Those In the Sault Ste. Mane weather office are community-active people. Zephyr has reported their goings-on before. This time, senior meteorological technician Don Simard, an executive of the local Aquatic Club and father of two competitive swimmers, organized and co-emceed the CAT-SSMAC CHALLENGE CUP, a swim meet divided into three categories described by Simard as follows - ''Those who could swim; those who thought they could swim; and those who knew they couldn't swim ''.

This was a two-day event. It was no minor affair either. 68 teams, 270 swim-suited bathers, competed with shark-like ferocity. There were teams consisting of city hall, police, firemen, government offices, doctors, nurses, lawyers, the media, teachers, local businesses, and even ''Team Skeleton" from a funeral home. The weather office team - Ron Houghton, Wayne Whittaker, Terry Smith, Don Simard, and Steve Speirs - were called ''The Crazy Chinooks''. There were prizes for the best costumes, the slowest team and the fattest team. Any way you could make a fool of yourself - there was a prize for it.

$5,000 was raised to promote competitive swimming in the Soo. The Crazy Chinooks just missed the bronze medal in their category by 0.3 seconds. Their category was - those who knew they couldn't swim!