Page 30 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 88

30 Issue #88 March 2020 www.sportsenergynews.com

Noah Whyte Wins Gold at Ontario Winter Games

which is full contact kickboxing and McKee, instructors and students at the
By Casey Leger wrestling,” explains Rolland Bissonnette, club, have won kickboxing gold medals.”
Whyte’s coach and head striking instructor
“It feels amazing. I’m very proud,” says at Apeiron MMA in Cornwall. “The Whyte had a rigorous training schedule
Noah Whyte about winning a gold medal major differences between sanda and to prepare for the tournament. “I trained 3
days a week in our kickboxing program at
in the 145-155 weight class in the wushu kickboxing is the takedowns. There are Apeiron MMA, and I spent the off days in
competition at the Ontario Winter Games. other differences, but that would be the
a fitness program at Quest,” he says. “I’d
most obvious.”
Whyte, who turns 19 in April, won like to thank my team at Apeiron, Tom
all three of his bouts by decision to earn “In terms of popularity, both taoulou Irvine at Quest for the great work outs, and
the championship. Although this is his and sanda were in the 2008 Olympics as my family for helping me on my pursuit
first wushu win, Whyte is no stranger to demo sports and will be in the next Junior for this gold medal.”
competition in the combat arts; he won a Olympics,” says Bissonnette. “Apeiron is
So, what’s next for Noah Whyte in
silver medal in kickboxing at the national the only club in Cornwall recognized by terms of combat sports? “There’s nothing
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level when he was 17. Wushu Canada,” he says. planned yet, so I’m going to continue to
“Wushu Canada has 2 classes, Taoulu, Apeiron boasts a few combat sports train and develop my skills and see what
which is forms, and Sanda or Sanshou, medalists. “Both Emily Vallance and Kyle the next opportunity is that arises.” Photo Submitted
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Sports Panel
Sports Energy presents

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Question: To celebrate “March Madness”, we have decided on an open forum for our panel.
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Panel, please talk about whatever is on your mind in the world of sports!

Gilles Gaudet - Sports Enthusiast - Sometimes things in the world, and in particular, the sporting world, just don’t seem to make
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sense.
On Feb 11th, long-time NHLer and St. Louis Blue, Jay Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on his team’s bench during
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a game against the Anaheim Ducks. Thankfully, well-trained medical professionals were on site, and they were able to restart his heart
with a defibrillator. Less than a week later, NASCAR driver Ryan Newman experienced a horrific looking crash on the final lap of the
Daytona 500. The good news is both men are on the road to recovery despite their recent brushes with the Grim Reaper. Newman and
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his Ford Mustang were travelling at an incredible 190 mph when they were tapped from behind by a competitor. A tap on the curling
rink is fairly uneventful; a tap when you’re moving at 190 mph is another story. This impact led to a chain of events which resulted
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in a turn, a veer, a collision, and then a roll-over, and finally a skidding stop. At first glance, it looked like Newman might suffer the
same fate that Dale Earnhardt did almost 20 years ago. Incredibly, Newman walked out of the hospital two days after the accident,
vowing to race again as soon as possible. Bouwmeester’s future in hockey is not as certain - three days after his cardiac arrest, he
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had a cardioverter defibrillator implanted to restore his heart’s abnormal rhythm, and at the present he remains on the shelf. These
two unrelated sporting incidents are a great reminder to all of us that life is precious, and it should always be appreciated. If a hockey
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athlete in peak condition and a seasoned race veteran are not immune to the fickle fate of life, then neither are we!
Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach - Into the Hockey Hall of Fame in a moment’s notice.
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A memorable hockey story unfolded on a mild Saturday evening in February; a regular season game at Air Canada Centre between
the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes turned into an historic hockey moment. Fans in the stands had no idea they would
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witness hockey history when emergency goalie, David Ayres (aka the Zamboni Goalie), called in to suit up for the Hurricanes, would
become the first-ever emergency goalie to win an NHL game, defeating the home team. David was living a dream come true, stepping
into the big show in front of thousands of fans, facing the home team and some of the best hockey players in the world. As the last few
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seconds ticked away on the game clock, the Zamboni Goalie earned instantaneous notoriety across the hockey world and his name in
the Hockey Hall of Fame in a moment’s notice. What a great moment!
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Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - With the March Madness open forum, I would like to elaborate a little bit on our Sports
Panel Question from the previous issue about bringing a sports team to Cornwall. A major junior hockey team was the
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first thing that came to mind and my thoughts on this topic were somewhere between my fellow panelists Gilles (been
there, done that) and Jake (there’s a strong nostalgic fanbase in this city that would welcome a team from the QMJHL).The
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Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canadian Junior Hockey leagues, the
Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
Combined, these three leagues have 60 teams spread across 9 Canadian provinces and 4 US states. The OHL stretches from
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Michigan to Ottawa and the QMJHL from Gatineau to Newfoundland, amounting to excessive travel for most teams in
either league. The Ontario and Quebec leagues already play a few interlocking games, so why not just combine the two,
forming an Eastern Hockey League with a Central Division that would include teams from Cornwall, Kingston, Ottawa,
Gatineau, and Blainsville. This would reduce travel and build some healthy rivalries (boosting attendance) between several
teams that are within easy driving distance of each other. For this to work, it would require community involvement and
a strong marketing program that could find ways to appeal to everyone from school children to senior citizens. The odds
of this hockey league scenario ever happening would probably be comparable to those of winning the Lotto Max, but for
Cornwall to once again have a successful major junior team, it will require having several nearby rivals.