& ATs, As POR Douglas College golf team ready to start the season strong By Liam Britten ith their first competition mere weeks away, Douglas College’s newly co-ed golf team is looking forward to a better season than last year’s. Last season was a tough one for the Royals to be sure; between finishing at the bottom of the NWAACC standings, losing some veteran players and almost losing their funding from Douglas College, Assistant Captain Joel Nicol says last season didn’t have the finish they were looking for. “There were academic problems,” said Nicol of the circumstances that cost the team one of their players. “We’re fighting through it this year.” Nicol said the loss of key team members was a big factor in last season’s less-than-spectacular finish. He singled out former player Kevin Esterbrooks’ departure in particular. “He provided a leadership backbone that’ll be hard to replace this year,’ Nicol said. “There'll be a different leadership dynamic this year.” The 2007-08 season also held problems in financing, with the team’s funds from Douglas College nearly being cut off in spring of 2008. Kevin Esterbrooks, in a phone interview, credited Coach Gert Van Niekerk with securing the team’s future funding from the College’s Athletics Board. Problems aside, the Royals are keeping their heads up. The presence of team members like Captain lan Davis, who was a member of the Canadian national team, and Odys Trillo, of Venezuela’s national team, is sure to be of some comfort. Among the new additions to the team is Michaela Staller, the first female player the team’s ever had. Nicol also said the experience and guidance of Coach Van Niekerk was a major plus. Winning is important to the team, of course, but they certainly have no problem staying loose. “There’s a few characters on the team,” Esterbrooks said, describing his teammates. He spoke about one member who can shoot either 100 or 70, “depending on if he’s hammered,” and another of team’s male players known for “girly clothes and slick hair.” The Douglas College golf team’s first event is April 5" at the Bellevue Tournament in Washington State. The NWAACC Douglas College’s golf team competes in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC), an athletics league with teams from SORA ngton and Oregon. British Columbian schools usually compete in the BCCAA, but according to Easterbrook, other schools’ golf teams were not able to compete at Douglas’ level, and so Douglas switched to the NWAACC in 2005. Next season, however, it is believed that Douglas’ golf team will re-join the BCCAA. By Siavash Emamzadeh ou’d be surprised to know that there is as much mystery in GM Place during the hockey season as there is in the PNE Haunted house during Halloween. In fact, you could say the same about every other NHL arena. For it’s at these places that we can see baffling spectacles, usually away from the play on the ice. Don’t get me wrong; I love to watch the actual game, but these mysterious sights are unavoidable. For instance, the boo’s that fans randomly spew is pretty weird. I’ve just recently noticed that New York Rangers defenseman Wade Redden is relentlessly booed by his home crowd. I know that he is a recent acquisition from the Ottawa Senators, but I can’t wrap my head around the reaction he is drawing. I also know that a player has to display a lot of disrespect to the fans in order to attract this kind of hatred, so honestly, Redden is the last guy I’d expect to provoke fans. Other mysteriously booed players include Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators by his home fans, pretty much any former Canuck by Vancouver fans and Mats Sundin almost everywhere except GM Place. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that a lot of a team’s former players get booed by fans of their ex-team. From boos to booze, why arenas serve beer is another mystery. It’s definitely not a good idea to offer The many wonders of the NHL beer in a hostile atmosphere like a hockey arena. Since drinking a lot of beer impairs sound judgment, fights and hits on the ice may more easily tempt drunken fans to behave aggressively. This could explain why fans fight each other, throw objects on the ice or harass other fans. Also, considering the presence of the opposing team’s supporters, full-blown UFC-like scraps are guaranteed. Ranking up there with booing are the fans in the front row that insist on standing up and waving to the high-cornered camera behind them as it follows the action. I don’t really understand what the significance is of seeing yourself on the big screen. If your intent is to draw the attention of the arena crowd and viewers at home, you will succeed. That is, you'll be at the center of curses and calls to sit down. You know another way you can get on TV? By going to Speaker’s Corner booths and spending a dollar. Hmmm. ..let’s see; you could make a minute-long, full appearance on TV for a buck or you could make a couple of second’s worth of face time in exchange for your dignity. A mystery would be an understatement in this case. In all honesty, I think the boo birds, attention seekers and beer vendors in NHL arenas share a big similarity with the aurora borealis and Grand Canyon: all natural wonders of the world.