NEWS FLASH

VACATIONLAND CHOSEN ONE OF TOP IN NORTH AMERICA

 

Tom Nicholls is familiar to Island and visiting bikers as the owner of Vacationland, host campsite for Island Rally held every Labour Day weekend. 

We all know what a great host Tom is through personal experience.

 

Now folks all over North America are getting the word as well.  Vacationland RV Park, as it is officially know, was recently named one of the top 300 RV parks in North America in the Trailer Life Campground Directory.

 

No small potatoes this.  The three hundred are chosen from more than 12,000 parks considered.  He says their commitment to constantly updating and improving is key.  For example this year outdoor fitness classes are going to be introduced (as a world class weight lifting champ he knows about that!) And now the park, located in Brackley Beach, can be found through GPS devices.

 

 

MOTO FOR THE CURE MEMORIAL TO MOM

 

Joel Sawler loves motocross.  So, when the 14-year old lost his Mom to cancer, he wanted to do something to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society, as well as to be a memorial to his mom.  That's how Moto for the Cure came to be.

 

Organized by Sawler, with help from friends and the PEI Motocross Association, Moto for the Cure was held on August 13 of this year, at the PEI Mudrooters Track in DeSable. There were 85 riders participating, and nearly 300 spectators onsite.

 

At day's end, when all monies had been counted, the event had raised $4,374.00. The committee met after the event, and decided to donate a chair to the Oncology Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. With the help of the QEH Foundation and the staff of the Oncology Department, that has happened. (The chair costs $485.60, so they donated $500.00 to the QEH Foundation in memory of Michelle Sawler, with the remaining balance being donated to The Canadian Cancer Society.)

 

"The Moto for the Cure Committee would like to thank everyone who helped out in any way to help make this a success," says PEIMXA  President, Scott Barlow. "According to Joe Sawler, he would like to make this an annual event."

 

Congratulations to Joe Sawler and the PEI Motocross Association for their terrific effort in this wonderful cause!

 

Strongman Tom Nicholls. Maximum muscle, all the way

In our last issue, we reported that Tom Nicholls, owner of Vacationland RV Park (host campground for Island Rally), and an avid biker himself, exhibits maximum muscle through the extreme sport of Powerlifting. Tom has garnered many awards in his chosen sport, and, like fine wine, he just keeps improving with age.

The strapping strongman returned home from the Canadian national power lifting championships, held in Chilliwack, British Columbia, a multiple winner. As a result of competing in the 125 kg Masters Mens category, where he bench pressed 245 kg (539 lbs), hoisted 330 kg (726 lbs) in the squat, and dead-lifted 340.5 kg (750.5 lbs) - thereby setting a new Canada record, with a total of 915 kg (2,013 lbs!) - Nicholls won his 10th consecutive victory. "I was coming off an injury, and hadn't trained for four weeks," he explains, "so I had to pull it together quickly. I still managed to set a deadlift record. I felt I could have lifted more, but you learn to listen to your body. You don't recover as quickly, and you say, 'Be smart. Walk away." Nicholls can still proudly point to the fact that he's lifted more than any person in Canada .Especially notable is his Master Lifter title, which is calculated mathematically by comparing the weight of the competitor vs. the weight lifted. Nicholls has held the title of Master lifter male, since 2003. He currently holds several records in his weight class. This was his second time to the Masters.

Most exciting is that in the fall of this year, he will be representing Canada for the second time, this year to be held in Texas. "The way I've trained, if I wasn't  lifting as much as I was five years ago, it would be one thing," he says. "But I'm lifting more."

"There's got to be a downside somewhere," he muses. "I just haven't found it yet.

"Over 40 and still going strong - that's strongman Tom Nicholls. Maximum muscle, all the way.