Thursday, February 14, 2002
Gold offering for skaters
By TONY SESKUS -- Calgary Sun
A Calgary computer programmer is so upset by the gold-medal snub of figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier that he's taking matters into his own hands.
James Chambers, 24, is taking up a collection of gold from fans across North America, so the two silver medalists will get their just reward when they return home.
"They skated the perfect program and there's no way they shouldn't have got the gold," said Chambers.
"After we saw it on television, my wife and I felt we had to do something, so we decided to have medals made for them."
Chambers set up a Web site to help advertise his plan and it wasn't long before fans from across Canada and the U.S. were responding to his plea.
Intergold Ltd., a Calgary gold company which helped with the medals for the 1988 Winter Olympics, will produce the new medals.
They will read: Gold on the Ice, Gold in our Hearts.
He's asking anyone with old gold to send it to him or direct to Intergold. Already he's gathered a collection of rings, necklaces and a locket.
"Anything extra we get we'll donate to the Olympic team or Skate Canada -- but I don't want anything extra," he said. "I'll be letting everyone know when we've got enough."
His campaign is getting international attention, with reporters calling from as far away as Dallas.
But Chambers said the attention should be on the skaters.
"I'm proud to be Canadian and I'm very proud of them," he said.
Donations can be sent to: Gold for Gold Medalists, Attn: James Chambers, 9770 Bonaventure Drive S.E., Unit 195, Calgary, Alberta, T2J 0E6; or Intergold Ltd., Attn: Alex Armutlu, 3924 - 29 St. N.E., Calgary, Alberta, T1Y 6B6.
You can also check out the campaign Web site at: www.fridaynightsoftware.com.
2002 Games Figure Skating Coverage
