Today, Thursday, March 8, is the last day for athletes to put their name in the lottery to compete at Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival Stompede or Superpipe events.
Visit www.whistler2007.com , click on either the Old Spice Snowboarding Classic or World Skiing Invitation, and look for the link to the lottery or invite request. Invited athletes will be confirmed by March 12, and the lottery will take place at the same time.
King of the Rail’s final coronation
The sixth and final King of the Rail contest of the season takes place this Saturday night, under the lights at the base of Blackcomb. All skiers and snowboarders are welcome to come out and jib the rails one last time, with fellow athletes casting votes for the winner.
The cost is $5 with a valid Night Moves lift pass, and registration gets underway after 5 p.m. in the Blackcomb Daylodge. The contest will run from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., followed by an after party with free food and refreshments, the presentation of cash prizes to the top skiers and boarders in each category, and the draw prizes.
Helmets are mandatory, and mouthguards and other protective equipment are strongly recommended.
Master Series wraps up Sunday
The Masters Recreational Race series wraps up this Sunday, March 11 with a giant slalom on Whistler Mountain. Advance registration is available for $20 at Whistler-Blackcomb Guest Relations, and for $25 on the day of the race on top of the Garbanzo Chair.
All participants will get two runs of the course, and can enter either the racer or sport division. The racer division will be decided by the best cumulative time, while only the best of two runs will count in the sport category.
There will be video playback at the awards, which take place at 3:30 p.m. in the Whistler Mountain Ski Club cabin in Creekside. All participants are eligible to win draw prizes, including a pair of Atomic skis.
Sports organizations opposing marijuana testing
One of Canada’s leading drug testing officials joined sports organizations in Great Britain and The Netherlands in calling for the removal of marijuana from the banned substances list — not to condone the drug, but rather to acknowledge that it is not considered performance enhancing while diverting time and resources away from testing for other substances.
According to Joseph de Pencier of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, athletes have to show a level of marijuana in their systems that indicates regular use before they can be punished — something that has yet to occur. Meanwhile, testing for marijuana makes it harder to test for things like steroids and performance enhancing drugs.
The World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, says it has no plans to change the rules anytime soon. They feel it is a performance-enhancing drug for some athletes who want to calm their nerves, and is an unethical and illegal drug in most countries. Athletes should set an example.
Whistler’s Ross Rebagliati tested positive for marijuana in 1998 following his gold medal win, but an attempt to take his medal failed due to the fact that competing FIS and IOC rules were not harmonized.
For the record
In last week’s story about the Whistler Mountain Ski Club’s K1 team at Grouse, we inadvertently left Kaylie Higgs out of the results. She placed third in the first slalom, third in the second slalom and second in the third slalom.
Also, in our coverage of the Lost Lake Shuffle, we credited Erina Davidson as being part of the third place Go Go Girls, when in fact it was Erin Davidson.
Our apologies to Kaylie and Erin.
