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Also afliliated with the: NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS! CALL : 905 - 472 - 2200 (Directly across from Markham Stouffville Hospital) (Northeast Corner of Church Street Country Glen Road) Morkhom Fomilq Medicine Teaching Unit ' 376 Church Street, Markham, Ontario Family at Community Medicine UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SPORTS: Team comes close to second bronze Lauren Raithby will cherâ€" ish it for the test ofher life. What the 16-year-old Stoufiville resident covets is a bronze medal she earned as a member of the black ice synchronized short program skating team from this year’s world championships in C01- orado Springs. Colorado. “lt’s 'defihitely the most important medal I've ever won and also the most mean- ingful,” she said. “This medal is the same medal that any figure skater that participates at world championships would receive. “It's no bigger than the size of a quarter. But it comes in a beautiful wooden box and sits beside my bed each night reminding me how special this was." Recently completing her second season with the black ice team and the lone Stouflville resident on the 20- member squad, Raithby and her teammates appeared to have a second bronze medal in their grasp when they skated in the long program. But their eflorts fell just short when they finished fourth overall Skater medals at world championships BY MICHAEL HAYAKAWA mhayakawa®yrmg. com They finished fifth at last year‘s world championships. As one of the younger members on the squad that includes skaters as old as 31, Raithby felt the key to their improvement stemmed from the team’s ability to erase negative thoughts during their skate. “We definitely wanted to improve on our placement from last year in which we had twofallsinthe short pro- gram that cost us valuable points," Raithby said. “Our coach, Cathy Dalton, just LAUREN MINDY: Stouffvine skater, team win bronze at worlds in Coiorado Springs this spring. wanted us to go out there 8833’ do something I loved while showing the world how much this sport means to £119." A _ A Grade 11 Stoufiville Dis- trict Secondary School stu- dent, Raithby was also quick to note the hours of on- and off-ice practice they logged during the week, anywhere from four to five sessions. paid off. “When you are ina Sport that is as elite as synchro- nized skating you make a lot of sacrifices, you have to miss out on many social events. school events and even family events. It requires extra dedi- cation and time management skills that I had to learn on my own. It not only enabled me to become a more organized individual, but also helped me greatly with my school work and kept me on track to do what was most impor- tant even though there might have been a social event I wanted to attend," she said. Raithby hopes to be on the team next season in what she saidcouldbeherfinalyear before pursuing a post-sec- ondary school education.