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45 · Friday, April 23, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Teen finds his niche in Colorado's giant slalom By Daniel Natale Catalano GRADE 11, T.A. BLAKELOCK H.S. I 'm nervous and I'm excited. My snowboard has been prepped. I'm going through the course in my mind, imagining all key turns and how the rhythm changes all the time. I'm staring at my competitors, looking at their snowboards, wondering how much skill they have. My number is called, I try to calm myself down by breathing as deeply as I can, but my heart continues to race. I make my way up to the start. I see the man in the course next to me, his eyes glued on the finish line. My heart beats yet faster, I wish him good luck, and he says the same. I hear the voice, declaring the start of the race, "Red course ready, Blue course ready, Racers ready, three, two, one, GO!" Welcome to the world of competitive snowboarding. Welcome to Copper Mountain, Colorado and the USASA snowboard nationals. It's a long way from Ellicottville, New York, got me into the snowboardracing scene. It wasn't too long before I got into competitive snowboarding, in fact it was in my second year. I placed second in my first race, which gave me inspiration. Over the years, I've trained and honed my skills as a snowboard racer. Today, I am a member of the Holimont snowboard race team. I am also a team captain of the race team. It was with this team that I ventured to Colorado and competed in slalom and giant slalom events. During this competitive moment at Copper Mountain, I placed 17th in slalom, and seventh in Giant Slalom. During the season, I used my experience at the high school provincials in Ontario, where I placed second overall. I look forward to the chal- lenges in the next few years in one of the fastest growing winter sports. My advice to anyone who finds this the least bit interesting is to go for it. I was unsure about my first race, but once I hit the first gate with my shin, I knew I had found my niche. where as a nine-year-old boy, I made my first turn on the slopes and I fell in love with it the moment I finished that first turn. My mother was watching me, I was stuck, lost in a moment where snowboarders were going downhill so gracefully, so smoothly, its like their boards had minds of their own. My mother watched me for almost three weeks then she suggested to me, my brother and my sister that we should try snowboarding. It was at this point when the chapter of Daniel the Skier, was closed, and the chapter of Daniel the Snowboarder, was just beginning. My first snowboard was a Burton freestyle snowboard. It was also my new best friend. My friends Matthew and Michelle Woitowich HMC annual gala The Halton Multicultural Council (HMC) will hold its annual fundraising gala -- Halton Meets Latin America -- on Saturday, April 24. The event takes place at the Operating Engineers Banquet Hall located at 2245 Speers Rd. It begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails, followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. The formal program will begin at 8:30 p.m. featuring emcee Mariel Borelli, CBC Radio producer and journalist, and live entertainment with the Azucar band. The gala will also launch the first annual Community Leadership Award in honour of its founding president Bill Allison. The honour will go to a business, agency or organization that is a champion of diversity, equity and inclusiveness in Halton. Tickets cost $60 per person. For tickets or more information, contact Heather Hogan at hhogan@halton-multicultural.org or 905-842-2486, ext. 248 or visit www.haltonmulticultural.org.