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Wednesday. August 22, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D3 Photos by Peter C. McCusker T h ese B u rloak C anoe C lub p ad d lers, ca u g h t in a ctio n th is past sp rin g , w ill end th eir su m m er com p etin g for C anad a in the w orld ch a m p io n sh ip s. L E F T P H O T O : k ay a k er A dam V an k oeverd en . R IG H T PH O T O : M ark O ld ersh aw in the can oe. Burloak paddlers are set for world championships By Norm Nelson BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR he Burloak Canoe Club, w hich has won three o f the last four Canadian national club cham pionships, is typically represented at O lympic and world cham pionships, and this year is no exception. T he canoe club, w hich is still hom e to O akville's `other' O lym pic gold medalist, Larry Cain, boasts a hom e grown com petitor at both the upcoming world and junior world cham pionships. A ttending the world cham pionships, w hich are being held in Poland from Thursday through to Saturday, is O akville's A dam Vankoeverden, a recent L oyola grad, now attending McMaster. A ttending the jun io r w orld cham pionships, which are being held in Brazil Septem ber 6-8, is last y ear's Burlington male athlete o f the year M ark Oldershaw. H e's 18 and will enter his OAC year at Burlington Central this Septem ber (when he gets back from Brazil, o f course). V ankoeverden, him self, is only one year T rem oved from ju n io r com petition and last year finished second, in Germany, at the m ost presti gious junior regatta (there was no junior w orld's in the O lympic year). A t the junior w orld's the previ ous year, he had won the bronze medal. But last year was a breakthrough which started off in the spring with Vankoeverden almost m ak ing Canada's O lym pic team in the 1,000m event -- w hile still a junior. U nfazed he w ent on to win the junior world marathon cham pionship which is a non-Olympic 18K race, after finishing 10th the previous year. He then closed out the season with a near record breaking perform ance at the national club cham pionships for Burloak, scooping up seven gold medals, including the 1,000 metres. Included w as a rare ju v enile/junior/senior sweep o f the K-lOOOm event, a rare feat that was last accom plished in Canada in 1980 by another chap from Oakville, Larry Cain, albeit in the canoe event. Arguably, Vankoeverden was C anada's top kayaker over 1,000m at that point. This year, there's no argum ent about it as he x secured C anada's 1,000m berth at both the spring and sum m er national selections. In between, he com peted in three regattas in Europe, making the final race once, in Paris. Vankoeverden is in Europe, now, preparing for the w orld's but Burloak Canoe Club head coach Scott O ldershaw said his goal at the w orld's is to make the final. "It's going to be a tough go," said Oldershaw. "He says they found over there -- the whole (Canadian) team -- that it's not a usual postO lym pic year. "U sually you see a lot o f gearing down and it doesn't seem to be happening this year. He said the com petition is as hard as they've ever seen. "H e's still pretty young for this type o f thing so if he could make a final it w ould be pretty fantas tic. "H e's not going to touch the top guys yet, but he said there are probably 15 guys o f the same cal ibre that could m ake the final on any given day -- and h e's one o f them. "So to be in that position at that age is good." Vankoeverden will also race the K-4 500 boat for Canada. M ark Oldershaw (son o f head coach Scott Oldershaw), on the other hand, has a real chance to m ake the podium at the junior worlds, as Vankoeverden did before him at the last junior worlds. If he did, he. would be the first canoeist from the Burloak club to medal at the ju n io r worlds since Larry Cain. M ark will com pete in both C -l 500 and C -l 1000m, w hich he won at the sum m er junior team trials. He also won the C-2 500m and C-2 1000m races, but "he can't race the doubles, they're too close together, tim e wise," said Scott. "And his C 1 perform ance com pared to the C2 is a lot better internationally." But he will com pete for Canada in the C-4. Right now, Mark is fast clim bing the senior depth chart. (See 'Burloak' page D4) Halton Healthcare The Oakville Beaver Golf Tournament has provided financial support to Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital for 22 years. We'd like to say" congratulations" and " thank you" to the organizers and supporters of this popular annual event. From Maternity and Paediatrics to Emergency and Long Term Care, the proceeds from the golf tournament have enabled us to enhance many essential services at your community hospital. With your help, and ongoing support, Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital will continue to meet the health care needs of the families of Oakville. K i d s l o v e t o pl ay. We l o v e t o h e l p . Caring Today, Growing for Tomorrow Between now and Novem ber 30th 2 0 0 1 , every box of Post Shreddles cereal you buy means an autom atic contribution to provincial minor hockey. Good, good whole wheat S h r e d d ie s !