2 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2014 EDITOR JESSE LAM Cws New golf app to help Langara golfers Vancouver Park Board produces a new app with built-in score cards and tee-time booking By EDRICK DUDANG new free smartphone app im- Ae the golfing experience for Vancouver golfers. VanGolf, created by the Vancouver Park Board, has accumulated more than 1,500 users since its launch on March 12. The popular app has many conve- nient functions for golfers, including a built-in score card and GPS functional- ity to locate distances between differ- ent points on a game, said Alex Doucette, manager of the Langara Golf Course Pro Shop. “One of the really cool features is that it has a booking engine attached to it so people can actually use [VanGolf] to book tee times,” he said. Doucette added that it’s a lot easier than booking times on a personal computer. The app also helps golf courses effi- ciently broadcast their availability to their customers. “On a quiet day, if there’s a block of open times, then [VanGolf would send a notice] to all the app users letting them know that there’s some availabil- ity that they otherwise wouldn’t have known about,” Doucette said. VanGolf will be integrated to a pro- posed live leaderboard in the Langara Clubhouse this summer, he added. The board would broadcast the players who played the best in the week, but would only apply to VanGolf users, Doucette said. The app is available on iPhone, An- droid, and BlackBerry phones, but it only works on the McCleery, Fraser- view and Langara golf courses. VanGolf does suffer from technical issues, one golfer said. Golfer Declan Sweeney said the app makes it difficult to transfer booking times from one course to another. He scheduled a booking time at McCleery Golf Course, but when he wanted to transfer to Langara’s course the app did not work as intended. Despite this issue, Sweeney said this is his only complaint about the new app and said he would continue to use VanGolf. Wa Track Fa VANGOLF Available Now! | a a a ites ssa" | g { “LEA EDRICK DUDANG photo New golf app is free for golfers who want a digital scorecard. Biking Friday night lights The wheels turn neon as BikeRave 2.0 races through the West End _ iz oa! = THECALENDAR.ca photo BikeRave 2.0 participants gather around to decorate their bikes with neon lights and glow sticks on Friday, March 21. 66 It’s some- thing dif- ferent. It’s something fun. Faster bikes, more lights BRANDON PARKER ORGANIZER By LUKASZ JONCA lhe wheels rolled out as the second annual UBC BikeRave 2.0 took place at UBC’s Walter C. Koerner Library plaza on March 21. The event kicked off with hundreds of students on bicycles, rollerblades, skateboards and anything on wheels thundering down a planned route. The riders were decked out in bright co- lours, neon lights, glow sticks and were blasting loud music. The event had five stops mapped out along the route where the riders would dismount and take 20- to 30- minute breaks. During these breaks, a travel- ling DJ played music the cyclists danced to. A cyclist pulled the DJ in a custom- ized wooden carriage, while volunteers dispensed Red Bull refreshments. “It’s an incredible event; we started it last year,” said Brandon Parker, one of the organizers of UBC BikeRave 2.0. “It’s something different. It’s something fun and it sort of connects that sustainabili- ty with having a ton of fun on campus. Faster bikes, more lights.” Josh Compagna, another organizer of the event, said the bike rave is meant to build campus spirit and bring students together while building a cycling cul- ture. More than 400 people signed up for the event on Facebook. The plan is to create a legacy for the event at UBC and to see it grow every year. It was not only open to UBC students, but also to any- one in the public. Volunteers collected liability waivers and handed out stamps to the partici- pants at a check-in station. There was also a decorating station for bicycles where neon glow sticks were handed out and taped onto the spokes. “Hopefully [it] integrate[s] people into the cycling culture who at first might be a little off-put by the sort of rigours of cycling around Vancouver,” said Compagna. College massage for college price Registered massage therapy program gives discounted sessions By MIKE HODDER py program is taking its hands-on learning approach and applying it to the backs of cash-strapped, stressed-out students. Starting in May, students in Langara’s registered massage therapy program will be offering discounted sessions ev- ery Thursday and Friday at their new campus on West Broadway. An hour-long session with a regis- tered massage therapist, or RMT, can run upwards of $100, but Langara RMT students will be offering them at a far lower price starting May 8. ee registered massage thera- “We're going to have the students working on the public. We'll have about six rooms,” said RMT student Jeff Gabert. Langara students and staff pay half of $40 general public rate. The clinics could provide some relief for those on a fixed budget. “T use a standing desk at home, but my back still feels the stress during exam periods. Unfortunately, as a stu- dent the regular cost of a massage is too expensive,” said science student Brean- na Messerschmidt. “A student discount would make it far more accessible.” The RMT program is offering the dis- count sessions as part of an in-house practicum, which program instructor Dae Backus said is one of the ways its students get the best-possible profes- sional training. “We're making relationships with the hospitals and health care facilities,” said Backus. “We’ve got an agreement with Vancouver Coastal Health and we're hoping to get the students into VGH, GF Strong [Rehabilitation Centre] and some of the other long-term care and brain and spinal institutes. “When Langara started offering this program, the massage therapy commu- nity was actually quite excited because they knew a quality program would be educating their future colleagues,” said Backus. The students hope they can take all the technical skills they are learning in the program and put them to practical use. “We're all here because we want to help people. Some of us have a more ho- listic spiritual approach, some of us are more physiological, but the emphasis is on the physiology side and there’s real science behind what we’re doing,” Gabert said. {= JEFF GABERT Langara RMT Student 66 We’re all here because we want to help people