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Sports Briefs

King of the Rail this weekend

The third of four-scheduled King of the Rail competitions takes place this Saturday evening, Feb. 19, with another rail jam at the base of Whistler Mountain.

The event is open to skiers and snowboarders of all ages, and is judged by the athletes themselves.

Registration starts at 5 p.m. at Showcase Snowboards, with a mandatory competitor meeting at 5:45 p.m. The jam competition, which includes a few different line choices, runs from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at which point the votes are tallied and the top skiers and riders in each category are named.

The cost is $15 to take part, and the winners from each category can win prize money based on the number of participants in their category. As well, all of the participants are eligible to win draw prizes from sponsors at Showcase, Burton, Atomic, Nintendo, Telus, DNA and more.

Helmets are mandatory, and minors need a waiver signed by a parent or a guardian. Mouthguards and other protective gear are recommended.

 

Skating club in the medals at Pacific StarSkate Championships

The Whistler Skating Club had a successful trip to Delta, where they took place in a qualifier for the Pacific StarSkate Championships in March.

Rebekah Robertson, the club's most senior athlete, placed first in the Senior Silver Ladies category, earning a spot in the provincials on Mar. 4.

In Preliminary Ladies, Jandzeela Tompkins was fifth in her group, while Lydia Robertson placed sixth in a different group.

In Pre-Preliminary Ladies, once again competing in different groups, Caitlin Patterson was fifth and Jordynn Anderson sixth.

As well, the club brought along newer athletes that compete in the Performance Program. Athletes at that level are given a gold, silver or bronze based on their skating. Maggie Herron, in her first ever competition, won the silver.

Athletes winning bronze include first-timers Georgia Strim, Olivia Hutchinson, Lily MacConnachie and Brennan Riddle, as well as Arabella Ng, Sarah Cull and Eme Leigh.

Next up for the club is the annual Spring Fling in Vancouver.

The team has also started rehearsals for their annual skate show, held every two years. The event will take place in May with the theme Cirque-Ice.

 

Whistler relay details announced

It's been common knowledge since November that the annual Haney 2 Harrison relay and ultra run was moving to Whistler, but this week some new details on the competition have been released by B.C. Athletics.

The event, which runs on Saturday, Nov. 5, is now called the Whistler 50 Relay and Ultra, and will feature a 50-mile (80 km) course. You can do the course as an eight-member relay, or as a solo runner.

Course details are still being worked out, but the rumour is that it's going to be a loop course - no vans or point-to-point details to work out, easy hand-offs for relay team members, and easier aid stations for ultra competitors.

More information will be posted as it comes available at www.bcathleteics.org/Whistler50/

 

Masters GS on Sunday

Skiers 19 and older are invited to come out this Sunday, Feb. 20 for the Masters and Recreational Race - the second of two Masters events planned for the season, including the Peak to Valley warm-up on Jan. 30.

The format is giant slalom, taking place on Whistler Mountain. Early registration is $29 at Guest Relations, and day-of-race registration is available at the trailer at the top of the Garbanzo Chair until 9:45 a.m. for $35.

Masters racers will be ranked according to their combined time, while recreational racers will be ranked by their best time over two runs.

 

Toonie heads to Ski Callaghan

The weekly Whistler Nordics Toonie is picking up stakes tonight (Feb. 17) and moving to Whistler Olympic Park for a race sponsored by the park, Callaghan Country, Salomon, the Scandinave Spa, Bearfoot Bistro and Ryders Eyewear.

The format is a fun criterium race on a short course, where competitors will see how many laps they can compete in a set amount of time.

The sign-on is between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the day lodge, with the race starting at 7 p.m.

The cost is $2 for Whistler Nordics members, and non-members can pay $5 to try the event. Headlamps are mandatory, as the trails will not be lit.

On Feb. 10, the Nordics held a traditional race around Lost Lake Park.

Michael Murdoch won the boys event in 15:20, followed by Sam Johnston in 15:35 and Ian Davidson in 15:53.

Benita Peiffer was the only junior girl in 18:20.

The Whistler Nordics Devo Team created their own category, with Nicki Murdoch leading the way with a time of 25:30 over two laps, followed by Jack Iles in 26:42 and Austin Reith in 26:43.

Matt Bodkin led the men in 27:49, followed by Dave Burch in 28:13 and Duncan Munro in 28:38.

Irene Wood led the women in 39:04, followed by Theresa Oswald in 41:17.

 

Salomon biathlon returns this week

If you've ever wanted to experience the sport of biathlon, then Sunday is your chance.

The second Salomon Biathlon event of the season is taking place on Feb. 20 at Ski Callaghan, inviting the public to take part in a sprint format race. Sign-on is at 1 p.m. and there's a mandatory rifle course at 1:15 p.m.

All participants will do three laps of a three-kilometre course, and will make two stops at the shooting range. Missed shots mean laps at the penalty loop.

There's no timing, so it's first to the finish line.

The race is limited to 100 skiers, and you have to be 14 or older to take part. If you're 14 to 18, you must ski with an adult. The cost is $20, which includes a one-day race licence from the Callaghan Winter Sports Club. All proceeds will go towards the club's youth biathlon programs.

You also need a valid Ski Callaghan trail pass to take part, and skate ski gear - the course is not set for classic.

For more information visit www.salomonbiathlon.blogspot.com.

 

Yeti snowshoe race returns to Whistler

After a few years' absence the Yeti XC snowshoe race is returning to Whistler, or more specifically to the Callaghan Valley and Whistler Olympic Park, for Feb. 19.

The event will include two distances, a 5 km sport race and a 10 km enduro getting underway at 11 a.m., as well as a new duathlon category that is comprised of a 5 km snowshoe followed by a 10 km cross-country ski, followed by another 5 km snowshoe. You can race the duathlon solo or with a partner.

The Yeti has been running for 10 years, and once upon a time included a high-alpine run around Whistler Mountain before a decision was made to use single-track trails on the lower part of the mountain - only to experience one of the lowest snowpacks in Whistler history that winter. The following year the organizers held a successful event at Lost Lake, but the following year the warm weather was an issue once again.

The series kept going and this year The Yeti has events at Mt. Washington (Jan. 29), Whistler (Feb. 19), Cypress (Mar. 12) and Grouse Mountain (Apr. 2).

For more information and registration for the Whistler race, visit www.theyeti.ca. Registration is $45 for solo racers in the snowshoe, $50 for solo races in the duathlon, $40 for members of pairs teams in the duathlon, and $40 each for members of Team of 5 categories in the snowshoe.

 

Segger second in Costa Rica ultra

Squamish's Jen Segger settled for second place with fellow Salomon athlete Monica Aguilera in The Coastal Challenge: Costa Rica, a six-day, 250 km ultra run through the rain forests of Costa Rica with heat, humidity and thousands of feet of vertical gain on some days.

Segger started out with a lead of one minute and 20 seconds after the first stage, then finished day two about 17 minutes behind Aguilera. She made up over three minutes on the third stage, but called a truce on day four after they decided to run the last section together.  They kept the truce alive for the next two days of racing.

Seger finished the race in 29 hours and 15 seconds, about 12 minutes back of Aguilera, who hails from Spain. The next competitor was Luz Perez, another Spanish runner, who finished in 33:38:12.

Complete race reports are posted at www.jensegger.com.

 

Sigge's P'ayakentsut going big

The last time racers went a full 50 km on trails at Whistler Olympic Park, Canada's Devon Kershaw came within a fraction of a second of winning an Olympic bronze medal.

Sigge's P'ayakentsut is being billed as the first big event in the Callaghan since the 2010 Games, with a variety of categories for the main event as well as a number of side events for the nordic community.

The main race includes distances of 5 km, 15 km, 30 km and 50 km. As well, there is a ski cross race for kids 12 to 14, mad dash sprints, team relays, and other fun events for kids aged 5 to 11.

The event takes place on Saturday, Feb. 26, getting underway at 9:30 a.m. Callaghan Valley Cross Country Ski Club is organizing it, with the support of the Squamish Nation, cross-country clubs from Vancouver and Sea to Sky, and other sponsors.

The word "P'ayakentst" is taken from the Squamish Nation, and means "A place to train oneself physically." Historically, the Callaghan Valley was a place where Squamish warriors went to train.

Depending on your category, early bird race entries are $5 to $35 until end-of-day on Feb. 16. Online registration is available until Feb. 24 at www.zone4.ca.

For more information on the race, visit www.payak.com.

 

Last chance to catch the Wolfpack

This weekend marks the end of the Junior B Squamish Wolfpack's third season in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League, and the team's last chance at redemption.

The team has been winless through the month of February, losing their last two games 5-3 to Aldergrove and 8-3 to Delta.

The Wolfpack's record sits at 6-34-0-4, dead last in the Tom Shaw Conference by 37 points. As a result the team will have missed the playoffs for three years running.

It's been a tough road for the Wolfpack. They are in the harder of two PIJHL conferences, which contains two of the top Junior B teams in the province. The Richmond Sockeyes, which won the national Junior B title last season, has a record of 35-5-0-3 after last weekend. The Delta Ice Hawks are in second with a record of 33-9-0-2.

Some of the challenges for the Wolfpack include the lack of Junior B-calibre players in the corridor, the challenge of losing its most talented players to other teams at trade time - or before the start of the season to Junior A teams and colleges and the fact that the team played most of its games in-conference. Most of the team's wins were posted against teams in the Harold Brittain conference. As well, coach Matt Samson has lobbied the league to change the playoff seeding formula; instead of taking the top four teams from each conference he'd like to see the top eight teams overall advance.

There have been a few things worth celebrating. One is the steadily improving play of Whistler's Matt Bonin, a rookie at the Junior B level. After a slow start, Bonin will finish the season with 19 points on eight goals and 11 assists. He's also been the team's top player on the shootout.

Another high point is the fact that the team's stop scorers from the regular season have been sent to other teams - Konrad Sander to Delta, Mico Dragutinovic - and legitimately have a shot at the league, province and national titles.

The team needs support on its final weekend.  Tonight (Thursday, Feb. 17) the team is headed to Richmond. On Saturday, Squamish plays its final game of the season against the Grandview Steelers . The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. at Brennan Park Arena. Tickets are $8, or $5 for seniors and students.