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No banner big enough

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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Anna McKilligan, Sports Contributor

Editor’s Note: Anna McKilligan has played for the past three years on the Dalhousie women’s soccer team.

To most, the Dalhousie women’s soccer team doesn’t mean a whole lot. To some, we’re those annoying girls who kick you off Wickwire every night from 5–7 p.m. For those who live in Eliza Ritchie or Sheriff Halls, we’re the reason you get woken up many Saturdays and Sundays with loud warm-up music. But for me, being part of this team means much more.

We’re friends and teammates, but really we’re a group of athletes brought together by one goal: an AUS banner followed by a CIS championship. From stepping on the field as a first year, the countdown begins. Every player wants those titles, and knows they only have four or five years of eligibility to do it.

This season, the Dalhousie women’s team is graduating six players. Six young women who have made the decision to return year after year. Although these women may not have a banner to boast their accomplishments as members of the team, I’d like to give a small glance into the impact these girls have made over the course of four or five years.

The top five teams in AUS have the chance to win an AUS title and banner (check out the Dalplex the next time you’re there; Dal have won quite a few). The winning team goes to national championships to play against the top teams in the country.

After visiting one of these banners which hang on the side of the Dalplex gym, many may wonder, what’s the big deal about a white piece of cloth with some funny blue tassels? Those banners are pieces of varsity history. Call any athlete present or past who won one of those elusive pieces of fabric and they would all remember every second of the game, match, or race they won to get it.

Stepping on to the Wickwire in August with the team, that banner was the only thing on every player’s mind. That banner is the reason behind every tackle, every pass and every goal we made.

After finishing first overall in AUS and then losing in the second round of the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, it’s easy to overlook the amazing things our team achieved. These are the things that aren’t awarded with a banner.

Kim Hardy, Katie Richard, Kate MacDonald, Amanda Henry, Sarah Mitchell and Jeanette Huck all graduate after playing four or five years as a varsity soccer player. On top of their responsibilities as university athletes, these girls graduate from four different faculties. Kate, Amanda and Sarah all finished their undergraduate degrees in kinesiology. Sarah is now in graduate school here at Dalhousie for physiotherapy. Jeanette finishes as a graduate of commerce, and Kim as a biology major.

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Kim Hardy is without a doubt one of the toughest players I know. Coming onto the soccer team five years ago as a walk on, she started out at a slight disadvantage, as many players in AUS are recruited. However, Kim has never met an obstacle she couldn’t overcome. Beginning her career as a forward, dabbling in goal, and ending up as a centre defender, Kim can and will play any position on the field.

To be a goaltender all you really need to be able to do is stand in the net with two functional arms and legs (granted, this would not be the best goaltender). Kim Hardy would argue otherwise. When she stepped in to play goalie for her summer club team in the championship game of 2009, Kim played an entire 45 minutes with a broken arm. The final score of that game favoured Kim’s team; she didn’t allow a single goal.

Hardy by name and hardy by nature, Kim graduates as a Tiger through and through.

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As with most varsity sports, soccer is a huge commitment. Being a member of the soccer team means balancing a university curriculum with a short but intense season of competition while trying to fit some kind of a social life in the mix. However, being a member of a team is a great way to meet new people at university and for first year students soccer presents an opportunity to learn balance and be welcomed by fellow student-athletes to show you the ropes.

Or at least that’s what it says in the brochure.

What comes along with this is a pretty steep and shocking learning curve. Balance, sleep, drive: it doesn’t come easy. Pushing yourself physically to the limits to represent your school week after week in your sport of choice along with getting up the energy to attend huge (and at times tedious) lectures after peeling yourself off of a four and a half hour bus trip, it is without a doubt a true test of character.

Although, looking at players like Sarah Mitchell, this commitment to sport and university education  seems like a breeze.

After graduating with a degree in kinesiology from St. Francis Xavier, Sarah Mitchell was accepted into the Dalhousie physiotherapy graduate degree program. Sarah played on the soccer team at St. FX for all four years of her undergrad and achieved great success as a player and a student. However, coming out of those four years she wasn’t quite ready to throw in the towel. She had already won an AUS banner as a member of the St. FX team, and had finished her degree program. To most people, this would be a fantastic way to end a career as a varsity athlete. But not for Sarah, she wasn’t done yet.

And so she joined the Dalhousie soccer team this past season. To say she fit in like a dirty shirt would be a complete understatement. After the first few practices, it felt like Sarah had been a Tiger from the very beginning.

Sarah is a warrior through and through. If the ball is turned over to the other team as a result of a decision she made, there is no doubt that she will run that girl down, and make her sorry she ever challenged Dalhousie possession. On top of her athletic talent, Sarah is hilarious and was a highly valued member of our team this year. Sarah Mitchell is an outstanding athlete and finished her five years with unwavering drive and passion.

Following a season of soccer and school day after day for months comes the big decision: do you go back for a second round? Every year brings a new demand academically as well as a body with an increasingly good memory for bumps and bruises. And under CIS rules, you can do it for five years!

For most of the girls I’ve had the pleasure of meeting through soccer, this answer comes easily enough, of course. The thrill of thriving as a student athlete is immeasurable, and the hunger to have your team immortalized in a title or a banner will never go away.

Katie Richard is this desire personified: a little girl with a lot of energy, attitude, and above all, heart. Katie suffered a very serious back injury late in the 2009 season, but after losing to St. FX in the semi-finals that year, a fire was lit inside of little Rich and there was no way she wasn’t coming back for another season with the team.

Katie came back with a vengeance, and set her sights on revenge.

She’s the fastest girl in the AUS, and scored one of the cheekiest goals this year that the league has ever seen against our arch-rivals, St. FX.

After beating two St. FX defenders with her lightning speed, it came down to Rich and the goaltender. Blowing down the field, I thought she was going to dribble to the net and take the keeper on one-on-one. So when she started to slow down near the top of the box, I was definitely a little confused. However, little Rich took everyone by surprise when she released an awesome chip falling right underneath the crossbar. Rich is spunky and tenacious. Playing with her was a blast.

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On top of playing a varsity sport and keeping up with a high level of academics there are those athletes among us who take their involvement with the school a step further and become an active part of the varsity community at Dalhousie. This community is run and organized by the Varsity Student Council. The council organizes fundraising events and initiatives within varsity sport.

Each team has a representative who gives up time every week to meet with the other representatives on the council and make sure the varsity interests are accounted for within the wider student community. Our team representative is Amanda Henry.

Amanda graduates from Dalhousie after playing four years as a Tiger. She has sat on council for the past two years and will sacrifice the little free time she has already to volunteer at numerous events throughout the year.

She  commands the Tigers’ backline from her spot in centre defence. A dominant voice on the field, Amanda demands focus and effort from the players surrounding her. Tall, strong, and determined, Amanda Henry is a force to be reckoned with and (as I can say from experience) being on the other side of her tackle is not a pleasant place to be. A born competitor and a tough as nails soccer player, Amanda would make any university proud.

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This year, Jeanette Huck and Kate “Nugget” MacDonald took on the responsibility of leading the team. In the role of co-captains, these girls are expected to organize team events, make meal plans on road trips and still be available for any of the players if they have questions or concerns.

On top of all that, a captain has to earn their spot as an athlete. Glancing at our team statistics this is clearly not a problem for Jeanette and Kate. They lead the team in points with Jeanette boasting six goals and Nugget three. Keep in mind neither of these players are forwards. In fact, Jeanette is generally our starting right defender. On paper, these two are without a doubt captain material.

What the stats don’t show are the pep talks, unwavering encouragement and support Jeanette and Kate bring to the team.

Rewind to Sept. 26, 2010. Our team is in Sackville visiting the Mount Allison Mounties. Judging by our perfect record versus the Mounties’ much less than perfect record, this game should have been an easy win for us.

Unfortunately, coming out of the first half, we’re down 1–0. We still had a lot of energy, and we were ready to change our formation back to one we had dominated the previous game with. As we walked back to the bench, Nugget stood up and took charge.

“I don’t know what’s going on out there right now girls, but we’ve got to figure it out. I don’t care how we do it, but it has got to be better.”

There’s no doubt in my mind that every girl on our team wanted to win that day, but sport is not that simple. Our passes weren’t connecting and it seemed as though we just weren’t on the same wavelength that day. The frustration and panic was slowly building as the time ticked on and our play was getting steadily worse.

We were going to need some magic to finish the game on top. At that point Nugget lifted our team on her shoulders, scoring two amazing, practically self-assisted goals to give us the win.

Kate  would never take no for an answer, and she loves to win: that’s a captain.

Jeanette Huck is one of the most competitive people I have ever met. I can say with great confidence that given the choice between being on Jeanette’s team or against her, I don’t know one person who would willingly choose to play against her.

In the second to last game of our 2010 season, our team suffered a devastating 1–0 loss to Memorial which cost us our perfect season.

Jeanette had to sit out of that match, but was in the team room at halftime to offer some words of wisdom and was clearly anxious to get back on the pitch for the next game. The next day, we faced the Seahawks again. Inside the first ten minutes, Jeanette had hammered a killer shot to beat the Newfoundland goalkeeper.

She sent a clear message to our opponents that day: you can beat us, but be ready to face the consequences. Jeanette is a fighter and demands the best from her team game in and game out.

These six girls have done amazing things for our team as well as the varsity community here at Dalhousie.

Now, excuse me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think all these accomplishments would even fit on a banner.

Dinos extinct

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Joel Tichinoff, Sports Editor

The Queen’s University Gaels went into the dressing room at half-time down 25-7 to the University of Calgary Dinos. It was a long road for the Gaels to get to Quebec City and the Vanier Cup game.
Queen’s had not won a national football title since 1992. The Gaels narrowly beat the Western Mustangs 43-39 for the Yates Cup in the Ontario league finals and turned out a stunning upset against defending champion Laval in a 33-30 Mitchell Bowl win. The number two ranked Dinos had beaten a strong University of Saskatchewan team to make it to the Uteck Bowl where they stomped Halifax’s St. Mary’s Huskies 38-14.
The Dinos and Gaels exchanged touchdowns in the first quarter before a sold-out crowd of nearly 19,000 at Stade PEPS, but Calgary stormed into the lead in the second quarter kicking three field goals and forcing a safety. Meanwhile, Dinos two-time Hec Crighton Trophy winning quarterback Eric Galvic added a one-yard touchdown. Queen’s exploded in the third quarter with quarterback Danny Brannagan leading his team to the largest second half comeback in Vanier history with three touchdown passes.
Calgary narrowed the gap mid-way through the fourth when Glavic connected with star-receiver Anthony Parker to make the score 33-31. But Queen’s held on for the win, capping off a stunning 11-1 season with a national championship title.

Tigers upset X-men

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Tim Pain Van Der Kooi, Staff Contributor

The Dalhousie Tigers men’s hockey team climbed out of the basement position in the AUS standings with a 6-4 upset against the St. Francis Xavier X-Men last Friday night. The Tigers’ offence was pivotal in the victory.
Dalhousie forward Jeff MacGregor scored two goals that night, while forward Kenzie Shepherd was named the Tigers player of the game for his two assists. The first period set the offensive pace of the game, highlighted by a lack of defence on both sides of the ice.
The Tigers scored first with a goal from Gauthier. After this goal, the X-Men turned up the offensive pressure as the Tigers began to defensively collapse in their own zone. With only minutes left in the first, X-Men forward Brett Morrison scored on a wide open net after a great set-up from line mate Ryan Sparling.
The Tigers answered with a goal three seconds into the second period with MacGregor’s sniping his first goal underneath the arm of X-Men goaltender Bryan Gillis. However, the Tigers resumed their sloppy first period play in the last 10 minutes of the second period. The X-Men scored two goals in the period due to poor defensive plays by the Tigers. X-Men forward Chris Hulit scored the first goal after a Tigers defenseman gave up the puck, to Sparling, behind his own net.
The second goal was a result of the Tigers’ defence scrambling to get the puck out of their zone with an outbreak pass. The pass landed on the stick of X-Men forward Nick Pageau, who scored and gave St. Francis Xavier their first lead of the night at 3-2.
The second intermission rejuvenated the Tigers as they scored two quick goals at the beginning of the third period. Shepherd worked hard in the corner to get the puck out to a wide-open Tigers forward Jordan Gagne, who tied the game with a wrist shot. One minute later, Tigers’ forward Brendan MacDonald wired the puck with a slap shot to beat Gillis and give the Tigers the lead.
The Tigers didn’t look back. The two teams exchanged goals late in the third, but MacGregor eliminated any opportunity by scoring an empty net goal for his second of the night.
Tigers’ goaltender Bobby Nadeau made 31 saves in his performance. This game marked the last home game for the men in the 2009 year. The men look to continue their winning ways at home with their next home game on Jan. 9 against cross-town rivals: the St. Mary’s Huskies.

Quelle horreur!

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Joel Tichinoff, Sports Editor

Canada’s university football team par excellence, are not competing for the Vanier Cup in Quebec City.
Even in the hot, schoolwork-free days of August 2009, the Laval Rouge-et-Or’s second consecutive Vanier Cup was considered a fait-accompli. On Aug. 30, Laval hosted the Western Mustangs, Canada’s number two ranked team going into the regular season, in a pre-season exhibition game at the Stade PEPS in Quebec City. The Rouge-et-Or obliterated the Mustangs 27-0 before a home crowd of 9,000 (the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes average less than twice Laval’s average home-game attendance).
Starting quarterback and 2008 league MVP Benoit Groulx didn’t even play a full game for Laval, leaving second-stringer Cesar Hernandez-Sanchez to clean up with 152 passing yards and two touchdown passes in the second half. The last time the Mustangs and the Rouge-et-Or met had been the 2008 Vanier Cup, a game Laval carried 44-21 for their fifth national championship in five appearances, and fourth Vanier Cup in six years.
Long considered the crème-de-la-creme of CIS Football, the Mustangs have been the hallmark team of Canadian university football for nearly four decades; since the inaugural Vanier Cup game in 1965, Western has appeared in the finals a record 12 times with six wins dating back to 1971. In 2009, Laval stood poised to tie Western’s six championship titles in the team’s 14-year history. During the 2009 regular season, Laval would go on to post a 9-1 record, outscoring opponents 333-61 and averaging 42 points per game. In Quebec University Football League (QUFL) playoffs, Laval outscored opponents Concordia and Montreal by a combined score of 94-8 en route to their seventh-straight Dunsmore Cup.
To date the Laval Rouge-et-Or is the most successful football program in CIS history with a championship success rate of 39 per cent since 1995. By comparison, the New York Yankees have won championship titles in 28 per cent of 96 seasons, the Montreal Canadiens, 24 per cent in 100. So de rigueur was it in CIS circles that Laval was a pied-a-terre for the 2009 Vanier that for only the second time in the trophy’s history, the deciding game will be played outside of Ontario, the Stade PEPS sold out weeks in advance of the Vanier game.

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Although university football in Canada dates back to 1898, (North American Football grew out of a game played between Harvard and McGill in 1874, the first documented game of ‘football’ took place at Toronto’s University College in 1861), Laval’s Rouge-et-Or traces its history back to another storied Quebec sports team: the Quebec Nordiques.
The idea of a football team based at a francophone university had been shopped around the province in the early 1990s. For years football’s popularity had grown out of the province’s high school and CEGEP athletics programs, yet talented francophone players had few options when it came to continuing to play football at the university level. Only three Quebec universities supported football programs at the time – Concordia, Bishop’s and McGill – all three Anglophone schools competing in the Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference (O-QIFC). Located in a metropolitan area of 700,000 and with an alumni base of nearly 250,000, Quebec City’s Universite Laval was a natural choice for experimenting with a francophone university football program.
Despite the arguments in favour of football at Laval, support for the idea was far from universal. A football team is an expensive proposition (as Dalhousians are well aware) and with the national deficit tipping the $40 billion mark in 1991, a fresh round of funding cuts were on the way for Canada’s already cash-strapped universities. Laval itself had already cut it’s hockey program in order to free up funding for other sports programs. Since the 1980s, Laval sports teams have operated under-semi autonomous non-profit corporations supported in part by fundraising and sponsors from outside the Laval community. With the Nordiques franchise packing their bags for Denver, a consortium of local businessmen, Laval alumni and former Nordiques personnel managed to successfully assemble the necessary investment – much of it from the private-sector – and willpower to convince Laval, a school with no previous connection to football, no stadium and no extra money for sports, to enter a team in the O-QIFC. The call went out to French-speaking football players across La Belle Province; there wouldn’t be a stadium, or training facilities, or a full coaching staff, but they would be able to study in French and play in French for French-speaking fans.
In 1995, the Laval Rouge-et-Or played a season of exhibition games against O-QIFC opponents. Even with strong local support, many viewed the football program with scepticism, questioning if fans and sponsors could withstand the predicted years of winless seasons as the program built itself up from nothing. That first ‘exhibition’ season, Laval beat 1994 Dunsmore Cup finalists the McGill Redmen at home before 7,000 fans sitting on jerry-rigged bleachers. In 1996 the Rouge-et-Or not only won games, but also posted a win-percentage above .500. They have been above .500 in every season since.

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In 1998, Laval celebrated its first Vanier Cup (or Coupe Vanier as it has often been called since) in a 14-10 victory over Atlantic Canada’s perennial football powerhouse, the St. Mary’s Huskies at the SkyDome. Inspired by Laval’s success, the Universite de Montreal launched its Carabins football team in 2002, followed by the Universite de Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or in 2003. In 14 years, Laval has grown into the force majeure of Canadian university football; 27 Laval alumni currently play in the CFL and the Rouge-et-Or attract talent from across Quebec and the world including Africans, Europeans and South Americans.
Ironically, the Nov. 21 upset of Laval in the 2009 Mitchell Bowl by the Queen’s Gaels was hailed as a David-and-Goliath match-up. Money flowing into the Rouge-et-Or program from over 40 private sector sponsors combining with season-tickets sales of over 8,000 has created a team bearing more resemblance to an American (quasi-pro) NCAA football team when compared to the CIS participation-over-results model.
The R-et-O are reportedly supported by a more than $2 million operating budget compared to the average CIS football team’s $400,000 annual budget. When most CIS football players are preparing for final exams, the Rouge-et-Or are in Florida for spring training. Before each game Laval players are given DVDs tailored to their individual opponents on the field, and receive instruction from a full-time coaching staff of five. Most universities are lucky to have three coaches. Laval players are also aided academically by a supportive study hall and tutor program – presumably another advantage over a smaller-budget team. It is no surprise that as updated scores of the Laval-Queen’s game were announced at the Uteck Bowl, both Calgary and St. Mary’s fans alike cheered in unison for the under-dog Gaels.
For better or worse, Queen’s University and the University of Calgary squared off in Quebec City to decide CIS football supremacy. The Davide-turned-Goliath that is Laval will have to wait until next November for a shot at winning the Vanier at home. With new athletic scholarships meant to compete with those offered south of the border under CIS review, Simon Fraser’s defection to the NCAA and Carleton University edging toward reviving their football team under the controversial ‘Laval model,’ there are changes afoot in Canadian university sport. More likely than not, the Rouge-et-Or stand at the vanguard of the new era in the CIS.
With 11 Dunsmore Cup appearances in their 14-year history, it’s a safe bet that Laval will be back in the Final Four in 2010, leaving many in the CIS with a sense of déjà vu all over again and money will continue to grow as the eminence grise behind CIS athletic glory.

Runners remember Heather Saaltink

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Zack Wilson, Staff Contributor

This past weekend, Halifax and Cornwall, Ontario played host to the first annual Heather Saaltink Memorial Runs. The charity events – in which dozens of Dalhousie students took part – were organized to raise funds for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
MADD is a nonprofit organization created by Candice Lightner in 1980 after an intoxicated driver killed her teenage daughter. Over the last 29 years, MADD has raised more than $100 million to improve public awareness and to offer support to families affected by impaired driving accidents.
Heather Saaltink, a fourth-year philosophy student at Lakehead College in Thunder Bay, Ontario was an avid runner herself. She was a member of the Lakehead cross country squad and participated in a number of individual races independently including a sprint triathlon and the 2008 Ottawa marathon.
Last Christmas, while returning with her father and sister from a day of holiday shopping in Ottawa, a drunk driver hit Saaltink, and she died as a result. The intoxicated driver in the other vehicle walked away with only minor injuries. The Saaltink family members were left without their daughter. Heather was only 22 at the time.
Nearly a year later, Saaltink’s family workout facility, The Cornwall Multisport Club decided to host a charity run. With permission from the Saaltink family, the club set up a memorial in Heather’s name, in hopes of raising funds and awareness for MADD. The facility organized a series of runs, including a kids’ two-km run/walk, and five- and 10-km runs.
Heather’s sister Emma, a fourth-year Dal Kinesiology student and competitive runner herself, flew home to Cornwall to participate in the fundraiser.
Emma’s roommate, Beth Mulvale, also a runner, decided to set up a Halifax leg of the run in hopes of raising money for the cause on the same day as the Cornwall fundraiser. Mulvale and other Dalhousie volunteers organized a five-km run/walk through Point Pleasant Park, ending with a chili dinner for all participants, and prizes awarded to winners.
Despite some light rain, the Halifax leg of the fundraiser went wonderfully.
“It’s important that students get involved in events such as this so that we can give back to not just the community, but to families such as the Saaltinks,” Matthew Mactavish, a fourth-year Biology student who competed, said. “I had a great time today and I think all young people should get involved in events such as this.”
Alisa Miller, the women’s winner, walked home with a brand-spanking-new pineapple for her efforts. The Halifax run raised several hundred dollars, all of which will be donated directly to MADD Canada.

Athletics still uneven playing field

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Joel Tichinoff, Sports Editor

Cheerleaders waving pompoms on the sidelines of a football field is the iconic image of the gender role women have long played in sports, particularly when it comes to high-performance athletics at the university and professional level. Great strides have been made in the last 50 years to bring about gender-equality in sports. Yet, compared to society at large, nowhere is there a stronger and more accepted gender inequality than in sports.
Whereas many professional fields traditionally dominated by men have seen at the very least strong positive inroads made by women, sports remains a blatantly male-dominated area. The average NBA (National Basketball Association) player’s salary is $4 million dollars. The average annual salary for a player in the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) is $46,000. The only professional sport where male to female earnings are even remotely comparable is tennis. At virtually all levels in every sport, male athletes are regarded faster, stronger and more skilled than their female counterparts and are paid accordingly. Women simply do not have the opportunities men do when it comes to professional sports. For all the value placed on gender equality, there is an uncomfortable and often disregarded perception that, when it comes to athletics, women can’t compete at an even level with men.
In university athletics, this perception becomes even more uncomfortable as university sports are essentially an extension of higher education. University athletics are unique in that they pit the intellectual and cultural values of academia against the reality of gender inequality in sports.
In 2001, the CIS (Canadian Inter-university Sport) Annual General Meeting announced an updated gender-equity policy to address concerns about unbalanced opportunities for female student-athletes. The CIS defined equity as being achieved when “all persons enjoy the same status regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, language, disability, income and other diversities. It means that all persons have equal conditions for realizing their full rights and potential and to benefit from the results.”
Eight years later, Dalhousie fields 12 varsity teams, evenly divided between men and women, in six athletics disciplines. There are 121 male athletes at Dalhousie, and 125 women athletes splitting a varsity budget of $986,000.
The university annually offers its athletes one of the highest amounts of Athletic Financial Awards (AFAs) in Canada, $304,922. Sixty-one per cent of these awards went to male athletes, who make up 49 per cent of the total number of Dal athletes. The average male athlete at Dalhousie receives $1534.44 from these awards, while the average female athlete receives $953.55. In this respect, Dal is hovering around the national average of 60 percent of Athletic Financial Awards going to male athletes versus 40 per cent to female athletes.
Of the 10,000 student athletes who compete in CIS sports events annually across the country, 54 per cent are male, 46 per cent are female. The reason for the disparity in funding is a large chunk of AFA money comes from alumni donations. Most men’s sports teams have substantially longer histories, which may contribute to the divide. The Dal men’s Hockey team for example has played 81 seasons since 1923, the women’s team just 11 in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS), meaning they have larger pool of alumni donating funds to their former programs.
Alumni donations usually come with strings attached: former players want to support their former teams, thus the university has little choice but to give those funds to the specified teams. The alternative is to deny men’s sports the alumni donations in order to maintain gender equality.
Despite the fact that women’s sports teams have fewer resources available to them, Dal’s women’s teams are generally more successful than the men’s teams. Since 2004, the women’s basketball team has had 68 wins and 38 losses in 107 games. By comparison, the men’s team has won 44 and lost 62 in 106 games. The women’s hockey team has gone 55-51-6 since 2004 while the men’s team has gone 30-107-12.
For all the success Dal’s women have had compared to the men’s teams, attendance numbers belie the disadvantage women face when it comes to sports fan culture. The men’s hockey team had 723 fans show up for last Friday’s 6-4 home win against St. Francis Xavier. The following night, 100 fans came out to support the women’s hockey team in a 6-3 home win versus SMU. The men’s hockey team has missed the playoffs for five straight years. In the same time frame, the women’s team have made the playoffs for five straight years. The same attendance figures are true for the men’s and women’s basketball teams. The men’s team have gone 44-62 over the past six regular seasons while the women have gone 68-39. In spite of their success, only 150 fans came out to the last women’s home game, a 83-72 loss to the X-women, while over 300 attended the men’s home game, a 83-71 loss to the X-men. The men’s game immediately followed the women’s game.
Overall, Dal women’s six varsity teams have brought home 102 AUS championships in a total of 243 seasons (all teams combined) – a staggering 42 per cent success rate. The men’s varsity teams have played a combined 428 seasons winning 108 AUS championships – a 25 per cent success rate.
It’s telling that Dal’s women’s sports teams win nearly twice as often as men’s teams, but draw only a fraction of the fans men’s sports enjoy. Why does the culture of sports lag so far behind broader society in terms of gender equality? What is it that allows the image of football players and cheerleaders to persist in our collective imagination?
Women are no less physically active than men, and it can be argued that women prefer to be physically active in non-competitive recreational “sports” such as yoga, running and dance classes. Perhaps Dalhousie should work toward improving the balance of opportunities for physical activity that cater to gender preferences on campus.
Our  we should all give women’s sports the credit it deserves.

Polanski Doc at the Dallery

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Dalhousie Gazette Staff

Grade: A-

Recently the Dal Art Gallery screened a documentary about Roman Polanski, the famous Polish movie director whose life has been the subject of sheer media frenzy over the years. Roman Polanski’s life has been wrought with tragedy, but he has also realized great success. This documentary allows us to see beyond what was presented by the media in times of tragedy in his life.
The documentary was released in 2008 but is probably gaining more recognition now than at that time, because Polanski was recently arrested in Europe at a Swiss film festival for a crime he committed in California in the 1970s. I’ll explain how Polanski ended up fleeing the United States and retreating to Europe, where he was eventually arrested many years later.
Polanski’s parents were killed in concentration camps during the Holocaust, when he was young. He managed, however, to build a name for himself in cinema and eventually ended up working in Hollywood. He became well known world wide for controversial films such as Rosemary’s Baby, and worked and played with famous actors and film industry big-shots.
Despite the setback of losing his parents so young, Polanski managed to accomplish a lot, and eventually married the love of his life, Sharon Tate. He met Sharon while filming a movie in the U.K. He cast her as the leading actress and their love affair bloomed from that point forward. Eventually she became pregnant. The film shows a substantial amount of footage of Sharon and Roman together, both of their home and their time working together. It’s easy to see the adoration they had for each other, and to understand the incredible tragedy of what ensued. While Polanski was shooting a movie in Europe, he received the news that his then pregnant wife had been brutally murdered by members of the Manson Family.
The film does a tasteful job of presenting the events surrounding Tate’s murder. The media at the time had pounced on the bizarre and freakish nature of her death and made her out to be a sort of cult follower. Charles Manson, an ex-con and drifter, had gathered a cult following and command its members to commit murder.
One night, as Tate entertained guests at her home, Manson sent his minions to take the lives of her and her guests. They were not only killed, but also brutally tortured. Polanski’s life would never be the same. It’s clear through the interviews conducted with friends of Polanski that he was, in many ways, defeated and ruined by what happened to his wife. Several years later, he would commit a crime surrounded by controversy, and consequently fuel a media circus.
Polanski, while taking pictures of a 13-year-old girl for a photo shoot, ended up having sex with her. The girl’s mother had allowed her to go to the shoot, and Polanski and the girl were alone when this took place.  He ended up facing numerous sexual assault charges and the case was followed relentlessly by the media.
What we know is that, eventually, Polanski skipped his final sentencing and fled to Europe. He is still wanted in America. What the film tells us, though, is that he had no intention of fleeing at all until things later became unfair.
The lawyers who were involved in the case at the time speak often in the film of the injustices surrounding the trial and the media coverage. The “victim” of the alleged assault was equally disgusted by the media frenzy surrounding the case. Judge Rittenband, who presided over the case, seemed to thrive on the media attention and went so far as to hold press conferences in his chambers. He based his sentencing decisions on what the public wanted and played with members of the court like puppets on strings. Polanski and lawyers for both the defence and prosecution became convinced that he was untrustworthy, which fuelled Polanski to depart for Europe rather than receive an additional sentence.
Since that time, he has remarried and has several children. He does, however, remain wanted in the United States.
The film really is interesting, and very well done. There are in-depth interviews with the victim, Polanski, his friends and colleagues, and with those involved in the case. What Polanski did was extremely controversial, but the controversy surrounding the case was perhaps just as shocking. It seems as though the public continues to thrive on the downfalls and mishaps of famous people in particular, which makes it difficult to form a solid opinion.
This film is definitely worth a peek.

Where the Wild Things Are – Soundtrack

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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0

By Rebecca Spence, Staff Contributor

Grade: A

The album begins with a little boy whispering “Hi,” followed by his mother’s reply: “I could use a story.” And so begins the enchanting musical accompaniment of the wonderful tale written by Maurice Sendak and re-imagined by Spike Jonze.
The Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack is an absolute delight from beginning to end. Each track functions as its own individual chapter to a story allowing the listener to fully delve into its fictional world.
Karen O, vocalist from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and ex-girlfriend of director Spike Jonze, is the composer of this wonderfully unique soundtrack. Her band mates from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, Liars’ Aaron Hemphill, The Dead Weather’s Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence from The Raconteurs all are responsible for contributing to this fine musical endeavor.
Ultimately, the soundtrack owes its success to Karen O’s writing and vocals. Her tone and seamless style is entirely necessary for the story’s central theme of wild emotions, which carry the film from beginning to end.
Tracks such as “All Is Love”, “Rumpus”, “Animal” and “Lost Fur” perfectly embody the spirit and soul of the storyline. Without them, the soundtrack would not feel complete. “All Is Love” is an energizing blend of gang chants and whistling, making the song a truly magical anthem. “Rumpus” begins with an excerpt from the film’s dialogue, in which the freshly crowned King Max proclaims: “Let the world rumpus start!”
Taking things to a whole new level, you experience the image of the rambunctious, carefree wild things come to life through song. “Animal” provides you with a jolt of youthful adrenaline and ends with a hailstorm of howls and hollers that send a small shiver down your spine.
While the fun and games sentiment in the film’s plot line is conveyed effortlessly in the music, these happy-go-lucky tracks are balanced nicely with others that are deeply melancholic. For instance, the instrumental “Lost Fur” – performed by the Coen brothers’ chief scorer Carter Burwell – mellows the pace enough so you can take a well-earned break from all these shenanigans.
Before you know it the mesmerizing 14-chapter story has come to an end and you’re ready to experience the entire thing all over again. Hopefully the child inside each of us never grows up.

2012

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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0

Samantha Chown, Arts Contributor

Grade: B

Warning: endless tears will occur.
The film opens during the present day with a young geologist named Adrian Helmsley, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, on a trip to India to meet with an old friend and fellow scientist. They discover that solar bursts from the sun have created a new type of particle. These particles are heating up the earth’s core and causing the tectonic plates to shift, leading to massive destruction, giant tsunamis and – the end of the world!
The first chunk of the movie follows the events leading up to the year 2012: mainly a mass cover-up headed by the United States government. Things finally start to go downhill when John Cusack is introduced. He’s a little known writer on a camping trip with his two young kids. It’s now the year 2012. Yellowstone National Park erupts into volcanic mayhem and the destruction really begins. This is about an hour into the film.
Cusack hustles his kids, his hot ex-wife Amanda Peet and her boyfriend Tom McCarthy out of California, while avoiding the collapse of the entire freeway onto his limo. Yup, he’s a limo driver and apparently those things can take turns really well. The group then heads to China to get on some arcs specially designed to withstand the coming apocalypse.
Not only is 2012 a tad unrealistic, it’s also a little too predictable. All the major landmarks in the States take a beating, ashes fall from the sky and somehow giant snow-covered mountains are always involved. And did I mention its way too long? It clocks in at over two and a half hours, so if you need to use the washroom, rest assured you won’t miss a thing.
That being said, 2012 is still emotionally charged and will leave you sobbing uncontrollably about every five minutes. Or you could just save time and money and tears: rent The Day After Tomorrow. Either way, you’re going to want to call your mom right after and tell her how much you love her. The end of the world can be a depressing thing.

Sonic boom

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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0

By Matthew Ritchie, Assistant Arts Editor

It is safe to say that my Ibanez Art Core jazz guitar has too much dust on it. Its sunburst finish is lightly caked with white powder (not the good rock star kind) and its pearl finish looks even more pearl than usual. I’ve been too busy working, writing, living to touch it much in the past few months.
Working never stopped Jack White from picking up his guitar everyday. While apprenticing as an upholsterer after school every night, Jack White would spend the remainder of his time absorbing all there is to know about the electric guitar.
It is safe to say that Jack White is more the musician than I will ever be, and that’s OK, because he really loves the guitar. So much so that in high school his seven-foot-by-seven-foot bedroom had everything but a bed in it. Jamming two drum sets, a reel to reel and a number of axes, a young Jack White had to remove his bed entirely and opted for a small foam pad crammed at an angle between his two bass drums.
I don’t know how much of this story is true. This is the man who convinced an entire generation his ex-wife was actually his big sister. But mythology aside, Jack White is a downright guitar nerd.
This is what he is presented as in It Might Get Loud, a 2008 documentary focusing on three famous electric guitarists – Jimmy Page and the Edge included – that is in limited release across the country right now.
However, to say this film is merely a guitar documentary takes away from what this film really is: a love story. In no other film will you see three musicians talk so candidly and passionately about something as much as the guitarists discuss their electric guitars in It Might Get Loud.
The premise at the start of the film verges on being overtly cheesy. Three guitarists are invited together to discuss their passion for music and exchange anecdotal stories on how they gained a love and appreciation for the guitar. Jimmy Page is presented as on overtly cool guitar wizard; the Edge, a rebel rousing guitarist. Then there is White. When asked what will happen when all three guitarists get in the room together, he responds “Maybe a fist fight.”
At the start of the film, White depicts himself as some sort of stereotypical guitar god, complete with danger (i.e. fistfight). As the film progresses it is clear to see that these three guys are anything but dangerous. When it comes down to it they are all music nerds trying to express themselves through a certain instrument, an instrument that just happens to be bitchin’.
The film does a great job of showing how the artists got to be world renowned through the use of old footage and artistic interpretation of their rise to fame. By showing Jimmy Page at the haunted house they recorded Led Zeppelin 4, the Edge at the high school where U2 formed, and pictures of Jack White upholstering couches – it is easy to connect with the musicians and their varying pasts.
It Might Get Loud also really digs into the souls of the musicians by gaining intimate stories that get under their guitar hero mythology and expose something deeper. One of those moments is when Jack White, sitting alone in his Tennessee farm house, listens intently to a Son House record before slowly choking up and admitting that it is his favourite song in the whole world. The fact that a second later you see Jack White strolling along the southern countryside in a get-up straight out of the 1940s further demonstrates what this movie really conveys.
It is simple to immediately brush off It Might Get Loud as a guitar documentary before witnessing it. However, what the film really does is breakdown the mythology of these characters and shows the passion they all share for their instrument. The film evokes a kind of brotherhood through the electric guitar and it is immediately relatable to any musician.
Although starting off with some overblown cheesiness and slight pretension, it is easy to see that director Davis Guggenheim is trying to bring you into their world as opposed to allowing the viewer to merely witness them from a distance.
At the end of the film, as the set is being torn down and instruments are being packed up, the three guitarists continue to play together as a group continuing to hone their craft. Rehearsing a hit from The Band, it looks like something you and your friends would get up to on a Saturday night, minus wearing one of the Edge’s ridiculous skull caps.
Never have I felt so similar to a group of celebrities before – let alone the ones who wrote “Stairway to Heaven”, “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” and “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” – than while watching It Might Get Loud.

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