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fcsbrftjafcrfc 19 stouffville suntribune thursday may 1 2003 stouffville suntribune leonard hopes to score gold at world amputee championships byjimthomas correspondent a 35yearold stouffville resident is playing for canada at the world amputee hockey championships in finland this week shawn leonard accompanied by wife tara left toronto friday to participate in a tournament that started saturday and concludes this weekend mr leonard was named to the national team following tryouts in november at york university the selection helps erase the disappointment of not being able to take part in the 2002 winter olympics at salt lake city utah at that time he was sidelined due to knee surgery mr leonard a graduate of stouffville district secondary school possesses a prosthetic left hand he has been with out a hand since birth because the disability is disguised by a glove and due to his deftness in handling a stick most spectators and opposing players are unaware any problem exists i never had it a left hand said the 200pound centre so i dont miss it he claims throughout his hockey career that includes a 1982 ontario bantam b championship with the stouffville clippers hes never been treated differently than anyone else v for 17 years he played in- the stouffville amateur hockey league and still skates every thursday with the uxbridge black hawks oldtimers how many opportunities in a lifetime does one have to represent his country mr leonard says he wears a hockey glove more for the protection of others than himself fightings never been a part of my game he said the team in helsinki includes many of the same play ers who performed in salt lake city mr leonard said the roster includes 12 forwards six defencemen and two goaltenders with representation from coast to coast their initial opponents was their arch rivals from the united states the canadian entry takes a perfect record into the competition because were the champs other teams will be anxious to knock us off he noted also because his hook hand is hidden by a glove the credibility of his participation may be suspect rival coaches may want to check me out he laughed mr leonard said hes in awe watching others perform some with artificial legs theyre amazing he said because the team receives no government aid players must pay their own way about 2000 each i think it would be nice if the government chipped in a ram tocmi mem graphite woods vfreesetofs headc0vers nike mmm navy or black mm i- v- proudly donning his team canada hockey uniform stouffville resident shawn leonard 35 will take to the ice in helsinki finland at the world amputee hockey championships possessing a prosthetic left hand mr leonard also plays in the stouffville amateur hockey league and with the uxbridge black hawks oldtimers little he said it might provide younger boys and girls greater incentive to play the game mr leonard considers it a great honour to represent canada at this level of hockey competition how manyopportunities in a lifetime does one have to represent his country he asked my wifes excited too he said and our kids think its pretty cool jl save up to sdss rugby boys top teams in by mike hayakawa i staff writer it might seem a little strange the stouffville district secondary school senior boys rugby team is playing preseasbn games spartans head coach jamie hewitt explained theres a good reason for his decision his team will play just three league games the spartans open league play monday when they face sutton district high school at bayview secondary school with so few league games thats why we play a lot of exhibition games he said in running up to the reg ular season the spartans have won two and tied one of their first three presea son tilts the spartans expect to get a good idea of how good they are when they go to stratford tomorrow to take part in the miller cupv mr hewitt noted the oneday event will feature teams that were highly ranked at last years provincial aa champi onships the same event in which the spartans competed stratford northwestern were silver medallists last year and lambton centennial were fourth playing these teams will enable us to size up our competition a little more mr hewitt said his own team will be keyed by the leadership of team captain kevin hayward who also plays wj r h3r tkssss m 1 ip lill llpliilibflfflia kw issifiia vsasfshs kiv- mb a tviimism kb jdmr kevin hayward captain of stouffville secondary schools senior boys rugby team for the stouffville spirit junior a hockey team and outside centre tyler mcmaster mr hewitt believes it will be a highly competi tive bunch despite miss ing seven players from last season through grad uation pi think were solid technically and i think we can play quite well im excited about this team were playingwell in spurts mr hewitt said the guys are working hard and pur fitness level is outstanding right now i think were solid techni cally and i think we can play quite well im excit ed about this team 1 f 4 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