January 21, 1997

By Finley Martin

The Five Year Plan took to the court Monday, Jan. 13th in their first game of the winter semester. Their opponent on this night was second place team AVC. FYP started the game very strong, garnering a 13 to 2 lead in the first two minutes of play. However, AVC was not about to let the game go so easily closing the scoring gap and gaining even gaining a substantial lead. During the second half FYP was down by as much as 13 points. With 5 minutes left to play and down by 6 points, the Five Year Plan made a huge comeback. FYP won the game by a final score of 73 to 68. The three stars of the game were Rick Millard, Dale Tingley, and Finley Martin who scored double digits and made large defensive contributions.

FYP Head Coach Mr. Hands was not present at the game due to medical reasons. It appears Mr. Hands has developed a severe case of arthritis and tendonitis in his hands. He is currently waiting for a specially designed wheelchair before he will be able to attend any more games. Acting team spokesman Dave Christian commented saying “It’s unfortunate but we understand. We will just have to carry on without him.” The illness of Mr. Hands comes at a difficult time. Rumours and controversy have been swirling around him like a tornado in the Wizard of Oz.

In a related issue, Dico Reyers again demon- strated his intense dislike for Mr. Hands. Late last week, while appearing on a special episode of Barney and Friends, Mr. Reyers ridiculed the FYP Head Coach by imitating him during taping. The imitations were

_considered so degrading that the episode will not be aired. Several of the parents whose children appeared on the show with Mr. Reyers are now suing him. They claim Mr. Reyers actions caused extreme psychological damage which even brought about the institutionaliza- tion of one of the children. Mr. Reyers refused to comment on the situation.

For more information on the check out our web site at http://www.peionline.com/fyp e-mail us at fanmail@peionline.com.

Sports g@* The Panther Prints

University Refs Brook No Insolence This

By Michael Connors

(CUP)--Coaches and play- ers in university hockey have to be a lot more careful of what they say around officials this sea- son.

Under a new zero- tolerance policy, hockey referees in the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) are author- ized to strictly enforce rules penalizing players and coaches who don’t show them proper respect. Arguing with an official over a close call or even indicating disapproval with body language can result in stiff penalties.

The CIAU is follow- ing the lead taken by the Atlantic Universities Ath- letic Association (AUAA) which introduced zero- tolerance for all ofits sports this year. The policy was in response to an on-ice attack of a referee by several Université de Moncton players last season.

“Tt’s a simplistic way of dealing with the problem [of harassing officials],” said CIAU executive vice-

president Mark Lowry. According to KevinCameron, the

AUAA’s executive direc- tor, the AUAA had been working for several years to end the problem of yelling at officials, particu- larly in hockey and basket- ball.

“We felt as an asso- ciation that we needed tighter controls on the verbal interaction between players and officials,” Cameron said.

Season

Coaches and athletes in the AUAA are nervous, however, that officials have been given too much power and that the new zero- tolerance policy in fact means zero-accountability. Many are unsure of what an official will consider disre- spectful behaviour.

In hockey alone, three coaches and four players have received suspensions as a result of the policy, for infractions ranging from throwing debris on the ice to slamming a stick in frustration.

The incident that at- tracted the most protest was the three-game sus- pension of Greg MacDonald, an assistant coach at St. Francis Xavier, for apparently muttering “nice call, ref,’ following what he felt was a blown penalty call against Dalhousie last December.

“For zero-tolerance to work, there has to be some common sense involved by the officials,” St. FX hockey coach Danny Flynn said in a report in The Globe and Mail. “In most regards, it’s been excellent. But we’ve had a couple of incidents throughout the league, and we've been involved in one, where perhaps the official used it more as a show of power than any- thing else.”

Cameron admits that perhaps the particular pen- alty involving MacDonald shouldn’t have been called.

“There have been some growing pains,” he said. “It’s a matter of

interpretation on the part of the official. I still haven’t heard the referee’s side of the story.”

Cameron believes that there has been very little abuse of power on the part of officials, however, and that the policy is working effectively.

“We’ve definitely seen an improvement. In the case of players, if you keep penalizing them, it doesn’t take much for the message to get through.”

While zero-tolerance only applies to hockey in the rest of the country, Lowry said the CIAU is considering it for all other sports, despite concerns about its arbitrary nature.

“It may not always be fair,” Lowry said. “In any kind of standardized set of rules there will be prob- lems. The bottom line is it’s the referee’s interpreta- tion.”

In the AUAA so far, the only complaints about the new policy have been coming from hockey. Me- morial University’s wom- en’s basketball coach Doug Partridge says he hasn’t noticed any difference in officiating in the other sport singled out as a problem.

“Hockey’s a whole different area because you’re dealing with grown men,” Partridge said. “It’s not 19- and 20-year-olds like in basketball. A lot of these guys who are playing are 24 and 25.”

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