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staff photomike barrett at jeep college students choose their textbook from a fleet of 10 liberty grand gherokees and tj jeeps to navigate a carefully laidout course that features approximately two kilometres of trails through forest hills and knolls ll- 1 j i j byjohncudmore staff writer v 1 here are no fraternity houses keggers or homecoming week ends a c i at this college grades mean nothing- the entrance exam has but two prerequisites a valid drivers licence and a willingness to drive the house vehicle thats just the way it is at jeep- v where students may choose their textbook from a fleet of 10 liberty grand gherokees and tjjeeps to navi gate a carefully laidout course that fea- toesapproximately two kilometres of trails through forest hills and knolls dogs v trails and treacherous rocks j not to be- confused with jeep jamborees and camp jeep mobile cir- cuits across north america geared 4o familyoriented and weekend outings jeep college is the only permanent facility of its kind in north america it is an opportunityin essence to get a feel for how these vehicles handle v still a visit to jeep college is any- thing but a free ticket to race around thecourse like a bat but of hell seldom does the needle get much above rolling speed except to gather momentum to conquer a hill theres always that stereotype that its a certain type of person but there is a lot of finesse involved said paul tanchak chief instructor at the facility since it opened in october 1999 we educate people to the fact that its actu ally an elegant process elegant indeed the program which is free of charge is a test of patience and thought combined with driving skills to navigatehazards and sharp turns still theres nothing quite like the feeling of staring the hood of your vehicle in the eye at the crest of a hill the idea is to introduce people to proper and safe driving and t get through the course safely in case they do decide to do some offroading or join a fourwheeler club in the future tanchak said people dont know or appreciate what their jeep is capable of arid this gives them an opportunity to find out they dont get into too extreme situations but its still interest- some days theres a little slippin and stidin if recent rains havecreated a slick track after a prolonged dry spell those areas areas likely to become dusty rut- ted hazards anda completely different challenge- not that any of the hazards pose problems foi the daimler chrysler descendants the willys overland prototype originally produced for use by the united states military during the second world war class begins with a brief lecture from tanchak touching on a variety of u topics from safety to technique finer details such as hand positioning hands at 9 and 3 oclock thurfibs upright and outside the steering wheel to vehidecapabilities and plain old common sense are also noted and of course the jeep doesnt moveuntil the seatbelt is fastened from theclassroom its off to jeep 101 a scaleddown introductory prac tice course tocated near the entrance to the facility and containing the basic hazards encountered on the offroad course first js a steep hill climb and descent where drivers get a feel for the powers of brake compression or engine idle perhaps the keylement of seejeeppage31 baggy sweatpants fleece jacket liberally sprinkled with dog hair and clunky aplastic skates with enough rust oh the blades to freeze the tin man for eternity it was 1 first practice with the- iced energy syn chronized skatihgclub and i hoped i would pass muster arriving at newmarkets raytwinneycomplexthel9 members of the masters team amateur skaters age 25 to 55 welcomed mewarmly exchanged raised eyebrows and whisked me off to the change room minutes lateri emerged transformed shiny spandex tights flowed smoothly down my legs and neatly over my skate topsto fasten under the boots a diaphanous blacky skirt floated around my thighs andmy purple jacket was perfecdy complemented by ochre chenille gloves i stood rinkside one skate poised above the smooth glassy surface i pictured myself swooping and gliding like a swallow i pushed off doh those rusty blades i stuck to the ice like a bug on flypaper z my swoop reduced to a sputter i lurched around the rink a mere stone in the stream for my iced energy teammates hey thought you said you were a novice i object ed as one woman swooshed by backwards no less i am she waved cheeri ly c then the inevitable i teetered i tottered my arms been hierej done that flailed like a wmdmilk and oomph i was down a hand appeared to hoist meup and t brushed off my spandex with my dainty gloves at least i looked good but synchronized skating is about more than sequins and smiles its hards work the masters team practises once a week september to april our session started with a 45minute dryland warmup sneakers- squeaking the groupled by coach allie biederman executed chas- ses crosscuts and mohawks chanting 123 456 like ballroomdancers i was impressedwith the assortment of ages and body types all comfortable intheir clingy outfits the average age is 40 said member lottie stone 18 women and one man from a variety of profes sions but you have v know skating backwards and for wards edges and turns the masters team one of six age divisions under the icedenergy umbrella com- petes throughoutlsbuthern ontario and is going for a third provincial title this year members come from all over seecindeheuapage31 i i v 8 n