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Sports Briefs: NimbyFifty registration opens Feb. 15

The fourth annual NimbyFifty bike race in Pemberton is set to open registration on Friday, Feb. 15, with 400 spots available for the May 25 event.
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The fourth annual NimbyFifty bike race in Pemberton is set to open registration on Friday, Feb. 15, with 400 spots available for the May 25 event.

The organizers confirmed this week that the Red Bull Downtime event — a separately timed downhill race-within-a-race on Overnight Sensation — will be back this year, while the course will remain more or less the same.

This year's race overlaps a World Cup event so it's unlikely that Catharine Pendrel will be in the women's field this year. There's a chance that Max Plaxton may race as he recovers from an injury, and could choose to race close to home before joining the World Cup tour.

"We actually considered running the event a week later, but that's the same weekend as the Whistler Half Marathon and we thought that could create a few conflicts as well so we kept it to the last Saturday in May," said Russ Wood, one of the event's three race directors.

Once again the organizers are planning cash prizes of $1,000 each for the top male and female, plus prizes for second and third. As well, there's $250 for the top male and female in the Red Bull Downtime race, and organizers are looking at the possibility of adding race primes to the course as well.

New this year, Chrissy Redden and Greg Day of TaG Cycling in Whistler, will be hosting a series of coaching days leading up the event to familiarize riders with the sometimes technical course and prepare them for the 37km epic — including the long climb up 11.2km/101 switchback Big Nimby trail.

Also new, organizers say there's a possibility that camping could be offered at North Arm Farm, where the race starts and finishes. Papa Josh has already been booked for the post-race party and barbecue.

For more information and registration, visit www.nimbyfifty.com.

Freestylers on podium at Castle Mountain

Three skiers from Whistler headed to Castle Mountain, Alberta this past weekend to take part in Moguls and Dual Moguls Canadian Series event.

In the opening single moguls competition, Nicola Halliwell placed fifth in the qualifier and moved up to fourth overall in the finals. Sofiane Gagnon qualified in ninth, but crashed and placed 10th. Daichi Hara was fourth in both the qualifier and finals.

In the dual moguls, Halliwell qualified first and won all of her duals to place first overall. Gagnon,13, advanced to the finals where she lost to Halliwell, but picked up the silver medal. Hara placed third, losing his semi-final dual, but winning the consolation round.

Halliwell is a member of the BC Freestyle Ski Team while Hara and Gagnon are both club skiers with the Whistler Blackcomb Freestyle Ski Club.

Skiers on top at Steven's Pass

Five members of the Whistler Freeride competition team headed to Steven's Pass in Washington State this past weekend for the 2013 Jim Jack Cowboy Up Freeride Challenge.

Brothers Cooper and Jackson Bathgate placed first and second in the 12-14 age category, with Cooper launching a backflip that was one of the highlights of the day.

In the 15-18 category, Tom and Liam Peiffer competed with Tom finishing fourth overall, and Liam crashing after qualifying in seventh. Conrad Murdoch finished 13th overall.

The team's next competition is at Crystal Mountain, Washington, Feb. 15-16 for the second leg of a three-part triple crown event.

Squamish Triathlon adds sprint distance

The annual Squamish Triathlon is adding a spring distance event to the schedule for the 16th anniversary of the event, looking to draw more newcomers, youth and others that don't have the time or experience to compete in the full Olympic distance event.

The sprint race includes a 750-metre swim, 18.5km bike leg and a 5km trail run, half the distance of the Olympic event.

This year's race takes place on Sunday, July 7, and is six weeks out from the Ironman Canada race in Whistler on Aug. 25. Registration opens on Feb. 14 and early bird prices will be in effect until Apr. 1.

Whistler telemark festival this weekend

The annual Whistler Telemark Festival is hosting a series of events this Sunday, Feb. 10 with morning clinics for all levels of telemark skiers and an afternoon race, group ski and mass telemark drop down the mountain. The event is followed by an après ski party with prizes.

The cost is $15 to take part in the events, and organizers are offering 40 per cent off passes for people who preregister at www.bctelemark.com.

Ladies night to support hockey team's provincial bid

The third annual Va Va Voom Ladies Night Out at the Nicklaus North clubhouse on Feb. 13 is being organized by hockey moms this year — specifically to benefit Whistler's Winterhawks Midget Rep team, which is heading to the provincial championships in March. The team is ranked first in Midget A Flight 4 in the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association with a record of 13-2-3 in 18 games.

They've outscored the opposition 71 to 28 this year, averaging 3.9 goals per game.

Tickets to the fundraiser, which will also support a $500 minor hockey bursary and $1,000 in minor hockey scholarships, are $20 and the event is expected to sell out. The evening includes a purse/scarf swap, silent auction, raffle, door prizes, free hors d'ouevres and more. Tickets are available from Run With It, Fruv or Whistler Creek Athletic Club.

Ford Swette wins NorAm GS

Whistler Mountain Ski Club alumni Ford Swette, racing for the BC Ski Team and Alpine Canada prospect group, posted the first NorAm Cup win of his career this past weekend in the giant slalom at Vail, Colorado.

"It's been an interesting week and I'm so happy right now," he said. "Since I didn't train with the rest of the team in Italy last month I had something to prove to myself when I got here for the NorAm races. I was nervous that maybe I had fallen behind while everyone else was getting amazing training in Europe.

"My confidence has been restored and I now believe that the break was actually a benefit to me and gave me time to focus on what I need to do to be successful. I feel very strong right now and this win is just another positive step forward."

In the first men's slalom on Saturday it was a Canadian sweep with Paul Stutz first, Michael Janyk second by 0.03 seconds and Philip Brown third. The podium was the same for the second slalom race on Sunday.

In the opening women's slalom, Canada's Anna Goodman and Eve Routhier were first and third respectively. Whistler's Emma King was 34th in that event, while Charley Field was a DNF.

Goodman won the second women's slalom while Routhier slipped back to sixth. Emma King was 38th.

Events Calendar

What: Timber Tour, BC Super Youth

When: Feb. 8-10

Where: Blackcomb Mountain

The Whistler Blackcomb Freestyle Club is hosting the second event in the B.C. freestyle skiing series with slopestyle, halfpipe and moguls events taking place on the mountain. The Timber Tour is for kids 13 and older and the Super Youth categories feature kids 12 and under. For more on the event and a schedule for spectators, visit www.bcfreestyle.com.

What: Park Rider Series

When: Sunday, Feb. 10

Where: Blackcomb Mountain

The fourth event in the Park Rider Ski and Snowboard Event series is another slopestyle on Blackcomb.

All ages are welcome to take part, and advance registration is $29 both online and at Whistler Blackcomb Guest Relations. Day of race registration is available at the Rendezvous Lodge until 9:30 a.m. for $35.