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PULLING FOR THE HOME TEAM {SPORTS EDITOR z : WOODSTOCK â€" Strange . :sounds have been emanating from & P e . 3 ‘the old Firestone building at 2 § libimninmninrmmenmuniiiones iIngersoll and Oxford Streets of 3 k * ~at" snn ‘late. > ] / 420 * 3 & x ‘_If you live in the area, don‘t e _ o + 3 k s worry. The bizarre roars are the war 2 in uie & e .cries of the Oxfordâ€"Zorra girls tug e ~â€"â€" $s n iof war team which is using the }/ P ‘building to prepare for the second . h e ~annual Mackay Memorial Tug of 3 - g( Â¥ 25 EBVZar ppamplonship in ‘Teiwen. & y // eMarch 12â€"14. :OXford-Zorra Pa ’j; o es & â€" The 13â€"member team is reciproâ€" f 20. o s . u. : 3 »cating a July 1, 2000 visit by two 'Squad pr aCtlSlIlg _ > _ m ©Tamsui, Taiwan high school teams is § s@m h .z K. sto the Embroâ€"Zorra Highland 1n old war echouses e e * $A F#â€" Games. The two communities were . * 5_ _ h + sofficially twinned last year, but a ‘and horse barns A F & 2*>~ M P ovalyy was aigo formed. . p > W > In the tug of war competition, the c 2. > evisiting Taiwanese team was forced § iss . e j *to settle for second behind an Oxâ€" 4. se «ford County squad. Now, it wants ‘ Af s# : it >a chance to avenge the loss on its es x zown soil. § 2. 3 + The Oxfordâ€"Zorra team will arâ€" , e s w . # Esc erive in Taiwan March 7 and will Far “ e 22. * arairal +go up against the six top teams of c s ‘ 442 * za huge tug of war competition beâ€" § ues p h e ie t > > :tween 70â€"80 Taiwanese teams. e s s esmm : *This seems a daunting task, but . 2 s esns * feis~ * : Zcoaches Chery] Patience and Anita ; . s e »Fraser are whipping their girls into f rex ons s > e cce *shape through gruelling workouts. s E : ks e on + The team has been practising for esw rt _ out ¢ - se »the March competition in the unâ€" se c aita n1 * s ce heated old warehouse since being <oeo mssy paall s ©x, : . se formed about seven weeks ago. se ts tss â€"_ C e 4 And, because the competition will m s s ie . ce feature both indoors and outdoors C J{;; yX .",;}'_«__"; t s v 20 : e pulling, the girls, aged 16â€"19, have en o o ce ie se y « £4%~ ; had to find something that is simiâ€" o ce l ty > § . ie 05~ lar to a dirt and grass base to pracâ€" e c ie . > e tise on. . es . 4. "We started last week (practisâ€" Pelcee *A uts a t â€" 4 2. . ing) in a horse barn," said Patience. s â€" e . > We were looking for dirt because t eX e s s t Eoc that‘s what we‘re used to pulling n sA en ... e 7 on, so the horse barn was the closâ€" wa B e.“: o » 3 ~? A est thing." e un 2 o Je t . The Oxfordâ€"Zorra girls team is ol s w’w;”: Prss "’_’% ? made up of members from the Cl ie > cA .\, Woodstock Collegiate Institute and CAAA s ~â€" Toete o. atmonl iname that o s t ols > o o P R se e mt peted in last summer‘s Highâ€" im ie . land Games. It has members fom wee "‘“j» ue ie : g’e‘zchz?lflm Darea, Woodstock it ig * . 3. § *" â€" 3 : . e ville, > ; M o cce .. y ‘ nroas rumbo and Hickson L . Photo by Elliot Ferguson Hangjng_gm...._. B BB n nmege iss Carla Toohey, 18, shows the effort of practise as the Oxfordâ€"Zorra tug of war team prepares for its | ;,q wareh upcoming trip to Taiwan. For full story, see page 8 Z0C#/ and strainf * ~ seem like 1