Local Sports

While members of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team are favoured to win most of the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships races this week, the series titles will go to the skiers who participated in four previous competitions.

Nanaimo’s Allison Forsyth, a Whistler Mountain Ski Club alumnus, is coming back to Whistler this week in search of her record sixth straight national giant slalom title.

Five days into the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, Canada sits in ninth in the medal standings out of 22 countries with eight medals; three gold, one silver and four bronze.

The Europa Cup ski race series is widely recognized as the most competitive race tour outside of the World Cup – if you can make it there, you can make it in the big leagues.

The Kokanee Valley Race Series continued on Feb. 28 with a two-run giant slalom on Ross’ Gold. It was a perfect race day: the sky was blue, the temperature was about —6 degrees Celsius, and the snow was hard and fast.

For the past six years Kidsport Whistler has been helping kids and families to participate in sports programs by assisting with the cost of equipment and registration.

Whistler’s Mike Janyk got one step closer to his dream of skiing on the Canadian Alpine Ski Team on Feb. 28 with a ninth place finish in the super-G at the World Junior Championships in Tarvisio, Italy.

The Olympics have ended, the World Junior Championships are finished but the season still goes on. We are now in the last few weeks of the 2001/02 racing season but there are still some big races left, such as the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships.

All Heil, the Little Pepper. Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alberta (known as ‘Little Pepper’ to her teammates) had the mogul run of her young career last Sunday at the freestyle World Cup in Inawashiro, Japan.

Heading into competitions, the Whistler Gymnastics Club is always apprehensive – without a full-time gym to train in, they never know how they are going to stack up against other clubs with superior facilities.