THEVOICE | THURSDAY,MARCH 15, 2018 | 8 Repeat, repeat then compete Young dancers improve with judges’ feed- back = By CAMERON {| THOMSON or two 14-year- .y olds, competitive 7 dancing is less competing can be motivational. - “It makes you want to get inspired more. It gets a little bit tiring,” she said. “Then you go to the competition and you're like, ‘yes, I want to dance BL more. Anita Perel-Panar, artis- tic director and co-owner of Boogaloo Acad- emy said as well as teaching cho- i i= reography and about winning and more technique, _ they about inspiration, self- teach the students improvement and Twiz- teamwork, “It’s about be- ing a crew; it’s about being a team member and a team player. Everything has to happen together,” she said. The students practise eight hours a week to prepare them for com- petition. Samantha Pre- sley, a ballet instructor zlers. Talia Hoffmann and Eloise Stockton- Thomas have been dancing since they were three years old and are now learning _ ballet and jazz compet- itively at Booga- loo Academy in South Vancou- ver. They will at Boogaloo Academy, be attending said dedication helps the first com- | dancers compete at petition of ] their peak — perfor- the season on mance. March 14 in “A lot of it is rep- Burnaby. etition, because it is Hoff- one thing to know mann said the steps in your compe- head but it’s another titions one to be able to do help — her | them in your sleep,” improve Presley said. “With her tech- repetition comes nique to stamina.” become But sometimes, a_ better a little superstition dancer. can help a 14-year- “For P old do their best. me it’s ines “We always bring all about Twizzlers to com- being the best you can be, less against the other [competitors] but petition as a good luck thing,” Hoffmann said. Eloise Stockton- more about the notes Thomas, 14, that the adjudicators F ; : 3 - dancing on pointe give you,” she said. at Boogaloo Stockton-Thomas ‘d bei tae Academy. said being Up On stag CAMERON THOMSON can be nerve-racking but PHOTO EDITOR DANICA WALKER i } Sportsnews —_ Team BC's Cody Fournie takes on Alberta Roughneck's Kendall Winter at the Vancouver Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament, March 11. caERoNn THOMSON PHOTO BC rugby washout Team BC aims to redeem itself at nationals = By CAMERON THOMSON fter losing all five of its games at the Vancouver Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament, Team BC will need to turn things around as it focuses on the upcom- ing Canadian nationals in May. With a final score of 56-36 for the Alberta Roughnecks on Sun- day, the British Columbians placed fourth at the tournament hosted by South Vancouver-based BC Wheelchair Sports Association. The event was held at the Rich- mond Olympic Oval last weekend where eight teams from across North America competed over three days. BC Wheelchair Sports Associa- tion communications coordinator Nathan Bragg, said the team were the underdogs of the competition but maintained a high level of ef- fort throughout. “As the game went on ... B.C. did a really good job of staying calm and weathering the storm,” he said. “Continuing to fight regardless of how things were going to go.” Tan Chan, head coach for Team BC is preparing his team for na- tionals, which will take place in Calgary from May 25 to May 27. “The Canadian nationals are kind of our Stanley Cup for the season," Chan said. “We have practices, training camps and select tourna- ments that prepare us to perform.” After nationals, at least three members from Team BC will be competing at the 2018 Canada Cup International Wheelchair Rugby WHAT IS WHEELCHAIR RUGBY? THINGS YOU MAYBE DIDN'T KNOW Tournament on June 11 to 18, also at the Richmond Olympic Oval. Bragg said wheelchair rugby in- volves athletes of various levels of ability. “Wheelchair rugby was created as an alternative to wheelchair basket- ball for athletes that have impair- ment in their upper limbs as well as their lower limbs,” Bragg said. Each player is given a rating de- pending on their mobility. These ratings can have an impact on team makeup and the strategy they em- ploy. “Your lower point players gener- ally will operate like your offensive lineman in football, they'll be set- ting picks, they'll be setting screens and opening up lanes for the higher functioning athletes to go through,” Bragg said. SOURCE: BCWHEELCHAIRSPORTS.COM >» Murderball It was originally called Murderball. Wheelchair rugby is a full contact sport. >» Canadian invention Wheelchair rugby was invented in Winnipeg in 1977. Inventor, Duncan Campbell still plays in B.C. » Basics There are four players to a team during play. Each game consists of eight minute quarters. Continuing Studies Part-time Journalism Courses Accessing Information Like a Journalist Kelly Sinoski Communication Specialist, Metro Vancouver Regional District/Former reporter, Vancouver Sun, Black Press, The Standard (HK) Tracey Sherlock Education reporter, Vancouver Courier, Discourse Media, Rabble.ca, Vancouver Sun Business Writing Andy Poon Manager, B.C. 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