Local Sports

The World Ski and Snowboard Festival has taken snow sports to new extremes in recent years, slapping huge cash prizes on the barrel head, and inviting the top athletes in the world to Whistler to compete for fame, fortune and fun.

The Blackcomb Boys team ran away with last week’s North American Ski Patrol Challenge for the second year in a row, earning 44 points in four patrol-related events on March 27. The Whistler Patrol team tied for second with Big White.

From April 10 to 12, representatives from the top ski schools in the world will converge in Whistler to determine who is the cream of the crop of the cream of the crop at the World Alpine Ski Schools Championships.

Nielson, Ricker on top for Canada Last year Canada’s Jasey-Jay Anderson became the first Canadian to win the overall World Cup snowboard championships. Last week, the 26-year-old from Mt.

Olympic medalists among athletes For years the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival has been luring the top skiers and snowboarders to Whistler in April with the promise of riches, parties, world class contests to compete in, and giant audiences th

The Whistler Mountain Ski Club will provide six of 10 members to the B.C. Team for the upcoming Sierra Wireless Air Canada Whistler Cup, running from April 5 to 7 in Whistler.

The Sierra Wireless Air Canada Whistler Cup is one of the largest and most competitive juvenile race series in the world, attracting hundreds of racers from 21 countries for races which this year will take place April 5 to 7.

The Windermere Whistler Extreme women’s volleyball team came up huge at the Tier 2 Provincial Championships on March 16 against the top teams from Vancouver and Victoria.

Janyk on podium at finals in Nakiska Although she’s just 16 years old, Quebec Ski Team racer Sophie Splawinski has earned a World Cup start bib for next season.

Olympic hopefuls learning to fly and slide The Telus Whistler Sport Centre, which was created as part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Bid’s LegaciesNow program, hit the road this month to recruit future Olympians into ski jumping and luge.