Courrier des lecteurs

“Incredible” statements challenged

To the editor:

We are writing in response to Expert advocates use of supplements, (Champion, February 1982), by John Tobias, concerning the reported comments of a Dr. Richard Brouse at a seminar on Nutrition and the Athlete held in Ottawa on November 20, 1981. We find some of the statements attributed to Dr. Brouse to be absolutely incredible.

As an example, “The kidney excretion of calcium increases four-fold when the calorie intake is doubled”. This statement must have been taken out of context because we cannot believe that anyone familiar with the most basic elements of calcium homeostasis could say this.

We also take strong exception to the statement “Athletes in training usually need a diet of at least 4,000 calories”. This is also ridiculous. Certainly some athletes need 4,000 calories a day, but most do not. Looking at the poster of carded athletes in the same issue of Champion, we would venture to say that the majority of these athletes require less than 4,000 calories a day. If our divers, gymnasts, fencers, figure skaters, synchronized swimmers, wrestlers, weightlifters, and boxers took this advice and averaged 4,000 calories of food energy intake per day, our ranks of elite athletes in these events would be in a sorry mess in less than a year.

The statement that troubles us most is “Food just cannot provide these nutritional requirements. Supplementation, therefore, becomes not only important, but necessary”.

There are at least 45 essential nutrients required by adult humans. We cannot get all of these in supplements; we must get them in food. In fact, most vitamin mineral supplements usually contain only five of the 21 established mineral elements. Any athlete who relies on food supplements to provide his/her mineral requirements is going to be in serious trouble. What we should be telling our athletes is, if they are going to use food supplements, then they better be sure to eat a varied, high quality selection of foods from all food groups just to be safe. This is the basic approach of the elite countries in sport.

There are more examples of silly statements attributed to Dr. Brouse, but we will leave these, trusting we have made our point. One final comment. If we are going to pay outsiders to provide information for our athletes and coaches, then let us hire responsible scientists or medical people. We can do without the nonsense reported in this article.

Michael Houston, Ph.D.,
James Thomson, Ph.D.,
Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo.

Contradiction pointed out

To the editor:

I refer to the article on page 3 of Champion, February 1982, entitled Court ruling limits use of symbols and your concerns related to the unrestricted use being made of the individual Olympic sport symbols.

I was particularly impressed with the article and your proposed long-term campaign to stamp out the unauthorized use of the Olympic symbols by both commercial and noncommercial organizations. However, I was most interested in the willingness of your paper to publish the Air Canada “Training and Teamwork” advertisement giving a full back page to the commercialized use of these same symbols.

Bill McAllister,
Recreation Consultant, Qualicum Beach, B.C.

A well-deserved slap on the wrist

To the editor:

Recently a copy of Champion, November 1981, was sent to me. It is very interesting and I especially enjoyed A nation-wide network of history, the article about the Canadian Association for Sport Heritage (CASH), by Tom West.

I noted, however, that the Curling Hall of Fame and Museum of Canada Inc., was not included in the article. After I inquired, Tom sent me his article in full. I am sorry to note that not only was this organization missed, but so was the International Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston, Ontario, one of the earliest organizations of this type.

For the record, the Curling Hall of Fame and Museum is a member of CASH through the Canadian Curling Association, a resident sport of the National Sport and Recreation Centre in Ottawa. Also for the record, the museum will be established in Winnipeg in the very near future. A location has been chosen; architectural designs are underway; and a financing campaign is being drawn up.

I am fully aware that editing of articles must be done in order to fit the space available. In this case, however, mention of all the sports museums in Canada was necessary, especially as the article was about all the members of CASH. It is indeed regrettable that the oldest organized sport in Canada was cut.

Please accept our displeasure in the kindest way concerning this oversight.

Anne E. Fisher,
Director of Collections, Curling Hall of Fame and Museum, BaieD’Urfé, Qué.

Volleyball takes to the road

To the editor:

After three years of planning and research, the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) has succeeded in creating Volleyvan, a mobile instructional program which will bring volleyball to schools and community groups in Ontario.

Backed by the support and enthusiasm of Wintario, Gatorgum and Adidas, the OVA has purchased two vans and hired four national-calibre women volleyball players to develop volleyball at the grassroots level.

From early January, when the program officially started, to the end of April, 1982, the clinicians serviced schools and community groups, travelling directly to the school or public gymnasium involved, catering to the demands of each individual group, and giving a free presentation.

During its first two months of operation, the program serviced over 100 schools and approximately 12,000 people.

To date, the program has been well-received by the public; schools, for example, find the program attractive because there is no fee and each group is able to decide the content of the presentation.

Another aspect of the program concerns its ‘business’ side. The Volleyvan program illustrates how an amateur sport association and a corporation can work together and, most importantly, benefit from the collaboration. As a unit, amateur sport is not well-respected by business because some associations have received money from corporations and have exhausted the funds without much consultation with the contributor. The Volleyvan program, however, is an example where an amateur sport association receives money from a corporation, the two groups confer and then agree on how to disburse the money so that both will benefit.

I would be pleased to hear from anyone wishing further information about the Volleyvan program. I can be reached at 416-424-6755.

Fred Morris,
Mobile Program Coordinator, Ontario Volleyball Association, Toronto.

Pentathletes rout US

To the editor:

In the annual indoor team pentathlon match between Canada and the United States, Canada defeated the American team 16259 points to 16141. The match took place in Canyon, Texas in February.

Jill Ross-Giffen recorded five indoor personal bests as she led Canada to victory. Her score of 4523 is a Canadian record for indoor pentathlon with 60 meter hurdles and is only one point below Diane Jones Konihowski’s record for 50 metre hurdles. She opened with a 8.51 seconds Canadian record for 60 m hurdles, protecting her lead with a 12.14 m shot put and a 1.80 m high jump. She wrapped up her victory with a 6.32 m long jump, nearly two feet ahead of her nearest rival. A 2:11.80 for 800 m completed an excellent performance.

Ross-Giffen’s fast 800 m was important as the Canadians went into that final event 22 points behind. But Lesia Pillipow and Corry Rasenberg both finished ahead of the first American and Alison Armstrong reduced her all-time best for the event by nearly five seconds.

Each Canadian recorded personal best scores. Rasenberg’s 4058 points was her first 4000 point score. Pillopow and Annie Potvin tied with 3620 points, Armstrong scored 3859, and Janet Scott recorded 3819.

Lyle Sanderson, Coach,
University of Saskatoon, Saskatoon.