CHILLIWACK TIMES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
Sports
‘stache a hit at Worlds
A11
When we heard that 1 out of 3 people 60 years old and older got shingles...
BY TYLER OLSEN tolsen@chilliwacktimes.com
C
hilliwack’s Alec Janssens had dreamed of skating in his first world championship event since he was 10 years old. In not one of those dreams, it’s safe to say, was Janssens blazing around the ice with half a moustache flapping in the air. Earlier this month, the former Sardis Flier competed in the World All-Round Championships in Hamar, Norway. It was the first senior international event for Janssens, who is a member of Canada’s National Development Submitted photo Team and trains in Calgary. Chilliwack’s Alec Janssens finished 20th at the Janssens, 21, put in a solid showing, finishing a combined 20th overall at the event, in which World All-Round Speed Skating Championships. skaters race in both short and long-distance The broadcasters of the event, Janssens said, races. One of just five Canadians skating at the approached Team Canada’s skate tech to get event, Janssens was determined to have fun the inside scoop on the ‘stache. And on that and make his first world championships worth Sunday, friends and family watching online found themselves staring at a feed of Dutch remembering. He recruited Dutch fans dressed in orange television that showed pictures of the young pope costumes to lead his cheering section Canadian before, and after, his shave. Janssens took his initiation with and started the competition sportgood humour. After all, he was ing a Grade A moustache. already in a good mood. Earlier in “It’s something I’ve been dreamthe year, he had failed to qualify ing about since I was 10: you go for World Cup events, leaving him there, you might as well have some disappointed; but in January, he fun,” he told the Times after returning to Calgary. SCAN FOR WEBSITE qualified for the World All-Round Championships with a strong His teammates, who included 2010 Olympic gold medallists Lucas Makowsky showing in Salt Lake City. That allowed him to and Christine Nesbitt, agreed. So the veterans tick off one major goal for this season. Now, he has his eyes set firmly on the 2014 told Janssens that, for his rookie initiation, he had to shave his moustache before the second Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Qualifying doesn’t take place until next January, but Janssens said day of skating at the event. “I was really proud of my moustache leading upping his training level will be his focus for up to it,” Janssens said. With most skaters pre- 2013. But that will be a challenge—one for which ferring a clean-shaven look, his mustache had already drawn plenty of attention, even before he is looking for some help. Janssens is also it met the sharp end of a razor. But half the See SPEED SKATING, Page 15 facial hair meant twice the attention.
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Thrilling title win for Unity
U
nity Christian’s senior boys basketball team hit two three-pointers in the last five seconds of the Fraser Valley Championship final Saturday to snatch their first-ever title out from under B.C. Christian Academy. Chilliwack’s lone single-A boys team entered the tournament ranked third in the province and handily defeated Agassiz 94-28 in the first round Wednesday. They got past eighth-ranked St. Jean Brebeuf 71-56 Thursday to set up a showdown with seventh-ranked B.C. Christian Academy in the championship final Saturday. Unity had split with the Port Coquitlam team in tournaments earlier in the year, and the game was a battle from the start that saw B.C. Christian Academy with a 30-28 lead at halftime. Heading into the third, the Flames were down 41-40, but back-to-back BCCA threes buried Unity by eight with 1:25 minutes to go. “Things then went perfectly,” Unity coach Mike Campbell said. First, the Flames stole four quick transition baskets by mixing up four different presses.
Then—with seven seconds left in the game—BCCA turned over the ball on an expired shot clock. With 3.3 seconds to go, Unity’s Kevin VanRyk (Grade 12) sank a game-tying three-pointer. Then BCCA gave up possession again after throwing the ball out of bounds. “Thankfully we still had one timeout left and we were able to draw up a play to hit our other Grade 12, Ryan Billsten, for an open threepointer,” Campbell said. “Unbelievably, it fell and the crowd of 300 screaming Unity fans went nuts.” Billsten was voted tournament MVP and VanRyk earned a tournament all star. Unity—who host the single-A provincial championships at UFV in Abbotsford March 6 to 9—begin their provincial run March 6 against 13th seed Mount Sentinel from Nelson. A win would pit them against arch nemesis Immaculata, who killed Unity’s B.C. title hopes last year with a buzzer beater in the provincial quarter-final. ◗ Follow the Senior A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships at https://sites.google. com/site/singleaprovboysbball/home.
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