Posted on Dec 3, 2013 in Business & Politics, Featured
By Roberta Bell and Sarah Turnbull Early snowfall “takes some of the pressure off” the Ottawa area’s main ski resort, Camp Fortune, but owner Peter Sudermann says it doesn’t guarantee prime skiing throughout the season. Camp Fortune, in Chelsea, Que. just outside Gatineau, opened one of its 23 runs on Nov. 22 and two more last Friday. It will be open daily as of this Friday. The resort plans long-range, Sudermann said, but once ski and snowboard season begins, unpredictable weather patterns means ski conditions vary “week to week.” Last week, about 25 centimetres of snow fell, which gave people “the perception that everything’s open,” Sudermann said. “When they...
Posted on Dec 3, 2013 in Featured, Sports & Recreation
By Ariana Armstrong and Fangliang Xu While the Rideau Canal slowly succumbs to the winter freeze, local Ottawa skaters can already zip around the ice at City Hall’s Rink of Dreams. “I love skating,” said Annalise Mathers, a third-year science student at the University of Ottawa who took advantage of the fresh ice last week. “I’ve been waiting for the canal to open all year, so the fact that the Rink of Dreams is open already just gets me right out here.” The Rink of Dreams officially opened its third operating season last week. For Mathers, who jumped at the opportunity for a good skate after its official opening,...
Posted on Dec 3, 2013 in Featured, Sports & Recreation
By Philippe de Montigny and Kiran Rana The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team is going into the holidays undefeated, but the break from classes doesn’t mean a break from practice. Dave Smart, the coach of Carleton’s team, will hold his team to a strict training schedule throughout the holiday season. “We’ll practice pretty hard through December,” said Smart, who will run practices until Dec. 21st. “Then we go to Florida and have a 10-day training camp.” Players will get a six-day break, regrouping on the 27th for two days of practices and then leaving with their coaches and therapist to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Being first in the Canadian weekly...
Posted on Nov 26, 2013 in Business & Politics
By Ariana Armstrong and Kiran Rana It was a dash to the finish line as Special Olympics athletes raced against senators and Ministers of Parliament in an obstacle course set up on the lawn of Parliament at noon on Tuesday. The sporting event was part of Special Olympics Canada’s second Hill Day, which is held to lobby the federal government for increased funding for sport programs catered to children, youth, and adults with intellectual disabilities. The event also gave MPs and senators a chance to engage with Special Olympics athletes in a fun environment. Before the event began, Special Olympics athlete Caroline Joanisse said she felt good about the...
Posted on Nov 26, 2013 in Sports & Recreation
By Kiran Rana and Ariana Armstrong Find an audio slideshow on the Carleton and Ottawa U Quidditch teams here. Quidditch: imaginary no more It started with a few Harry Potter fans running around on brooms at Middlebury College in Vermont in 2005. Now, nearly nine years later, Quidditch has evolved into an increasingly recognized sport across North America, with competitive teams and even a championship tournament. Quidditch is the competitive sport that wizards play on flying brooms in J.K. Rowling’s popular series. In real life, Quidditch is a co-ed contact sport, which draws on elements from rugby, basketball and dodgeball: players tackle, dunk through hoops, and pelt each other with...
Posted on Nov 26, 2013 in Sports & Recreation
By Roberta Bell, Sarah Turnbull and Emanuela Campanella The culture around city-run recreation programs is the reason the programs are so successful, participants say. “The interaction with other people is part of the fitness,” said Nelda Nicoletti, who was instructing a low-impact tai chi class at Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre Tuesday morning. “For as little as one might do, the passion is there and they’re out of the house. It’s very important.” According to the city’s recently released 2014 budget briefing notes, more Ottawa residents participate in city-run recreation programs than residents of any other Ontario municipality participating in the Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI). The OMBI collects...
