Tag: Pulls

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Dogs, fast draw, and tractor pulls among favourite events returning to Aldergrove Fair – Langley Advance Times

The Aldergrove Fair will see the return of the antique tractor pull this year, along with dog agility, fast draw, and other popular events as the fair returns to full operation. (Langley Advance Times file)

This year, the tractor pull is back at the Aldergrove Fair Days.

After two years of cancelled or scaled-back events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the July 14-17 fair will see the return in full of many traditional events.

“That tractor pull is back to its traditional format,” said the fair’s Mike Robinson.

That means multiple weight classes, ranging from the tiny “garden tractors” up to the big full sized farm tractors, will be on hand on the Kinsmen Park Field near the Aldergrove Community Secondary.

The tractors will be over on the south side of the fairgrounds near the BMX track, Robinson said.

In tractor pull, a tractor hauls a large sled, with wheels at the back, that has a significant amount of weight in it. The weight doesn’t stay still, either – it moves forward during the course of the pull, so it weighs down the portion of the sled that drags on the ground, increasing resistance the longer the tractor lasts.

The tractor pulls at the Aldergrove Fair will take place over a 250 foot course. There are usually about 40 competitors, Robinson said.

The fast draw competition, featuring holsters and six guns, will not only be back, the celebrity edition will take place. Local politicians, businesspeople, and other prominent Langley folks will get to test their speed with a shooting iron in front of the crowds.

Also returning will be the dog agility shows, which weren’t present at all in last year’s smaller fair.

The agility show has been moved to the northeast corner of the site, where there’s a little hill for people to sit on and watch events. The number of dogs competing in the event, which involves pups completing an obstacle course, hasn’t been determined yet.

Back for the first time in a while is also Mike the Reptile Guy.

READ ALSO: A bigger and better Aldergrove Fair is in the works

PREVIOUSLY: ‘Drive up’ version of Aldergrove Fair is a hit

“He’s got a phenomenal collection of snakes and reptiles,” said Robinson.

International Movie Services will also make a return with a collection of vintage and antique military equipment and vehicles. The local company rents out everything from trucks to armoured vehicles to uniforms for movies, and shows off parts of its collection at local events including the fair.

You never know what they’ll turn up with, said Robinson.

“They could bring out a new vehicle every day for a year.”

There will also be the biggest vendor area ever, and while there isn’t a full midway, there are a couple of interactive game sites, including a climbing wall and a bungee ride that launches people up.

Taking part in many of these events isn’t out of the reach of members of the general public, Robinson noted, although it might be too late to sign up for this year’s fair.

Local clubs run the fast draw and dog agility events, so taking part is a matter of joining those groups, Robinson said.

“Next year, you could be bringing your dogs out.”

Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com

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Ukrainian biathlete pulls out of event at Paralympics after father captured by Russian forces | CBC Sports

Ukrainian biathlete pulls out of event at Paralympics after father captured by Russian forces | CBC Sports

Ukrainian biathlete Anastasiia Laletina was forced to pull out of the women’s sitting middle distance event at the Beijing Winter Paralympics on Tuesday after her father was captured by Russian forces, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee.

“Her father is a soldier in the Ukrainian army and [was taken] prisoner by Russian soldiers. They beat him,” said Ukrainian Paralympic team spokeswoman Nataliia Harach, to AFP News.

The spokeswoman told Reuters they had no further details on his capture.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month, which Moscow describes as a “special operation” to disarm the country, prompted the International Paralympic Committee to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Games.

Belarus has been a key staging area for Russian troops.

The spokeswoman said that the 19-year-old Laletina was still in Zhangjiakou, China — the venue for the cross-country skiing and biathlon events — and will fly out to Poland with the rest of contingent at the end of the Games.

Despite the initial uncertainty around their participation, Ukraine continued to collect medals at the Games on Wednesday by winning a silver and bronze in cross-country skiing. They are third in the table, where the ranking is based on gold medals won, behind hosts China and Canada.

WATCH | Russian, Belarusian athletes barred from Beijing Paralympics:

Russian, Belarusian athletes banned from Winter Paralympics

Organizers of the Winter Paralympics have reversed course and expelled athletes from Russia and Belarus. The about-face came less than 24 hours after the International Paralympic Committee announced it would allow Russians and Belarusians to compete, but only as neutral athletes. 3:57

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Battlefield 2042 Pulls Russian Helicopter Skin ‘In Light Of Current Events’

Battlefield 2042 Pulls Russian Helicopter Skin 'In Light Of Current Events'

Battlefield 2042

The ‘Grin Reaper’ skin that has been withdrawn
Screenshot: Battlefield 2042

Last week Battlefield 2042 developers DICE first offered, then pulled, a limited-release skin that featured a smiling attack helicopter for the game’s Russian faction, deciding that now was not the best time to be giving players such rewards.

For a while now, the beleaguered online shooter has been offering special rewards for players who can complete certain weekly challenges, sometimes in the guise of Specialist outfits, sometimes skins for weapons and vehicles. The skin in question last week, called the “Grin Reaper”, featured an aggressive smile based on the iconic “shark tooth” custom of aircraft art that dates back to the First World War. It went live then, with events in Ukraine rapidly deteriorating, was swiftly withdrawn:

It was the right move on the part of developers DICE for anyone looking at this skin in isolation, but it also creates a strange precedent where this particular item was seen to be in poor taste, but the remainder of the game itself—which features an aggressive, near-future Russia as one of only two factions that players have a 50/50 chance of being automatically assigned to before each match—is fine.

The removed skin hasn’t been replaced; anyone booting up the game will see a blank area of the screen where a player’s progress towards the current weekly reward would normally be. DICE says “weekly missions will return” later this week, and haven’t ruled out this skin being re-offered at a later date.

This is somehow the third time Battlefield 2042’s skins have made the news since the game’s launch. First there was a skin that directly referenced Russia’s annexation of parts of Ukraine back in 2014, specifically the “Little Green Men”, unmarked Russian special forces units who “allowed Vladimir Putin to briefly claim that they were actually local insurgents, and as such that it wasn’t a clear and overt annexation of foreign territory.”

Then at Christmas some Gamers got mad that a holiday skin was going to feature Santa Claus carrying an assault rifle, then other Gamers got mad that DICE yanked the skin after blowback. The entire thing was very sad.