On this day, everyone walked away as a winner.

The Streetsville Amateur Minor Hockey Association (SAMHA) took to the ice (and the banquet hall) on March 29 for the annual Day of Champs, featuting a series of House League Championship Games and award banquets.

The culmination of a season's hard work showed in the excited and determined faces of the young players, who had worked and trained hard. After the championship, the players all headed to the Vic Johnston Arena and Community Centre's banquet hall for a special banquet.

The standings were as follows:

Tyke – Team Red 3-2 over White in O.T.

Novice – Team White 2-1 over Blue

Minor Atom – Team Red 6-4 over Gold

Atom – Team Sky 2-0 over Blue

Minor Peewee – Team Orange 2-1 over Black

Minor Bantam – Team Sky 3-2 over Blue in O.T.

Minor Midget – Team Gold 5-2 over White

Midget – Team Gold 5-0 over White

The SAMHA House League Hockey Tournament, held on March 21 – 23, also had local teams bringing home gold. Erindale won in the tyke division, Streetsville won in the novice and minor atom divisions and Newmarket won the peewee category.

The association continue to work at implementing changes to the league and make it bigger and better than ever, says Vic Johnston Hockey Programs Manager Darcy Walsh. “The response from the community has been very positive."

For more information, visit www.streetsvilleminorhockey.on.ca.

Upcoming SAMHA Events:

Saturday, June 19

Fundraising Golf Tournament

Families, friends and neighbours are all invited for a terrific day of golfing activities, refreshments and great prizes! Don’t be disappointed, as this event sells out early. The cost is $150 per person and includes lunch (provided by ICC Health Net), golf with cart and dinner. The tournament takes place at Lionhead Golf and Country Club in Brampton, and begins at 1:30 p.m. with a shotgun start. For more information, visit streetsvilleminorhockey.on.ca or call Scott Wonnell at 905-821-2411.

Now that T-shirt and shorts weather is upon us, people might notice that their skin is a blank canvas just waiting to be filled, and think about getting their first tattoo. Before you download that fuzzy image you found on the Internet, and run down to the nearest tattoo shop, it’s worth doing a bit of research to ensure your experience will be a positive one and that new ink won’t end up being something you wish you never did. There are in fact, some common misconceptions people have when it comes to tattoo designs.

For many people deciding what design to have inked can be the hardest part of getting a tattoo. Unfortunately for some people, in their hurry to see that tattoo immortalized in their flesh, putting the time and thought into their design can become almost secondary. Impulses can often take over. When it comes to deciding on a tattoo, inevitably the first thing that people think about is their zodiac sign, their last name or their initials. But is this the best idea, or even a good one? While your birth date written in a script might seem “meaningful”, according to tattoo artist Julia Madeleine, those seemingly significant tattoos can be just plain boring and even cliché.

“One of the hardest things for me as a tattoo artist is getting people to think beyond the ordinary, to expand their minds and evoke their creativity,” says Julia.

While most tattoo shops have a plethora of “flash” designs on their walls or in books to choose from, and the Internet is full of all kinds of tattoo designs and related sites, it’s not an easy feat for a newcomer to try and choose their first tattoo. The art of tattooing has evolved enormously, in the last decade in particular, and what was unheard of twenty years ago in the tattoo industry is now commonplace; such as portrait tattoos with the likeness and quality of a photograph.

Just like technology and its evolution, tattooing has progressed extensively, Julia says. “I think some people are stuck in a time capsule when it comes to tattoos. It’s only after they start hanging around that they begin to realize the possibilities of what we can do these days. And it’s at this point people’s creativity really begins to ignite and they start expanding their minds. As an artist that’s what I love to see. ”

How does one decide what makes a good tattoo? Is it a detailed black and greyscale piece, an old school half sleeve with a zombie-girl pin-up, or a traditional Japanese koi design with lots of colour? Should it be something that reflects your personality, your beliefs, or your desires? And does it have to have meaning?

A tattoo is really about aesthetics and how it compliments the body, Julia explained. “A design doesn’t have to encompass all your ideas about who you are. And it doesn’t have to have some sort of universal meaning to have value. There are no such rules. A tattoo can simply have the meaning that you, as the wearer, give to it. Whether that’s a deep personal significance or not, is up to you.”

The best tattoos are carefully thought out and professionally designed that flow with the lines of your body, she says. “It’s far better to have one good-sized, really well done piece that has lots of wow-factor. Something that covers the entire area, like your shoulder, pectoral, or ribs, or is at least proportionate to the area where it’s going, rather than a collection of little symbols giving you a fridge magnet effect. You’ve really got to look at your body as a whole and imagine how that tattoo will appear on you from a distance. Think of how it will compliment your overall appearance. And by all means, think big.”