Sledding showdown: Kids the only clear winners
Tobogganing legal in Hamilton at three official sites
Unsurprisingly, both politicians claimed victory in the Great Sledding Showdown at the Garth Street reservoir on the weekend.
Regardless, tobogganing fans were the clear winners Saturday as the city officially opened one of three sanctioned sledding hills, ending a much-maligned ban that earned unwanted international publicity for Hamilton last year.
“We’ve put the fun back in winter,” declared Mayor Fred Eisenberger, before hitting the slope at the popular — and now legal — sledding hill. “And, ah, hopefully we have no more lawsuits. … If anyone is thinking about lawsuits, just get back in the car.”
Hamilton artist Laura Cole — who made a protest song about the sledding ban last year — changed her lyrics and sang the new version with her bandmates at the hill to celebrate the political change of heart.
The race itself was presided over by Hamilton Bulldogs mascot Bruiser.
Technically, the mayor appeared to hit the tape first in the much-ballyhooed tobogganing tussle — at a sprint, no less — but abandoned his sled somewhere along the way.
Tobogganing purist Coun. Terry Whitehead — clad in a hockey helmet and billowing “ward 8” emblazoned cape — also loudly proclaimed victory. “I crossed the line with my toboggan. Fred left his behind,” he said.
Despite temperatures that felt like -20 with the wind chill, more than a dozen kids also hits the slopes Saturday afternoon — a lot more gracefully — as part of the kickoff for the Healthy Kids Community Challenge.
The provincially-funded challenge is a public health department effort to encourage more physical activity among kids on Hamilton Mountain.