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Canada’s tumultuous Olympics

The highs and lows of Montreal’s Summer Olympic Games

Aaron Guillen
Staff Reporter

The Summer Olympics in
Montreal started off with a bang,
not only because of the opening
ceremonies, but also due to
the controversy that encircled
the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) in relation to
their stance on certain countries
participating this year. In total,
33 countries, predominantly
African ones, withdrew from
competition, some after arrival
in Canada. This was due to the
1OC allowing New Zealand to
participate even though their
rugby team is currently touring
South Africa, a nation that has
been banned from the Olympics
for 13 years for their refusal to
rebuke apartheid, according to
BBC.

New Zealand’s Olympic
Committee rebutted, claiming
that 26 other countries had
played in South Africa. However,
the boycott still took place,
resulting in the absence of over

   
    

300 athletes.

Additionally, Taiwan
withdrew due to the fact
that they were not allowed
to compete under the name
“Republic of China” (ROC). PM
Pierre Trudeau explained that
since the People’s Republic of
China (PRC) had just recently

been recognized, the name
“Republic of China” was not
feasible. Although Canada
allowed the ROC to use their
national flag and anthem during
the Olympics, they still refused
to participate.

Although times were
tough, an athlete named
Nadia Comaneci enthralled

s be

Image via www.foxsports.com

i

Olympic spectators with her
astounding feats... At the age
of 14, she will be remembered

as the shining star of the

1976 Olympics. Comaneci, a
Romanian gymnast, shocked the
world when she made history by
achieving the first perfect 10.0
for the uneven bars. Following

that achievement, Comaneci
won two more gold medals, one
silver, and one bronze.

Another notable athlete
that shined during the games
was Bruce Jenner. Jenner, an
American runner, participated
in the decathlon, which consists
of a series of track and field
events. He won gold, while also
setting a world record of 8,617
points.

At the conclusion of
the Games, the Soviet Union
held centre stage, with their
athletes winning a total of 125
medals— 4g gold, 41 silver, and
35 bronze. East Germany, a
considerably smaller country
than most others, surprised
some by clinching the second
highest rank in these Summer
Olympics.

Although Canada had the
misfortune of failing to win any
gold medals, the host athletes
were able to earn five silver and
six bronze, landing Canada in
27th position overall.

Creative minds circuiting computer science

Brave new frontiers for two university dropouts

Mercedes Deutscher
News Editor

For Steve Jobs,
experimenting with electronics
has always been a passion.

Although he has not
received any degree beyond high
school, Jobs has been successful
to date in a budding career in
technology by working for Atari.
Yet despite the excitement of
working with video games,

Jobs has his eyes on newer
and better technologies with
the help of his partner in
innovation, Steve Wozniak.

Jobs and Wozniak met five
years ago at a garage computer
club, where members would
often experiment by building
MITS Altairs—ready-to-build
electronic calculators that are
small enough to fit on a desktop.

Wozniak has already
found some small success in
computer technology, having
created a box that allows the
user to make long-distance
phone calls for free. The box
stirred enough interest to
sell a few hundred units.

Both of the young men
then started work on a new
technology, using the MITS

Altairs as inspiration. Low

on funds, Jobs sold his van

in order to buy parts for the
machine, while Wozniak
parted with his HP calculator.

Using parts bought from
local computer shops, Jobs and
Wozniak created the Apple.
The Apple works by connecting
a typewriter-esque keyboard
to a circuit board. From there,
the keyboard can be connected
to a television monitor in
order to create a display.

Seeing potential in their
creation, Jobs and Wozniak—
along with another peer, Ronald
Wayne—decided to start their
own company by the name
of Apple Computers Inc.

Now, Jobs, Wozniak, and
Wayne are looking to send
their creation to the market.
They hope to sell 50 units of the
Apple, all of which are crafted by
hand. So far, Apple Computers
has had offers from Atari, Byte
Shop, and Cramer Electronics.

However, the Apple trio
is uncertain how well their
computer will sell, or who they
will sell it to. Despite selling
personal items and receiving
a grant from a friend’s father
to pay for the computer

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parts, money is scarce. Apple
Computers has attempted to
take out a loan to further fund
the project with no success.
The uncertainty is enough

 

Steve Wozniak & Steve Jobs

to have Wayne reconsidering
his part within Apple, although
Jobs has stayed confident that
they will reach a breakthrough
somewhere, alluding to a

Image via www.435mag.com

potential deal with Byte Shop,
who have reportedly offered

Apple computers $500 each on
up to 50 assembled machines.