Archive 1997-2016
By C. Gary Greenham
Speed skating’s popularity is growing in Ottawa, but the availability and quality of skating facilities haven’t kept pace.
While Ottawa does have speed skating facilities, people involved in the sport say ice surfaces that are up to standard are often tied up with other sports while the quality of others is questionnable.
The Sens are staying, and Ottawa Senators majority owner Rod Bryden has assured fans that never again will a vice-grip be put on fans to keep the team here.
The duo, two-time Canadian champions in pairs skating, wow the crowd with lifts, jumps and spins, ending the routine in an embrace. But that embrace doesn’t end when they step off the ice. Sargeant, 26, and Wirtz, 30, are not only pairs on the ice, they are husband and wife.
With team names like the Lovebugs, it would be hard to confuse the Girls N’ Women and Sport basketball league with the WNBA. But the sweat-stained, reddened faces of the girls on the court shows their effort was no less than that of the big-leaguers.