Local Sports

About 40 centimetres of new snow, poor visibility, and winds in excess of 80 kilometres per hour prompted the International Ski Federation to cancel parallel slalom and snowboard cross events at Kaprun, Austria, last weekend.

A faulty space heater is being blamed for the inferno that killed 155 underground cable car riders at Kaprun, Austria last winter, including dual moguls world champion Sandra Schmitt. The two-car funicular (cable car) was 600 metres into the 3.

Injuries, podiums, and the drive to succeed

The Whistler Mountain Ski Club FIS team didn’t know what to expect when they headed to the Rockies last week in search of snow and training opportunities, but the weather beat them there.

Toronto didn’t win its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, and Canadian International Olympic Committee executive Dick Pound – some say the IOC’s saviour – didn’t win his bid to become president.

Canadians finish back in the pack A day after Canadian skiers Allison Forsyth and Genevieve Simard finished second and 15th respectively in a World Cup giant slalom at Copper Mountain, Colorado, the Canadians struggled in the slalom.

The Whistler chapter of the Alpine Club of Canada is holding its annual gear swap at Maurice Young Millennium Place on Dec. 8, from noon to 4 p.m.

Whistler’s FIS team is looking for a place to train, according to the team’s latest newsletter to athletes.

Although ski season is upon us, a group of seasoned Whistler runners took one last kick at the can last weekend, competing in the 18 th annual Go Wireless Fall Classic at UBC campus. There were 5 km, 10 km and half-marathon (21.1 km) races.

Nielsen wins bronze in Snowboard Cross Although the Europeans were strong in all the competitions, Whistler’s own Drew Nielsen managed the only North American medal in Tignes, France on Nov.