Editor:
Re: “New endowment celebrates long-time search and rescue volunteer Robert Allen,” Sept. 24.
When Canada’s Penny Oleksiak swam at the Tokyo Olympics, that pool was 25 metres wide and each lane was precisely 2.5 metres wide – or else. When athletes throw a javelin, they do so inside an arc of precisely 34.92 degrees – or else. In pro baseball, the front edge of the pitcher’s mound has to be exactly 18.44 metres from the rear point of the home plate – or else. But who guarantees that these vital measurements are true?
The Reporter’s article on the late Robert Allen, surveyor, reminded me of what he did for the Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association in 1999. Robert’s eyes and instruments established the exact 1/8-mile race track measurement on Sechelt’s runway, the 330-ft. midpoint, and the spots at which the staging line and start line lay exactly seven inches apart, and the 60-ft. stretch over which car speed is measured.
Professional surveyors like Robert Allen and the other BCIT-trained technologists on the Coast are the “peacemakers” who guarantee us a physical world that is fair, dependable, and precise. Thanks, Mr. Allen.
David Kipling, Gibsons
