OCR Text |
Show Park City News Thursday, December 9, 1982 Page Bll Uniforms? Referees? Who needs 'em? by John Kinch Their gym shorts are ragged and their basketball shoes are old. They filter in to the Memorial Building on Monday and Wednesday nights to play basketball, because their outdoor courts are frozen and buried beneath be-neath the snow. They play a form of basketball known as "pickup" "pick-up" or "street ball," the simplest form of basketball: no jerseys, no plays, and no referees. There is no need for the jerseys. It's the "shirts" against the "skins." Replacing Replac-ing carefully planned plays is "run and gun," which means if a player has an open shot he shoots the ball. Finally, there are no men in black and white suits calling fouls, as in high school or On a cold December night as many as 30 men will be jammed into the tiny Memorial Mem-orial Gym, lining the south wall, waiting to get into the game. They will all get the chance to play, regardless of their abilities. The next five players waiting will challenge chal-lenge the winning team from the previous game. Allowing everyone to play makes for an interesting game. Some players have difficulty dribbling the ball, while others consistently hit the 20 foot jumper. Most of the players are somewhere in between. With their varied skills comes diverse backgrounds and reasons for playing at the Memorial. Scott Vultag-gio, Vultag-gio, a Stein Erikson employee em-ployee gives a pragmatic reason for playing there. He What the games lack in structure and conformity to rules, they make up in intensity in-tensity and competition. I i 1 i ( &J p i , f y a 7 i) 1 Ki f jl v ft I A Local hoopsters sharpen their skills for the upcoming men's league competition. com-petition. Jerseys will be required once the season starts. college. Instead, there are 10 players, who double as referees, disputing the fouls and whose ball it is. What the games lack in structure and conformity to rules, they make up in intensity and competition. There is some surprisingly good basketball played there, so good that the players turn out in numbers. said that the Memorial is the only place to play in Park City for free. Bill Kirwin, a carpenter, just enjoys "mixing it up with the boys," as he puts it. Exercise is Kevin MacKay's reason for playing there. "Nothing can beat a pick-up game of basketball at the Memorial for getting yourself in shape," he said. These players and the rest will be moved from the maternal surroundings of the Memorial Building next month, when the Park City Recreation Department men's basketball program begins. This year is the tenth year for the program. For a cost of $175 a team, the players will be able to play at the Treasure Mountain Middle Mid-dle School. The 12-14 game schedule will begin on Jan. 5 and will continue through March. There will be eight teams this year, with a trophy awarded to the best at the end of the season. The teams will have seven members, mem-bers, mostly the "street ball" transfers. Unlike the pick-up games in the Memorial Building, which the street bailers are used to, some rules and regulations will be enforced,' most significant being the use of referees. Another change will be the require ment that a player be a member of a team before he can play. Finally, a symbolic difference is that players will be required to wear team jerseys. But even with their new jerseys, referees, and million-dollar facility to play the games in, the players will probably still be wearing their ragged gym shorts and old basketball shoes on Monday and Wednesday evenings this winter. NASTAR races begin Saturday The Park City Ski Area's Nastar race program will begin Saturday, Dec. 11. Races will be held every Wednesday Wed-nesday through Saturday thereafter, with some exceptions. excep-tions. Changes in the schedule will be announced well ahead of time via advertisements and updates in local media. Nastar, which stands for National Standard Race program, is designed primarily for novice and recreational skiers and is the largest operation of its kind in the country. Park City is one of 125 ski areas which pariticipate in NASTAR. "It's a nifty little program," says the resort's communications com-munications director, Packy Longfellow. "NASTAR competition is intended for those who have never skied gates or raced while being clocked." For those who feel they might need a primer in the basics, Longfellow suggests the NASTAR Race Clinic. Run under the direction of Frank Elliot, Ski School instructor, in-structor, the clinic is a thorough introduction to the ins and outs of NASTAR competition. "You sign up for the clinic at the Ski School," says Longfellow. "The clinic totally prepares you for the actual ac-tual race. They set up a mock course. You get to run gates and you get some coaching." The $19 registration fee for the clinic covers two hours of instruction and also includes the $4 registration fee required to enter the actual race. Complete information regarding registration and rules can be obtained from the Ski School at the resort. Weirather, DeAgostini post wins in World Cup downhill Austria posted a 1-2 sweep Sunday as Harti Weirather defeated former Olympic champion Franz Klammer to win the first men's World Cup downhill event of the season in Pontresina, Switzerland. Swit-zerland. Weirather took the race despite almost leaving one of his poles next to the starting wand. Starting in 11th position, Weirather blew down the 2,700-meter course in 1 : 42. 13. Klammer, the 1976 Olympic champion was 1.02 seconds off the pace and Swiss favorite Peter Mueller was third. The young American contingent con-tingent could do no better than Bill Johnson's 30th-place 30th-place finish. "We were not aggressive," said American downhill coach Andreas Rauch. "But it's only one race. Tomorrow, we'll go to Val d'Isere and try again." Other American finishers included Mike Brown in 35th, Doug Lewis in 39th, Andy Chambers in 41st and Tris Cochrane in 42nd. On Tuesday, the spotlight shifted to Val d'Isere, France, for the first women's wo-men's World Cup downhill of the season. And Switzerland' Doris DeAgostini picked up where she left off last year, edging Lea Soelkner of Austria by 36 hundredths of a second. Switzerland's Maria Walliser finished third and Canada's Gerry Sorenson was fourth. Rain swept the downhill course during the race, hampering the efforts of a number of the skiers, including in-cluding American Cindy Nelson, who mopped her goggles all the way through the race. She finished 15th. Other American finishers included Cindy Oak in 16th, Tamara McKinney in 19th, Debbie Armstrong in 27th, Holly Flanders in 36th and Christin Cooper in 43rd. McKinney's finish made her a strong favorite to collect combined points to be calculated using Tuesday's downhill and Wednesday's giant slalom, held after this issue went to press. RESTAURANT at the golf course (801) 649-71 77 1983 SKI THE SWISS ALPS JANUARY 17 - JANUARY 31 (14 DAYS) GRINDELWALD - SWITZERLAND TOUR PRICE INCLUDES: AIR TRANSPORTATION: Salt Lake City - New York - Zuerich WESTERN AIRLINES and SWISSAIR TRANSFERS: Zuerich-Grindelwald-Zuerich with tour bus HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS: Rooms with bathshower-extra charge for Holiday Apartments and single rooms MEALS: Breakfast buffet and 4-course dinner SKI ARRANGEMENTS: General season ticket "JUNGFRAU REGION' -14 days unlimited use of all mountain transport systems, 54 lifts1 30 miles of downhill runs. Special tariff for the excursion to the JUNGFRAU JOCH "Top of Eu rope"-1 1,333 feet. Sfr. 29.00 instead of Sfr. 86.40 Free ticket for the Ski-Bus Grindelwald Free entrance to the Sports Centre indoor swimming pool, ice skating, curling rinks Fondue party with bobsleigh run back to town Excursion to World Cup Race in Grindelwald on January 2223 PLEASE NOTE: Hotel accommodations in brand new hotel-remodeled in January 1980 Total Tour Fare (14 Days) Air Fare $ 840.00 Land Fare 660.00 Total Per Person $1,500.00 L. f I Ski In and Ski Out! Park City's newest and most exciting atmosphere for lunches, dinner and apres ski fun. Relax on our sunny deck overlooking the Park City Village ice skating rink and Park City's ski slopes. 1385 Lowel Ave. Park City Village 649-4060 Take out service available. I W l At the Park City 1 I " Resort Plaza ; 649"7778 I Restaurant i ill e'na 5P-r4n Specializing in gourmet dining by Gregg Markowski Featuring: Fresh seafood Chefs specialties State liquor store on premises Looking for a special meal? See our Mountain Sustenance on page B6 A ni irMrn..jr.-Aift.A,rr. hPii .i J |