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Bellerose students, staff rock the house

For two solid days at the end of last week, the main atrium of Bellerose Composite High School was transformed into a forum of stationary bicycles, some of which resembled recliners more than two-wheeled exercise equipment.

For two solid days at the end of last week, the main atrium of Bellerose Composite High School was transformed into a forum of stationary bicycles, some of which resembled recliners more than two-wheeled exercise equipment. According to organizers, the seventh annual Bellerose Bike-a-Thon was a major success and not just from a monetary perspective.

Principal George Mentz was thoroughly pleased with the outcome, especially as a cheque for $107,000 was handed over to the event’s beneficiary, the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), as more donations were still coming in.

“If we want to talk numbers, we can talk about raising over $100,000 and the 530 kids involved,” he began, saying that there is more on a personal level that makes the event successful. “The Cops for Cancer guys are tremendous volunteers. They even helped with the overnight supervision.”

Overall there were 60 teams comprising more than half of the school’s population. Two-dozen teachers took turns biking in two-hour shifts. Some of the school’s alumni even came back to bike. There was even one team consisting of only two students, Jonathan Ziarko and Aaron Raham. They completed the entire 48-hour endurance themselves.

Sue Leighton, the athletics director, main organizer of the event and one of the participants, praised everyone for their enthusiasm.

“It is an unbelievable event for our community, our school,” she said. “It’s the second largest fundraiser in the Canadian Cancer Society’s year for a school. [It’s] massive.”

She gave special thanks to Mike Cooper, Pete Ratcliff and Kerry Nisbet, the captain of the Cops for Cancer team. Nisbet, she said, has been with the event since the very beginning. “Those guys are just unbelievable.”

There were so many heart-warming stories that arose during those two days from last Wednesday at noon to the same time on Friday. The entire roster of the Gaining Occupational and Life Skills (GOALS) students participated with their teachers and teacher aides. “It’s an unbelievable feat for them.”

“What’s amazing to me is that there are equal numbers of Grade 10, 11 and 12 teams from right across the population of the school. They bring the fun to it. There were so many great kids coming in and coming up with creative ideas to kick off the Bike-a-Thon, which I love.”

Leighton, who was even there during the wee hours, admitted some did struggle to stay awake while pedalling.

“We said that they have to ride with significance. That means that their team has to have integrity around the ride. It’s not like you’re going to miss three days of school and then you can cheat on the ride. We say that people with cancer can’t stop, so you can’t. What amazes me constantly is when it’s 4 a.m. or 4 p.m., it continues. What you hear is the constant whir of these bikes, the pedals going around. It’s like they police themselves. It’s very cool.”


Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About the Author: Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ecology and Environment Reporter at the Fitzhugh Newspaper since July 2022 under Local Journalism Initiative funding provided by News Media Canada.
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