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Men’s hockey recruiting for season

The Whistler Men’s Hockey League is in the process of recruiting new players for the 2007-08 season for both the “A” League and Recreational League, and is holding some initial tryouts next week.

The Whistler Men’s Hockey League is in the process of recruiting new players for the 2007-08 season for both the “A” League and Recreational League, and is holding some initial tryouts next week.

The tryout is for players that are new to town and interested in playing in either A or Rec league, and for Rec league players that are considering a move up to the more competitive A League.

According to A League coordinator Ian Pike, he already has a roster of about six players looking to join this year, and with about 10 more players he would like to add a sixth team to the league after a team dropped down to the rec league after the 2006 season. If there are not enough players to form another team, participants in the tryout and draft can help fill some vacancies on existing teams.

“If players want to play in Rec because of the level of play or because the nights they play work better, those names from the tryout will be passed on to the Rec teams looking for players. If they want to play A, we’ll either build a whole new team or refer them to teams looking for players.”

All positions are required, and at least one team has a vacancy in the goalie position.

The tryout is set for Monday, Sept. 24. There is a registration and information session at 8:30 p.m., followed by on-ice drills and scrimmaging from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. The cost is $10 per player to take part, and all candidates should come dressed in full gear.

The Rec League has 10 teams and play Mondays and Fridays at 8:15, 10 and 11:45 p.m. The A League has five or six teams, and plays Tuesdays at 10 p.m. at 11:45 p.m., and on alternate Saturdays and Sundays at 8:15 p.m. and 10 p.m. Rec players get 27 regular season games and playoffs, and the games start on Sept. 28. “A” players get 25 regular season games and playoffs, with the puck dropping on Oct. 2.

For more information or to pre-register for the tryout contact A League coordinator Ian Pike at 604-902-3786 or rpcppm@hotmail.com , or Rec League coordinator Tim Houlihan at 604-905-8572 or thoulihan@whistler.ca.

The Whistler Hockey Association is also looking for referees to come out for A League, Rec League and Women’s League games. If you have experience, contact Pike.

While most teams are still recruiting at this stage, the season got underway this past weekend at the Icebreaker Hockey Tournament featuring players from Whistler and Squamish. The Prospects Hockey Team took the win after four round robin games and a playoff. They finished in an 8-8 tie against Moe Joe’s in the final, then went on to win the shootout.

 

Hopkins second in Cyclocross opener

The fall cyclocross season got underway in Delta last Saturday with the third annual Team Coastal Cross. Whistler’s Trevor Hopkins, first in his age category last year, got off to a strong start in the Masters 35-Plus “B” category, placing second.

“It was a good race for me. I dropped my chain at the start and had to pass over 30 riders to make it back to the front,” he said. “I was gaining on the first place rider who broke away at the beginning the whole last lap. I got to within 10 feet of him in the sprint for the finish line. All I needed was another 20 feet and I would have had him. He was fading fast.”

Cyclocross events are basically off-road cycling races that use modified road bikes, slightly fatter and knobbier road tires, and take place on a mix of concrete, gravel and dirt. There are also mandatory running sections where riders get off their bikes and run up hills and lift their bikes over obstacles.

It’s become hugely popular for both road riders and mountain bikers as a way to keep training through the fall, and last year B.C. Cup races attracted over 200 riders.

Hopkins raced the Sept. 13 Loonie Race on his Cyclocross bike to get into training for the weekend.

 

Last Loonie Race tonight

The 2007 Loonie Race season wraps up tonight, Thursday, Sept. 20, with sign-on in the Whistler Interpretive Forest parking lot opposite Function Junction. There is a regular start time of 6:30 p.m., and registration gets underway at 5:30 p.m. Fine Motorcars and Resort Cabs are sponsoring the last event once again at their shop in Function Junction, complete with live entertainment by the Hairfarmers.

There are a few events remaining this year. The Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association (WORCA) is hosting its annual general meeting on Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Spruce Grove Field House, getting underway at 6:30 p.m.

WORCA will also host a Halloween ride this year. The details are still coming together, but it will likely be on Oct. 25, or the Thursday before Halloween. Once again you’ll need headlamps to find your way as it will be dark by the time the race gets underway.

 

Local athletes sprint, slog

A handful of athletes took part in two events outside Whistler this past weekend, the Subaru Vancouver International Half Iron Triathon, and the final race in the 5 Peaks Trail Running Series at Buntzen Lake.

There were three courses at Buntzen Lake on Saturday; a 10 km Sport Course, 12 km Enduro Course and a 22 km half-marathon.

Whistler’s Karen Farr was one of 70 runners to brave the half marathon course, placing eighth in the women’s 40 to 49 race in three hours, 57 minutes and 50 seconds. Dennis Smith of Squamish also raced, placing 12 th in the men’s 40 to 49 category in 3:26:18.

No Whistler residents took on the Enduro course, but Shannon MacLeod of Squamish was fifth in the 30 to 39 category in 1:53:39.

Tracy Jackson placed sixth out of 27 women in the 40 to 49 age category on the Sport Course with a time of 1:09:38.

In Sunday’s Half Iron, Squamish’s Trevor Lowe represented Sea to Sky, finishing seventh in the men’s 35 to 39 race in 5:29:11.

There was also a short-distance sprint triathlon. Karen Blaylock of Whistler placed 42 nd overall and first in the women’s 40 to 49 race with a time of 1:41:57. Jennifer Leigh was just three spots back in 45 th , and second in the same age category with a time of 1:43:07.

 

Buchar Canada’s top downhiller in Slovenia

Canadian mountain bikers didn’t improve much on their previous week’s performance at the UCI World Championships in Scotland when they headed to Maribor, Slovenia for the World Cup finals.

Whistler’s Claire Buchar netted Canada its best result in the downhill, placing 16 th on a short but reportedly intense course.

On the men’s side, junior rider Steve Smith was the top Canadian in 43 rd , while Whistler’s Tyler Morland was 47 th , and Jeff Beatty 76 th .

 

Cougars back on ice Sept. 28

The Squamish Cougars of the World Hockey Association’s Junior West Hockey League will have lots of competition this year when the puck drops at Brennan Park on Sept. 28. The Bellingham Bulls folded after the first season, but the league picked up two new teams to bring the total number of teams to seven — the Fort Vancouver Pioneers of Washington, and the Barrhead River Kings of Alberta.

The Cougars had their first team training camp on Sept. 12, and will play their first league game on Friday, Sept. 28 against the Armstrong Sharks at Brennan Park at 7 p.m.

 

Final slo-pitch standings