Richmond Review, June 07, 2013

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richmondreview.com Friday, June 7, 2013

36 PAGEs

$28m autism centre planned State-of-the-art facility eyed for Sea Island by Martin van den Hemel Staff Reporter

‘Rollergirls’ raise regular ruckus at Richmond rink The sport of roller derby fills stands at Minoru Arenas It’s a night of banging, crashing and frenzied action in Richmond when a little known sport takes over Minoru Arenas. But the popularity of women’s roller derby is growing—as witnessed by fans who filled the local venue last weekend for a battle of global proportions. The Terminal City All-Stars hosted London Brawling for a match. Boasting a much higher international rank, the foreign squad took it to the local women by a score of 202-69. But for many fans, the final score is secondary to the entertainment offered by the contact sport. Roller derby is a series of races between

two teams who skate in the same direction around a track, in which points are scored by designated players able to battle through the pack. A contest can look like a no-holdsbarred free-for-all, but rules cover everything from gameplay to behaviour. Blocking is legal, but players can’t grab, pull or trip. The local team that skated at Minoru June 1 features some of the best players in Vancouver’s Terminal City Rollergirls league. Created in 2006, the league boasts approximately 100 competitors with tough-as-nails names, including Flower Plow’her, Walker Texas Mangle’her and Buffy Sainte Fury. —Matthew Hoekstra

Jenna Hauck / Black Press photo Kim Janna (centre in top photo and right in image above) of the Terminal City All-Stars battles against opponents from the London Brawling team at Minoru Arenas last Saturday.

TONY LING

Construction of a new 58,000-square-foot centre for the study, treatment and assessment of autism, could begin on Sea Island in the next three months. Sergio Cocchia, co-founder of the Pacific Autism Family Centre Foundation, said the $28-million facility was originally slated to be built in Vancouver, but a change-of-heart involving one of the project’s partners led the foundation to try to secure a property in Richmond. Cocchia met with members of Richmond council at a general purposes committee meeting on Monday, at which he presented his plans and said he received a great response. “They were incredibly supportive,” Cocchia said. As long as there aren’t any hiccups in the coming weeks—the deal on the property should finalize in the next six weeks—Cocchia hopes to break ground on the project in as little as three months. The project is buoyed by last year’s $20 million grant from Victoria. The vision for the centre is that it becomes the hub for autism services in B.C. See Page 3

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