Under the Maple Leaves
“…in a healthy body”
If these notes have up to now left an impression that Canadians know how to “take it easy” with “relax and enjoy” being their favourite motto, that was exactly how they were meant to impress. And yet, I do realize that the subjects in question (arts and leisure) are not testing enough to draw any reliable conclusion- simply because they are not competitive by their very nature. Of course, if there is a will, there is a way- and for those eager to prove a point, almost everything can be turned into a competition. After all, there exist such bizarre concepts as “song contest” or “piano playing contest”- let alone the disgusting idea of “beauty contests” that has gained an enormous popularity throughout the world. As it’s universally known, “beauty is in the eye of a beholder”, and that’s the only place where it should stay. A winner determined by opinions rather than certain objective criteria, abuses the very essence of “fairness”, and no “Miss Universe” can possibly be in the same universe with anything resembling the “fair play”. But those are mockeries of a competition while the true gist of the activities implies enjoyment and- sometimes- cooperation. On the other hand, there is one domain of human activities that can seemingly be but competitive- and obviously, I am talking about sport.
I don’t know if Canadians have ever been referred to as “icemen” but sometimes I genuinely believe that Canada as a nation was born on ice- or maybe even out of ice! Canadians are unbelievably strong on this surface. Apart from ice hockey that is truly in a class of its own, they have turned an ancient Scottish game of curling into their own domain. Canadian skaters have collected a little wealth of gold medals and set an impressive string of world records in the sprint disciplines while every Canadian representative in short-track, bob-sleigh and skeleton is to be reckoned with. Even in figure-skating (that is a beautiful show but hardly deserves the name of “sports” for the above-given reasons) Canadian couples are permanently vying for the top spots.
In short, Canada is a huge force in each and every ice discipline- and if it were able to man a squad nearly as good in the ski-related part of the Olympic program, entering the exclusive club of the sportive superpowers would be very much on the cards. Actually, Canadian present fourth position in the Olympic medal table is more than a worthy achievement even for such a big country with a relatively small population.
Using that as a background one can’t help wondering, where does a total lack of Canadian success in summer sports come from. Canada is unfortunate enough to have become the only country in the world that wasn’t able to win a single gold medal during its home Olympics (Montreal, 1976). It has practically no say in any of the world- popular ball games, and its medal hopes are vague enough as far as most major world championships are concerned. One could hardly find a better illustration of the famous Dr. Jackill and Mr.Hyde story- only more so because by any evidence, the nation doesn’t lack either an ability to succeed or passion for sports and competition. This psycho-social phenomenon has puzzled me for quite a while, and- multiplied by my practical interest in recreational physical activities- it turned me into a keen researcher of the situation concerning the role of summer sports in one’s everyday life in Canada. The result of my little research has exceeded any prior expectation I could possibly toy with.
While looking for a sign identifying my temporary home in Toronto, I couldn’t miss a tennis court and a swimming pool located right in front of the building entrance. So the next time I reached the court I headed straight for it- and was surprised to find out that it was a wrong building. “You need to go one block farther”- a lady was positively eager to help. “But how come? I am sure there is a pool there. You mean there are two of those within just one block?!”- She smiled indulgently: “More than two. Many buildings in the area have them. That’s a common property” My jaw dropped… I knew that many wealthy people would save themselves an effort to go somewhere by building such recreational facilities as tennis courts, swimming pools, movie and music halls right in their own backyard, but I have never heard of a middle class member doing the same. Well, maybe not exactly the same because this property was shared by relatively many people, but unlike those going to all sorts of public places, these people didn’t even have to start their engine before they could take a plunge or hit a ball. Which means that they could do it by the way and for pure pleasure rather than professionally. The latter requires perseverance, the former can be accomplished in a relaxed mode.
There are not too many similarities between a multistoried building in a megalopolis and a whole university campus in a middle-sized town but as far as the matter in question is concerned, I could find but a little difference. True, not everyone studying at the University of Waterloo (where I happened to be accommodated during a chess tournament) lives next door to PAC (this almost Korean name is an abbreviation of “Physical Activities Complex), but it doesn’t take more than 5-10 minutes to reach this centrally located building on foot from more or less everywhere. Once inside, it’s not easy to choose from an almost endless scope of both professional (“next team meeting” announcements and training schedules are pinned to every second wall) and amateur possibilities. One can start with shooting leisurely at the basket, proceed to sweat on an adjacent badminton court or squash room, wash the sweat off and relax hir muscles in the right-at-hand swimming pool- while those looking for a bit of adventure are always welcome to a 3-meter diving board. If all that (or any of it as a case may be) is followed by the sauna warmth and coziness of an armchair located in the Visitors Centre, it might account for a near perfect half-a-day. No real wonder that even in summer, when dormitories are populated by temporary guests like myself rather than regulars, and classes are mostly empty, PAC is buzzing and splashing with energy. Sometimes pros and amateurs are rubbing shoulders, and the only difference between the two groups is that many of the latter would come there without as much as having planned what exactly to do. For instance, they might bring a badminton racket, put it aside on the spur of the moment and join a basketball game. Real athletes can’t afford “wasting” their time like that- they have their flags to care about.
The flags were placed almost under the ceiling, and since the PAC gym is a very spacious hall with quite a high ceiling, it was not so easy even to read the inscriptions. When I finally coped with the task, it made a rather monotonous reading. Something like “Ontario Basketball Championships, 1971 - 2 place”, Ontario Alpine Skiing Cup, 1993- 1 place”, Ontario Squash Championships, 1998- 3 place”... Boring, isn’t it?! Yet, I have a vague feeling that someone responsible for the results in question (the teams’ players and coaches, the university academic staff or even its rank-and-file students interested in these and other sports), might hold an altogether different opinion on the matter! I should probably mention that the flag awards were not limited to the gym- only those covering the walls of the swimming pool concentrated mostly on (surprise - surprise) swimming and diving…
If I were in a famous sports-academy, the variety of achievements would hardly draw too much of my attention. For an ordinary university located in a rather small town (at least, if compared with Toronto and the like), this string of success looked totally amazing. As an off-topic, I might remark that such a town having not just one but two universities, can also be hardly regarded as a routine phenomenon. Back to sports facilities, the local tennis club located in a beautiful park, just on the other side of the main road, provides its members (as well as the rest of local regular and temporary population) with no less than 12 top quality courts. Its management has every reason to consider bidding for a Grand Slam or Masters event, but in the meantime, the club limits itself to offering discount tickets to one of those events held nearby- such as Toronto Masters.
Everywhere in the world an honour and burden of hosting a big event (a scientific conference, an art festival, a major sports competition, a political summit etc) would be primarily given to a big city rather than a small one- and Canada is no exception. Apart from the entertainment district, Torontonians are blessed (among other things) with the annual Caribbean music festival and round-the-year live ball games. The city is represented in three out of four major North American leagues (though, judging by the results of the local teams, having them is sometimes a mixed blessing!), and there seemingly are quite a lot of people regarding a subscription for the next year hockey season as the best birthday present. Basketball and baseball games are also well attended, to say the least. A huge experience gathered in the course of time, helps the organizers to stage every game as a kind of a colourful show- with life music, drums, cheer leaders’ performance and lottery prizes. The “hot offer” of the last decade or so is a possibility to take part in various spectators contests- from long-distance shooting in basketball to “the fastest server” tennis competition. I actually participated in the latter and might witness that stepping onto a court that has just seen off a star of the game, gives one a very special feeling that considerably enhance hir interest for the game itself. Maybe it’s this sensation of being “in”, combined with a chance to see a high quality performance “live”, that urges people to come on purpose even from miles and miles away. I wonder if this tournament had ever been attended by a citizen of Kapuskasing!
If these notes have up to now left an impression that Canadians know how to “take it easy” with “relax and enjoy” being their favourite motto, that was exactly how they were meant to impress. And yet, I do realize that the subjects in question (arts and leisure) are not testing enough to draw any reliable conclusion- simply because they are not competitive by their very nature. Of course, if there is a will, there is a way- and for those eager to prove a point, almost everything can be turned into a competition. After all, there exist such bizarre concepts as “song contest” or “piano playing contest”- let alone the disgusting idea of “beauty contests” that has gained an enormous popularity throughout the world. As it’s universally known, “beauty is in the eye of a beholder”, and that’s the only place where it should stay. A winner determined by opinions rather than certain objective criteria, abuses the very essence of “fairness”, and no “Miss Universe” can possibly be in the same universe with anything resembling the “fair play”. But those are mockeries of a competition while the true gist of the activities implies enjoyment and- sometimes- cooperation. On the other hand, there is one domain of human activities that can seemingly be but competitive- and obviously, I am talking about sport.
I don’t know if Canadians have ever been referred to as “icemen” but sometimes I genuinely believe that Canada as a nation was born on ice- or maybe even out of ice! Canadians are unbelievably strong on this surface. Apart from ice hockey that is truly in a class of its own, they have turned an ancient Scottish game of curling into their own domain. Canadian skaters have collected a little wealth of gold medals and set an impressive string of world records in the sprint disciplines while every Canadian representative in short-track, bob-sleigh and skeleton is to be reckoned with. Even in figure-skating (that is a beautiful show but hardly deserves the name of “sports” for the above-given reasons) Canadian couples are permanently vying for the top spots.
In short, Canada is a huge force in each and every ice discipline- and if it were able to man a squad nearly as good in the ski-related part of the Olympic program, entering the exclusive club of the sportive superpowers would be very much on the cards. Actually, Canadian present fourth position in the Olympic medal table is more than a worthy achievement even for such a big country with a relatively small population.
Using that as a background one can’t help wondering, where does a total lack of Canadian success in summer sports come from. Canada is unfortunate enough to have become the only country in the world that wasn’t able to win a single gold medal during its home Olympics (Montreal, 1976). It has practically no say in any of the world- popular ball games, and its medal hopes are vague enough as far as most major world championships are concerned. One could hardly find a better illustration of the famous Dr. Jackill and Mr.Hyde story- only more so because by any evidence, the nation doesn’t lack either an ability to succeed or passion for sports and competition. This psycho-social phenomenon has puzzled me for quite a while, and- multiplied by my practical interest in recreational physical activities- it turned me into a keen researcher of the situation concerning the role of summer sports in one’s everyday life in Canada. The result of my little research has exceeded any prior expectation I could possibly toy with.
While looking for a sign identifying my temporary home in Toronto, I couldn’t miss a tennis court and a swimming pool located right in front of the building entrance. So the next time I reached the court I headed straight for it- and was surprised to find out that it was a wrong building. “You need to go one block farther”- a lady was positively eager to help. “But how come? I am sure there is a pool there. You mean there are two of those within just one block?!”- She smiled indulgently: “More than two. Many buildings in the area have them. That’s a common property” My jaw dropped… I knew that many wealthy people would save themselves an effort to go somewhere by building such recreational facilities as tennis courts, swimming pools, movie and music halls right in their own backyard, but I have never heard of a middle class member doing the same. Well, maybe not exactly the same because this property was shared by relatively many people, but unlike those going to all sorts of public places, these people didn’t even have to start their engine before they could take a plunge or hit a ball. Which means that they could do it by the way and for pure pleasure rather than professionally. The latter requires perseverance, the former can be accomplished in a relaxed mode.
There are not too many similarities between a multistoried building in a megalopolis and a whole university campus in a middle-sized town but as far as the matter in question is concerned, I could find but a little difference. True, not everyone studying at the University of Waterloo (where I happened to be accommodated during a chess tournament) lives next door to PAC (this almost Korean name is an abbreviation of “Physical Activities Complex), but it doesn’t take more than 5-10 minutes to reach this centrally located building on foot from more or less everywhere. Once inside, it’s not easy to choose from an almost endless scope of both professional (“next team meeting” announcements and training schedules are pinned to every second wall) and amateur possibilities. One can start with shooting leisurely at the basket, proceed to sweat on an adjacent badminton court or squash room, wash the sweat off and relax hir muscles in the right-at-hand swimming pool- while those looking for a bit of adventure are always welcome to a 3-meter diving board. If all that (or any of it as a case may be) is followed by the sauna warmth and coziness of an armchair located in the Visitors Centre, it might account for a near perfect half-a-day. No real wonder that even in summer, when dormitories are populated by temporary guests like myself rather than regulars, and classes are mostly empty, PAC is buzzing and splashing with energy. Sometimes pros and amateurs are rubbing shoulders, and the only difference between the two groups is that many of the latter would come there without as much as having planned what exactly to do. For instance, they might bring a badminton racket, put it aside on the spur of the moment and join a basketball game. Real athletes can’t afford “wasting” their time like that- they have their flags to care about.
The flags were placed almost under the ceiling, and since the PAC gym is a very spacious hall with quite a high ceiling, it was not so easy even to read the inscriptions. When I finally coped with the task, it made a rather monotonous reading. Something like “Ontario Basketball Championships, 1971 - 2 place”, Ontario Alpine Skiing Cup, 1993- 1 place”, Ontario Squash Championships, 1998- 3 place”... Boring, isn’t it?! Yet, I have a vague feeling that someone responsible for the results in question (the teams’ players and coaches, the university academic staff or even its rank-and-file students interested in these and other sports), might hold an altogether different opinion on the matter! I should probably mention that the flag awards were not limited to the gym- only those covering the walls of the swimming pool concentrated mostly on (surprise - surprise) swimming and diving…
If I were in a famous sports-academy, the variety of achievements would hardly draw too much of my attention. For an ordinary university located in a rather small town (at least, if compared with Toronto and the like), this string of success looked totally amazing. As an off-topic, I might remark that such a town having not just one but two universities, can also be hardly regarded as a routine phenomenon. Back to sports facilities, the local tennis club located in a beautiful park, just on the other side of the main road, provides its members (as well as the rest of local regular and temporary population) with no less than 12 top quality courts. Its management has every reason to consider bidding for a Grand Slam or Masters event, but in the meantime, the club limits itself to offering discount tickets to one of those events held nearby- such as Toronto Masters.
Everywhere in the world an honour and burden of hosting a big event (a scientific conference, an art festival, a major sports competition, a political summit etc) would be primarily given to a big city rather than a small one- and Canada is no exception. Apart from the entertainment district, Torontonians are blessed (among other things) with the annual Caribbean music festival and round-the-year live ball games. The city is represented in three out of four major North American leagues (though, judging by the results of the local teams, having them is sometimes a mixed blessing!), and there seemingly are quite a lot of people regarding a subscription for the next year hockey season as the best birthday present. Basketball and baseball games are also well attended, to say the least. A huge experience gathered in the course of time, helps the organizers to stage every game as a kind of a colourful show- with life music, drums, cheer leaders’ performance and lottery prizes. The “hot offer” of the last decade or so is a possibility to take part in various spectators contests- from long-distance shooting in basketball to “the fastest server” tennis competition. I actually participated in the latter and might witness that stepping onto a court that has just seen off a star of the game, gives one a very special feeling that considerably enhance hir interest for the game itself. Maybe it’s this sensation of being “in”, combined with a chance to see a high quality performance “live”, that urges people to come on purpose even from miles and miles away. I wonder if this tournament had ever been attended by a citizen of Kapuskasing!