News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes

Tam Woods, Sharon Webstead, Les Szmadyla and Chip Schick from Canadian Tire are preparing to test their product knowledge skills at the Canadian Tire Trans-Canada cup competition in Winnipeg this month. Their team, named ‘Pond Scum’, won the Western Canada contest and is now headed for the nationals. 

(Photo: Canadian Tire Store Manager Chip Schick, Tools Manager Tam Woods, Promotions Manager Sharon Webstead and Auto Service Manager Les Szmadyla are proud to be ‘Pond Scum’ and looking forward to representing the Williams Lake Canadian Tire in a national product knowledge competition.)

When the Canadian Tire Trans-Canada Cup contest started three years ago the Williams Lake Canadian Tire team took first place in the nationals. They have placed second in Western Canada in the past two years, and now are facing the big stage and bright lights again, with two other teams for the finals.

The winning teams from western, central and eastern Canada will meet for the fierce, game-show style competition in Winnipeg. The other two teams battling it out for the Trans-Canada Cup are ‘The Slackers’ from Newfoundland and ‘Over the Bridge’ from Ontario.

Tam Woods said that they chose the name for their team because ‘pond scum always rises to the top.’

The questions at the national competition cover a huge range of topics and products. “We’ve been asked questions like, ‘What is the warranty on a Mastercraft 24-piece socket set?’ and ‘What type of bulb is used in a certain make, certain model of light fixture?’ and ‘What is the difference between a lifejacket and a personal floatation device and which is required by insurance policy in a certain application?’” Tam explained. 

She said that in their daily customer interactions, understanding their products and being able to answer questions is the lion’s share of their job. “Our customers always come first, and being able to help them find the products and information they need is why we’re here,” she said.

The team plans to bring home the Canadian Tire Trans-Canada Cup home to Williams Lake at the end of September.  

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