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The Whistler Secondary Storm high school mountain bike team earned its first overall title in the North Shore Mountain Bike League standings, with several athletes topping their Grade categories.

The Whistler Secondary Storm high school mountain bike team earned its first overall title in the North Shore Mountain Bike League standings, with several athletes topping their Grade categories.

The team has been building the past two seasons under teacher/coach Dori Faulkner. In 2010 they had 14 competitive racers and attended two events, while in 2011 they had 38 racers and attended every event in the series.

In Grade 8 Boys, Whistler's Austin Reith and Max Peiffer ranked first and second overall at the end of the season. For Grade 8 Girls, Bobbi Douglas was first and Jewel George third.

For Grade 9 Boys, Mahon Lamont was first overall, followed by Jack Iles in second. In Grade 9 Girls, Lauren Doak was first overall. Jennifer McTavish was first in the first three races of the season, but pulled out after breaking her hand playing soccer.

In Grade 11 Girls, Nikki Murdoch was third overall.

Next up for the team is the B.C. High School Mountain Bike Championships in Salmon Arm, which take place this Saturday, May 28.

 

Squamish juniors top North Shore Spring Triathlon

The annual North Shore Spring Triathlon took place on Monday, with a course that is roughly half the distance of an Olympic tri with a 740-metre pool swim, 20 km bike and 5 km run leg.

Whistler's Stephanie Askwith placed fifth out of 23 athletes in Female 25 to 29, completing the course in 1:16:12.

From Squamish, Tanya Hawkings was fourth in Female 35 to 39 in 1:20:05. Heather Sidsworth was fourth in Female 60 to 64 in 1:34:07.

Squamish athletes did particularly well in the youth categories.

Charlotte Ross won the eight-year-old group by five full minutes, swimming 75-metres, biking 5 km and running a kilometre in 23:53.

Linea Uunila was first out of 15 racers in the 9-year-old category in 22:13.

Eli Chappell was second among 12 year olds by two seconds, completing a 100-metre swim, 10 km bike and three kilometre run in 38:30.

 

Volleyball registration day May 31

The Whistler Outdoor Volleyball Association is hosting its annual registration day on Tuesday, May 31 at the Dubh Linn Gate, starting at 6 p.m.

Registration has been underway for several weeks for returning teams, but any available team slots will be open at the registration day. Individual players can also drop by to meet up with teams and find a spot for the summer.

A Division, which is expert two-on-two beach volleyball, plays on Tuesdays at 5:45 p.m. B Division, which is competitive three-on-three, plays Thursdays at 5:45 p.m.

Of the co-ed four-on-four "C" Divisions, C1 plays Mondays at 5:45 p.m. and C2 plays Fridays at 5:45 p.m. C3, if there is enough interest, will play at noon on Mondays.

The new Women's Division will play at noon on Tuesday.

The season gets underway the second week of June and runs through the third week of August - a total of 10 weeks. All games are at Rainbow Park.

The costs range from $120 per team for A Division to $240 per team for C Division, which includes shirts, sand court rentals and a team volleyball.

For more information visit www.wova.ca.

 

Whistler athletes named to B.C. Snowboardcross Team

The B.C. Snowboard Association announced its snowboardcross roster for the 2011-2012 season and three Whistler riders will be joining the squad.

The Whistler riders in the group are Meghan Hebert, Sara Niblock and Pat Tunnicliffe. They will be joining Jade and Tess Critchlow, Shayna Goodwin, Tanner Holland, David and Frederique Joncas, Clinton Pederson, Tommy and Mitch Pitman and Cassie Wreggitt.

The team will compete in amateur events at the provincial and national level, and a few athletes will be competing at the FIS and Nor-Am level. Qualified athletes will also head to the national championships.

 

Red Bull Joyride format announced

The mountain bike slopestyle competition that anchored the Crankworx mountain bike festival is returning on July 23 with a few changes. For one, it's now being called the Red Bull Joyride. For another, the invitation format has changed to ensure that the best riders in the world are represented in the $45,000 contest.

The qualifier event is the Teva Best Trick Showdown and Red Bull Joyride qualifier on July 21, with invitations going out to athletes that meet criteria set by the organizers. The athletes that make it through the qualifier will face a pre-qualified list of 10 riders, including the top six athletes from the 2010 Kokanee Crankworx Slopestyle (Cameron Zink, Mike Montgomery, Kelowna's Casey Groves, Kelly McGarry, Sam Dueck and Yannick Granieri) and the top four athletes from the Freeride Mountain Bike Association world tour (Whistler's Brandon Semenuk, Vancouver Island's Darren Barrecloth, Martin Soderstrom and Sam Pilgrim).

For more, visit www.crankworx.com.

 

4X4 Rally comes to Pemberton

For two days, a patch of ground beside the Green River Motocross Track will be shredded and shredded again by some seriously knobby tires at the Pemberton Off Road Rebels' 4X4 Rally.

The event takes place June 4 and June 5, with Hill Climb, Mud Bog and All Terrain competitions getting underway at 10 a.m. each day. Admission is $10 and there will be a beer garden and food for spectators.

The space is beside the Green River Motocross Track, about 20 km north of Whistler on the west side of Highway 99.  There is no camping and ATVs and dogs are not allowed.

 

Ante Up returns to Whistler

Whistler's only five-star event on the TTR World Snowboard Tour this year is the Billabong Ante Up, presented by Von Zipper, which will take place on Canada Day, July 1, on the top of Whistler Mountain.

The sponsors are bringing a cash purse of $50,000, and TTR tour points are up for grabs. It's also a qualifying event for the 6Star Billabong Innsbruck Air and Style event in February 2012, and should draw some pretty big names.

The format is big air, with plans to build a 90-foot jump outside the Roundhouse. Spectators are welcome to watch and it's free to watch if you have a lift ticket.

"Holding this event at the top of Whistler Mountain on Canada Day, July 1 is the perfect timing and spot for a summer snowboard event," said Billabong's marketing director Risto Scott. "With the world's best snowboarders at the world's best four season resort, and the excitement of a Canadian national holiday, what better way to spend it than on top of Whistler Mountain watching the riders throw down."

More info and registration details are online at www.billabong.com/anteup.

 

Triathlons this weekend

Registration wrapped up on Tuesday for the annual Kids of Steel and Adult Try-a-Tri triathlons hosted by the Whistler Tri Club, so if you missed the date there's always next year. The organizers are still looking for volunteers to help out with the event, taking place this Saturday, May 28 at Meadow Park. As well, drivers and cyclists in the area should be aware that there's an event going on.

The pool will be closed for the event for a few hours Saturday morning, with the first swim heats getting underway at 8:15 a.m.

There's a short bike loop for kids aged 8 to 11 on Rainbow Drive, Buckhorn Drive and Camino Drive, and a longer out-and-back bike course on Alta Lake Road for older competitors. As well, the run legs are out-and-back on the Valley Trail from Meadow Park.

It takes a lot of people power to organize and marshall an event. If you can volunteer, email wtc_vollies@yahoo.ca. The longest shifts start at 7 a.m. and finish for 1 p.m.

 

Whitecaps development team playing match in Whistler

The Vancouver Whitecaps women's development program will face off against its archrivals, the CaliBlues, at Myrtle Philip on June 24, inviting all soccer players and fans to come out and watch. Details are still to be announced, but the Whitecaps and the Whistler Youth Soccer Association have a long-standing relationship with friendly games and camps, and the Whitecaps are making an effort to host games around the province to build support for a club that is aiming to be one of the top 20 clubs in the world.

More information will be posted as it becomes available at www.whistlersoccer.com.