November 18/97 10:24 am - Birth Announcement, Cross News, Mechanic Certification, Indoor Worlds

Posted by Editor on 11/18/97
 

Birth Announcement  We just received a card from Jill Gould (nee Smith) and Tim, announcing the birth of a baby girl - Holly Louise. Ex-mountain bike pro and road racer Jill (from Nova Scotia, but a long-time resident of B.C.) writes: „Traded in my cycling career for a bouncing baby girl! Mommy, Daddy and Baby are all doing fine.‰ Holly Louise was born on November 8th, weighing 6 lb 15 oz. No word yet on who has signed her to a contract for the 2016 Games...   `Cross News  The cyclo-cross provincials in Ontario were cancelled this past Sunday, due to severe weather conditions. Commentary on this can be read in the Forum postings. The event has been rescheduled to the upcoming weekend, at Albion Hills (north of Toronto). Concern has been expressed from a number of quarters about the same thing happening to the Nationals in 2 weeks time (as was the case in 1995, near Ottawa). This could be a real problem, given that riders are coming from all across the country. The organizer has posted a response to these concerns on the Forum, which should allay most fears.   Mechanic Certification  This past weekend, a somewhat historic event took place in a hotel near toronto‚s Pearson International Airport, when members of the cycling community gathered from across Canada to finalize the implementation of a national Mechanic Certification Program. Within the next few weeks, Examiners in all major Canadian centres will begin testing and certifying bike shop mechanics. This program is the first step in developing standards and safety procedures for the bicycle industry in Canada. For the consumer it will result in higher standards across the country, and an assurance that the new bicycle they buy, or that the repair they have completed, will be done in a safe and professional manner. For the industry, it will create new, professional standards, and result in reduced insurance costs. For more information, contact BTAC at: (416) 445-9997.   Indoor Cycling World Championships - Winterthur, Switzerland  This may be the strangest World‚s all (at least from the North American point of view). Two events are held - Cycleball and Artistic Cycling. Both take place in an enclosed arena (similar to a floor hockey arena). In Cycleball, teams of 2 compete against each other, using their (heavily) modified bikes to score goals. Artistic Cycling is similar to figure skating, in terms of scoring, with both Compulsory Figures and other movements being marked by judges as the competitors perform to music. For more information, go to the website at: Indoor Worlds  Here are the final results:  Cycleball  1 Switzerland (Peter Kern, Marcel Bosshart) SWI 9 points 2 Czech Republic (Pavel Smid, Oldrich Groch) CZE 8 3 Austria (Gernot Fontain, Andreas Bösch) AUT 6  Artistic Cycling  Womens Pairs  1 Yvonne Jager, Katya Schelshorn GER 304.37 points 2 Carmen Carvalho, Ivone Carvalho POR 294.40 3 Heike Muller, Marika Muller AUT 292.47  Womens Single  1 Sandra Schlosser GER 324.17 points 2 Martina Stepkanova CZE 323.73 3 Sonja Bissinger GER 320.83  Mens Pairs  1 Michael Rauch, Heiko Rauch GER 318.70 points 2 Stefan Raaf, Michael Roth GER 315.40 3 Ralf Zellweger, Marcel Schilt SUI 292.10  Mens Single  1 Martin Rominger GER 340.83 points 2 Jens Schmitt GER 336.83 3 Hannes Mähr AUT 329.47