Local Sports

The most popular mountain bike race in Canada was maybe a little too popular this year, as technical problems surfaced early on in the online registration and slowed things to a crawl until organizers pulled the plug 18 hours later.

Canada’s Ski Cross team kicked off its season at the World Cup opener at St. Johann, Austria on Monday, with a huge number of international athletes vying for quota spots in the 2010 Games.

Whistler Olympic Park is gearing up to host three back-to-back World Cup competitions and Olympic test events, which will run over 10 days from Jan. 16 to. 25.

It didn’t take long for Whistler’s Michael Janyk to find his groove in slalom, after missing most of last season with a back injury.

Squamish Wolfpack take on Port Moody Black Panthers Friday

Women’s technical team starting to score points

Canada’s hopes for an Olympic medal in men’s cross-country skiing got another boost at the World Cup in Oberhof, Germany on Sunday, Dec. 28, as Sudbury, Ontario’s Devon Kershaw climbed the podium in the men’s 15 km classic double pursuit race.

With all 200 locals registration spots being snapped up in just over two hours earlier in December, that leaves 800 spots for everyone else in the 2009 Test of Metal. Registration gets underway at 6 p.m. on Jan.

Three World Cup events over 10 days

The first King of the Rail jam of the season took place under the lights on Dec. 27 with a solid turnout of 71 participants, probably twice as many spectators, great snow, and a slightly different selection of rails.