APEGGA Team Leaps on Luge To Support Liver Foundation
	Former Olympic luger Bob Gasper, P.Eng., (l.) was on hand when the APEGGA Lucid Lugers Luge Team - Steve Wyton,P.Eng., Steve Calderwood, P.Eng.,Bruce Dupuis, P.Eng., and Kevin Richmond,P.Geol., hit the slippery slopes recentlyin Calgary to Luge for Liver.

Luging - a sport which depends on gravity and a touch of insanity to get you to the finish line - isn't the sort of pastime you'd expect to take up on the spur of the moment. But don't tell that to Steve Wyton, P.Eng., Bruce Dupuis, P.Eng., Kevin Richmond, P.Geol., and Steve Calderwood, P.Eng., the intrepid foursome which made up the APEGGA entry (the Lucid Lugers) in the Canadian Liver Foundation's Luge For Liver challenge held at Calgary's Olympic Park Nov. 7.

A few weeks before the event, which raises money for the foundation, Mr. Calderwood, vice-chair of the APEGGA Calgary Branch, contacted members of the branch executive and some other stalwarts to assemble an APEGGA team The last-minute addition of luge Olympian and APEGGA member Bob Gasper, P.Eng., (See also story pages 1 and 10) as an adviser may have helped the novice APEGGA crew post the best combined time among the approximately 100 teams taking part in the preliminary round. "We had an advantage in having Bob Gasper choose the sleds for the first round and give us some coaching and tips," Mr. Calderwood told The PEGG. (Laid back leader, Steve Calderwood, P.Eng., demonstrates style that got him to the bottom of the hill in the Canadian Liver Foundation's Luge For Liver Challenge.)

The three teams with the lowest times in the preliminary run, plus two other teams chosen by lottery, took part in the final. Unfortunately, two of the APEGGA sliders crashed, sending hopes of glory to an icy end. However, team member Bruce Dupuis, who when he's not hurling down a slippery slope is engaged in more sedate pursuits at Foothills Pipe Lines Ltd., recorded the fastest time over-all. The liver lugers started part way down the course and reached speeds of around 50 kilometres and hour.

"You don't know what to expect the first time," concedes Luge Leader Calderwood but only as he went through an almost 180-degree turn near the finish did he wish he could slow down. "The idea is to relax and stay in the track - the more relaxed you are, the better it is," he explains, echoing Bob Gasper's advice.

Unfortunately, Mr. Gasper was not around to help in the sled selection for the final round, and that, suggests Mr. Calderwood, may have sealed the APEGGA team's fate in the final. As for joining the downhill battle next year, Steven Calderwood's ready to reduce the time and increase the amount the team raises for the Liver Foundation. (This year, $544 plus a $100 entry fee paid by APEGGA.)"We'll do it again next year. I'd love to!"