’s Bantam B
Typhoons ended their hockey season
with 40 game wins, 16 losses, and
5 ties. For most of the season, the
Bantam B Typhoons were in the top
3 or 4 teams in Ontario; finishing 3rd

out of 12 teams in the regular season
and finishing 3rd in the playoffs. This

successful 15-player team however,
started out with only 16 girls showing
up to tryouts.
“We’re not Ottawa, you know, we
don’t get 40 or 50 girls at a tryout,”
says Perry Ruffo, the teams manager.
“We get 15 to 20 and this past year
we only had 16 and our head coach
Submitted Photo
only wanted to run a team with 15
girls so he made a tough decision and it defi nitely stemmed from a lot of and team philosophy.” paid off and Ruffo is satisfied with the

to cut one girl.” Regardless of the stuff we did off of the ice with them. Ruffo says from the start of end result. “At the end of the day you
rocky start during tryouts, the team Our coaching staff was a fi rm believer, the year, the expectations, for the just want to see the girls having fun,
rose to the top. Ruffo says the team right from day one, that little cliques team, were to learn the game and you want to see them develop. You
owes its success to a combination of were not going to be tolerated,” says continuously improve on and off the always hope to have some success
things from the girls to the coach’s Ruffo. “So I’m going to say that’s ice. Their expectations were to be a along the way. It’s defi nitely nice
mentality. “I’m going to say it was a where the successes came, right from competitive team, during every game to leave the rink with a win,” says
combination of good team chemistry. the staff all the way through to the and tournament. The efforts from the Ruffo.
The girls gelled very well on the ice girls buying into the team mentality team to have a competitive season

presents Sports Panel

With two local Race Tracks (Mohawk International Raceway and Cornwall Motor Speedway) within 10 miles of each
other, the area seems to have a large following of Racing enthusiasts. What do you feel attracts people to the races?

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - I have not been to a racetrack in quite some time, but I have several friends who attend regularly,
and a few others who rarely ever miss an event. Most of them are lifelong car buffs and dirt track racing is a further extension of that
interest. A large number of fans have a connection to one or more of the drivers, as the majority are local residents sponsored by area
businesses. Both tracks do a great job, providing a variety of events from rookies to super sprints. This diversity, along with generally
affordable pricing, appeals to families, long time enthusiasts, and brand new fans. The Mohawk International Speedway and The
Cornwall Motor Speedway both provide a top shelf racing program that can be an enjoyable way to spend a summer evening.

Gilles Gaudet - Sports Enthusiast - I feel a lot of race fans have their favourite drivers. Fans love speed around the track, especially
around the corners. Drivers have no fear turning corners. Fans also love the noise of the cars, seeing excellent driving skills, and the
dramatics when cars collide.

Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach - What attracts folks to the races? Dirt Track racing is exciting, it’s fast, it’s fun, and it’s
entertaining grass-roots motor sports. Mohawk International Raceway and Cornwall Motor Speedway are uniquely located just a short
drive from several borders, attracting fans from, First Nations, Quebec, Ontario, New York, and beyond. Fans from all areas have the
opportunity to cheer on their favorite Dirt Track drivers as they compete locally a couple times a week.
What’s not to like about Dirt Track racing? These cars only weigh approximately 2,400 pounds and some of these machines kick out
as much as 800 hp at 9,000 rpm. Watching a couple dozen of these bad boys screaming past the grand stands make your ribs rumble, or watching the
full throttle oversteer around the corners into a hard sideways slide, blasting dirt rooster-tails from the rear tires, is quite a site . On any given Sunday,

throughout the summer, as the sun sinks into the treetops, the Supers fire up their engines and the roar of the engines can be heard for miles. It’s another
great night at the races when Dad can take the family out to the track without having to spend the family vacation savings, enjoy a few hot dogs, buy a
few souvenirs, and enjoy an action-packed evening of racing. What’s not to like about Dirt Track racing.