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g Complete Bill! E ['. New 8. Used g Skates 't oEreatHackey 1: Stock ' W “a I _l E g BVBoaVn a: Chronicle = ___‘ U 5: teriod E triathlo F: was als, i \wunmer and n The Tigers were in every game in the series. but the combination of a pitching staff by committee and no bullpen to speak of was to hard to overcome as the Tabbies fell four games to one in the best-of-seven opening round series. Especially after a tough playoff series against his old club, the Guelph Royals, ended in another later inning loss Sunday night in the Royal City "Maybe next time it won't Be so draining," he Said. "At least I'll know what to expect .. t's been a draining year for It,i,iti-'iiiaar, manager lan Buglass of the expansion Waterloo Senior Tigers, Complete Bike & Skate Store mrmirs d And it was literally leaming how to ride a bike competitive- ly with the local cycling club that made the difference, Tamburrinj, who recently graduated with a Kinesiology degree from UW. said she started competing in triathlon as a way to get back into two sports she loved - swimming and running. Past year a stepping stone, says skip Four years later, Tambumhi, a member of the Watedoo fhing Dogs Cycling Club, is the Canadian 20-24 age group champion after win- ning the Canadian Triathlon Championships in sc John's. Niki. in late July. But it wasn't until she com- peted in her first Try-a- Triathalon event, when she came to studyattheUniversity of Waterloo, that she leamed that she could combine ele- ments of both sports to becomeachampion. ledoo's newest Wiriamlon champion was always a strong swimmer and runner in her school days inWasoga Beach. tanned competing in triathlon me other big challenge In a typical race she would structured and consistent than Waterloo's Ame-Lia Tamburrini exits the water at the as a way to get back into two was combining three high usethebike portion ofthe race itwasinthe past. Canadian Triathlon Championship in St. John's, Nfld.. last sports she loved â€" swimming endurance sports like swim- to hold her position. But at the "Iwaslooking to peakat the month. She won the 20-24 age group title and finished third and running. ming biking and running in a Canadian championships. the nationals, and it was the best overall in the race to Tereza Metal. a former member of the "When I was in elementary competitive environment. bike portion of the race proved race of my career so far." Waterloo Flying Dogs Cycling Club. Senior Tigers roar in their return to action Champ goes from trying to winning Next year the clulfs expan Be Boa VRBANM". Chronicle Stafr - 93 King Street. North warm 886-4340 Ian Bugass sion tag will be shed for another tag called higher expectations. "There's some gaps and holes to be filled if Waterloo wants to have a champi- nnship contending team." said Buglass "They're going to have to go out and get And Buglass' expectation is that the club could vie for a league title if some pitching. speed and power are added to an already potent lineup The athletes took on the clock. or themselves. instead of focusing on other people in the race. The other big challenge was combining three high endurance sports like swim- ming biking and running in a competitive environment. The five-foot-two dynamo also liked the fact that a triathlon was more of a per- sonal challenge than taking on a competitor in a traditional one-on-one battle. school I swam competitively and ran. but I got out of that in high school." said Tamburriric “When I got here they had a Try-a-Triathlon at the University and I was pretty much hooked after that." Early success got her to train more seriously. but it was the collegial atmosphere around triathlons that kept her coming out to events. "The atmosphere at the races is excellent," said Tamburrini. "Everybody is cheering for each other and everybody races against every- body else no matter whether they ate elite competitors or men or women. It's all the same distance." "Considering the youth and lack of experience we should be content with the fact that we made the playoffs and gave Guelph a good run " But the club's goal of reaching the playoffs was met, and in exciting fashion. with a sudden-death playoff winagainstBrantford "I don't know if some peo- ple had higher expectations but if they did it was unrealis- tic." said Bugiass, "We didnt really have any experience at the senior level with our play- "In the regular season it's okay to go with three or four starters. but in the playoffs you need a lot more than that." The bitter playoff loss made it hard for Buglass to talk about the Tlgers' success- ful first year. some more pitching. In a typical race she would use the bike portion of the race lo hold her position. But at the Canadian championships. the bike portion of the race proved The bike portion of the lace actually proved to be the differ, ence for Tamburrini at her first Canadian Championships. Going into to the lace with some tendemess in her Knives. she couldnt train as hard on her running, But it didnt stop her hom training on the bike, knowing she would save her legs for the The athletic 23-year-old hadagoodbaseinheruadi- tional sports oi swimming and running but had to pick up the bike portion of the race to become a complete triathlete. "That has been the most difficult part." said Tamburrini. "But when I joined the Waterloo Cycling Club that certainly reef. "In my opinion they are three of the hardest, aerobical- ly-challenging sports." said Tambumni. "l like that aspect of the sports." "it higixkrhte pick up my intervals and helped me pick up my sped" __ SPORTS acxorrtrltshed that. "All eyes were looking at Waterloo and seeing what we are doing. and seeing what some of the other older [ms haven't been doing" Tamburrini, who finished third overall to Macel, also gave a lot of credit to her new coach Adam Johnson. "It's really helped to get out on long rides and work on my technique," she said Waterloo and its famed cycling club have become quite the proving ground for a number of up-and-coming triathletes Another former member of the dub, Tereza Macel, also had a stmngyear on the circuit before collecting her first Canadian Elite triathlon championship at the same event as TamburrinL "He put togethera program for me based on my goals," she said. "My training was more structured and consistent than it was in the past. er Robert Dive" said his first, ym! expansion dub is rift on target with the plan in place. "We targeted for 2,000 fans and got22m," said Dive". "And we wanted to create some interest in Major Intemotmty Make the playoffs. Draw more than 2,000 fans, and [each the break-even point "lt went really well and I was actually passing a lot of people," said Tamburrinj. "It was a really good bike ride." credit to the locai cycling club's training methods for her improvemtnt, - to be the difference. Tiger targets met in return to league The expansinh kids used With that mission accom- bloom: to year one of the Senior Tigers three-year macaw gives a let _o_f we've Theymrcouldhmebeer, ewmbetterifMotherratuee "These are things that we haven’t seen going on in the Intercounty program," said Dive". "M brought out corpo» rate people and we saw that as a posmve for the yam" Robert Blvd] the Intemel to keep fans infom1ed. used some difhetent marketirg strategies to bring out the fan base, and brought in corporate sponsors to bol» star the operations 1 nu thscowiy'Neuer mu: "l tfleg St, s., Waterloo www.tsamotoU.eom personnel.” said Divell "We'll keep adding to make sure our (“aching staff ism looking mm the dugout and wondering if they have enough pitching and fidding in raw of injury " The tirst-year senior execu- the also promises changes to the on-the-field product induding manning the pitch- ing staff and adding more aaathesto take the load offhLs had cooperated. While the weather was tough to control. scheduling is another area that the club will look at. "We'll re-evaluate our Friday night program and see whether or not that was a good fit," said Dive“. "We certainty don't want to end up with any more Friday night follies that Kitchener and Waterloo got ima" "We need tomid support for lan (W) and some player In I Am BEER STORE OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Mon-Fn IO-lr. Sat 9-6; Sun Il-6