"That will be a table for 30, please."
On the evening of November 26th, the Belleville Crabby Joe's was filled with boisterous Masters speed skaters, meet officials and family members. The din of friendly conversation was so loud the waitress had to ask us to be quiet so she could figure out people's orders.
Why was everyone so happy? We had just finished racing at the second (biannual) Quinte Blades Master's Challenge. Who wouldn't be happy after skating 6 races in 4 hours, at a meet filled with camaraderie and comedy? Two groups of Masters and one group of Special O's made up the 38 skaters who were treated to the early evening meet.
Competition was stiff, but the atmosphere friendly. Fellow skaters cheered each other on, congratulated each other and chuckled at the funnier moments. At the same time, the ice was an arena for intense skating. Many tight races were witnessed, and everyone felt they had pushed themselves to their limits. I walked away feeling refreshingly tired. Not only had I completed a meet, but had spent several hours skating hard with friends.
The Alpha group consisted of 15 skaters (6 women and 9 men) and, in the Bravo group, there were 11 skaters (7 women and 4 men). The Alpha's skated 2 races each of 500 meters, 1000 meters and 1500 meters; for Bravos, it was 2 each of 500 meters, 666 meters and 777 meters.
Prizes were given, at the casual post-meet awards ceremony, at Crabby Joes, for the Quickest and the Slowest in each group of Masters (one had to attend the party to get their award). Receiving a bottle of Nestle’s Quick was Richard Wismer (Quinte) from Alpha and Alicia Weiss (Ottawa) from Bravo (as Trevor Ryan (Durham) wasn’t at the ceremony). Walking away with a box of Neilson’s Slowpokes were Greg Drabowski (Oakville) from Alpha (as Jenna Wright (Quinte) wasn’t present) and John Weiss (Ottawa) from Bravo (as Carol-Anne Gray (Quinte) wasn’t present). A special Neilson’s Pep award went to the oldest skater - well deserved for 74 year old Graham Lodge (Kingston), but in his and Bob Bach’s (Toronto) absence, it went to 58 year old Ross Hanham (Hamilton).
A protocol was circulated at the party for people to analyze and critique. Skaters were asked to circle their P.B.'S. The many circles that appeared were a sign of great racing! And a sign of a great time materialized as the evening closed, when a spontaneous low walk broke out amongst the crowd!
Photo by the Crabby Joe's chef using Kathy Hunt's camera
Many thanks to the event organizers and volunteers including Laura & Paul Woodall, Dave Clement, Paul Pickard and the timing crew (Deb, Dave, Ann, Shelva, Craig, Sue, Cheryl, Ryan, Tom, Colin and Beth).
All I can say is...I hope I'll see everyone again at this meet next year!
Complete results may be seen here.
It's hoped that a club in the western Ontario region will host a similar meet in 2012 so this event can rotate annually between the west and east (perhaps Kitchener-Waterloo ...... hint, hint).
Masters are advised that OSSA has determined that participation in this competition (similar to a "silver meet") qualifies a skater to participate in the Ontario Masters Short Track Championship in Kitchener during May 31 - April 1, 2012.
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