ADVENTURE SPORTS BY WINA STURGEON 8/6
X GAMES UPDATE
Damn, they're good! Athletes at these Games are making new rules in human physics!
One of the cool things is 14-year-old Lyn-Z Hawkins, who won Women's Skateboard Vert (short for vertical). There was a time, not too long ago, when there was no women's cat for any kind of skating at ANY kind of games. So, props to you Lyn-Z, and props to X Games!
Another skater may do summer AND winter, two different sports in the Olympics! Shaun White, who won Snowboard gold in the 2006 Torino Olympics and has six winter X Games gold medals, just copped his first summer X Games gold in Skateboard Vert. White will probably medal again at the 2010 Oly Games in Vancouver, but he may be going for summer Oly gold too. A well known secret is that skateboarding will be a medal sport in the 2012 Summer Olympics; and the Flying Tomato is only 20. You can bet he'll be in the game at 25 if he could get an Olympic gold to hang next to his winter one(s).
Skater Boi Jake Brown's big fall was the talk of the X Games, lost his board at the top of his 720 air, fell 50 feet to hit the hardwood quarterpipe tranny, got up and walked away. Wow! The damage, now that he's been out of the hospital a few days, is amazingly slight. He has a broken wrist, fractured vertebra, bruised lung and liver. And, he will get back on his board in about two weeks!
WORLD'S BEST BABYSITTER?
Here's the deal: drop your kid off, he or she gets eight hours of supervised activity; choice of hiking or mountain biking, arts and crafts, nature exploring in mountain wilderness, plus lunch and good care; all for about $50.
So where do you find this terrific all-day baby sitter? Would you believe---Deer Valley?
It's the Deer Valley "Adventure Camp" for kiddies age one to 12. They can go daily, Monday through Friday; 8: a.m. to 5:30 p.m., attend by the week or by the day. Drop 'em off, spend the day carousing around Park City with friends.
Oops, too late! This year's Adventure Camp shuts down August 17. And, there's a waiting list for the remaining days. But, since this is such a popular thing, why not make reservations for next summer? The number for reservations or more info is: (435) 645-6648, or (888) 754-8477.
SPEEDSKATING ON YOUR MISSION?
West Valley speedskater Parker Vance is setting a world record, just not the one he had hoped to set.
Vance was moving up the national ranks in speedskating, training with the U. S. Olympic team, when his LDS mission call came. Vance was sent to Latvia.
He was out looking for converts with his companion, walking along a cement pathway, when he saw a kid wearing a speedsuit on inline skates, obviously training for speedskating.
When Vance stopped the kid and said he was a speedskater, the kid laughed it off, saying, "You're just making that up because you want to talk religion to me."
So Vance gave him the missionary phone number and said to look him up online. The kid called back in awe, saying "Wow, you really are a speedskater, you were a medalist at the Junior Nationals!"
Two things happened next: Vance contacted his old coach and they are trying to arrange for the kid to come to America and train; then next, Vance told the mission president how excited the boy was to meet a speedskater; and the pres said, "Have your parents send your inline skate over and you can train with this boy once a week."
Vance's mom, Kerry, laughs about the one big drawback: Missionaries have to have their companions with them at all times, so Parker's companion will either have to skate or run to keep up; nice job for him. Kerry Parker has sent the skates. It's gotta be the most unusual mission of all time.