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PAGE 14 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, AVUGUST 4, 1982 He and she, they are a team â€" if an unlikely one at that â€" in a sport contested by few, unknown to many. Partners only since December of last year, the 24â€"yearâ€"old machinist at Stelco in Hamilton and the 15â€"yearâ€"old Bluevale collegiate student have risen to the top of their class in Canada and as a result are on the threshold of challenging the best in the world. They dance, on wheels. Roller skates, to be precise. And they do it well. Well enough to be two of only 12 Canadian representatives at the World Roller Skating championships in Bremerhaven, West Germany Sept. 15 to 19. She â€" of somewhat smaller stature â€" glides towards him, exuding total confidence. Shoulders back, head up, the teeth, the eyes, they sparkle brilliantly. Then, as a r&poner congratulates Waterloo‘s Kathy Mudie on her tremendous feat, she giggles, just like the teenager she is. And for a moment, but just for a moment, the image shatters. Though they compete as one, the rise to roller skating prominence has been much more astonishing for Mudie than for partner Hobbins. _ _ s lthknyomtotapalndomtamto]dluom,ug:.lohnflobblm.moughlhmmm: Kathy Mudie have reached the pinnacie of success in nada in just over six moriths. "It really means we don‘t have much time for anything else," said Hobbins after a photo session at Super Skate. "With me having to come up here from Hamilton almost every day, our schedule basically amounts to eating, sleeping and skating." * Mudie and Hobbins practise four weekdays every week, three hours a day, and for a half dozen more hours each Saturday and Sunday. Every other weekend, they venture to Virginia for expert tutelage under Robert Brown, and then there‘s the Rink in the Park offâ€"ice training program another seven hours per week. substantial jump in competition. They haven‘t looked back since. It hasn‘t been easy, mind you, rising to the point of becoming the best senior free dance team in the country. * Kathy Mudie of Waterioo and Hamilton‘s John Hobbins will be heading next month to the world roller skating championships in West Germany. The pair entered their inaugural competition at an Erie, Penn. Invitational in March â€" and finished first. "I was sort of nervous,"‘ confirmed Kathy. "There was a lot of competition there," said Hobbins. ‘‘Some of those teams had been skating 13 years toâ€" gether." ~ "‘That‘s where we really came together, at the provincials," said Hobbins. "It was a great competition for Super Skate too, I think we had something like 21 competitors win 43 medals, which was fantastic, it meant this club would be looked upon as one of the strongest representatives for Ontario. This time last year no one knew us, (Super Skate) but they sure do now." _ The next big conquest was the provincials in Alliston, where both won their solo events, they came second in senior dance, and won senior free dance. Unlike Hobbins, familiar with the level of difficulty of senior free dance, Mudie‘s transition from novice meant heading back to square one. _ â€" _ e "First I had to learn all the basics, but now that I‘m skating senior, I found that I didn‘t know the basics of dance, so I‘ve really had to learn everything all over again. â€" â€" o â€" â€" D \‘"But it‘s been really exciting, I never thought I‘d be able to come this far so fast." 1 Having repeated their success at the Canadian championships in Ste. Foy, Que. the second week of July, Hobbins and Mudie as well as 10 other Canadians qualified for the September world championships, where the United States in the past has been a totally dominant force. "It‘s becoming a betterâ€"known sport in Canada the past couple of years, but while in Canada now we might have a couple of thousand competitors, the U.S. has abour 40,000,"" said Hobbins. ‘"The highest finish Canada has ever had at the worlds was a second in pairs last year, and in senior dance, the highest we have ever finished is seventh. "At the world championships, everyone is so good you‘re not going to overwhelm the judges with anything, it‘s all a matter of hitting your stride in unison, variety, degree of difficulty. Our (he and Mudie‘s) goal was to make it to the worlds, and now to finish seventh or betâ€" ter." With the incrediblée amount of time they spend together, Mudie and Hobbins as would be expected do have their differences, but they strive to settle them as quickly as possible." â€" _ "Sometimes we fight like hell, but when you have to compete as one, you can‘t be mad at each other, we‘re constantly talking to each other to solve our dilemmas," said Hobbins, just as eloquent off the floor as he is graceful on. _ S _ Mudie and Hobbins have not forgotten those who have helped them along the way, most specifically the Kâ€"W Skating Club which has accepted their roller skating counterpart graciously, and of course Super Skate Seven, which has allowed the pair tremendous amounts of practice time at the facility. The city of Waterloo, Lion‘s Club and others are also throwing financial weight behind their trip to the worlds, which will cost in the neighborhood of $4,500. _ _ ‘"Hopefully we‘ll be together for the next three years, it takes that long to become first class, it takes years to have everything come together as one."" _ c *"*When you talk about skating, people always think ice skating," said Mudie. ‘"We just hope to do really well, maybe to help change that thinking a bit, to show tha’our sport is an important one too." Photos by Rick Campbell