Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Volleyballers make it to Tier 1

The Whistler Powder women’s volleyball team succeeded in making Tier 1 of the B.C. Volleyball Association’s March Madness Tournament in Burnaby this past weekend, a first for the team.

The Whistler Powder women’s volleyball team succeeded in making Tier 1 of the B.C. Volleyball Association’s March Madness Tournament in Burnaby this past weekend, a first for the team.

“We’ve played well in pool play in the past, but always end up in the Tier 2 consolation bracket,” said Carlee Howell. “Finally, this time our hard work and talent on the court paid off.”

Stacked against the top women’s teams in the province in the playoffs, Powder faced Gun Show in their first round. They split the first two games, but Powder lost in the tiebreaker and went on to place fifth overall in the tournament.

The team will be training with coach Lloyd Adams for the next couple of weeks before heading to the provincials on March 29.

 

Team Whistler off to a flying start

Team Whistler, a local group of road and trail riders, entered its first competition this past Sunday in the first race of the Team Escape Velocity Spring Series at Langley.

It was a wild weekend, with stops in the Novice and A-group races due to crashes in other groups.

“It was simply too dangerous for us to keep the other races going with ambulances and riders down on the course,” said organizers. “We are sorry that the A and novice riders didn’t get to finish, but it was the right call to make in order to prevent further chaos.”

In the C category, Team Whistler’s Jen Tabbernor placed third in the group.

In the B category, Tony Routley was sixth and Jody Edgar 10 th .

In his first road race, Todd Allison managed to miss the crashes and was getting ready to finish his first race in the C category when the left side of the Peloton went down in front of him. About 15 riders went down, but Alison made it to the finish.

In the B group, Team Whistler’s Mike Boehm went down in the final sprint but was uninjured.

Whistler’s Will Routley, racing for Team Symmetrics, tangled with other riders in the A group, and was also forced to withdraw from the race when his fork was damaged in the crash.

There’s no explanation for all the crashes, with dry conditions on the course. Early season over-excitement on the part of the riders, combined with rusty skills, are the likely suspects.

The next two races in the Spring Series are this weekend, March 8-9.

 

Minor baseball looking for new leadership

Laura Wetaski, a local coach and president of the Whistler Minor Baseball Association since 2000, is stepping down from her position and inviting members of the community to get involved with minor baseball in Whistler.

According to Wetaski, the right candidate is someone with energy and a passion for the sport, with no experience necessary.

“We are fortunate to have the (Resort Municipality of Whistler) as a partner and with Pemberton Little League on the rise, combined with a strong relationship with Squamish Minor Baseball, there continues to be great baseball opportunities for kids in Whistler,” said Wetaski.

If you are interested in volunteering time and energy to minor baseball, call Laura Wetaski at 604-932-2007.

 

Two spots left for B.C. Bike Race

The seven day B.C. Bike Race, which is in its second year, has sold 478 of the 480 spots available this year, and is hosting a contest for the last two spots for May 18. You can register online at www.bcbikerace.com.

The race will cover approximately 480 km of road and trail, getting underway in Victoria on June 28, and wrapping up in Whistler on July 4. The course is a little different this year with organizers adding more singletrack to the mix, as well as a day of riding in Squamish.

 

The Core hosts Test of Metal classes

Riders signed up for the 67 km Test of Metal in June will get a chance to pre-ride sections of the course indoors, thanks to an eight-week training camp put together by The Core in Whistler.

The Core has divided the race into eight sections, which participants will practice riding on stationary bikes to be familiar with the amount of climbing required. Each ride is about 45 minutes long, plus off-bike exercises to build strength, and discussions of what nutrition will be required for each section.

Following the eight weeks of riding, there will be an optional ride through the actual racecourse.

Dates and registration details will be announced next week.

 

Crowning the Queen of the Rail

This Saturday, as part of the Charge of the Goddess women’s festival, Whistler-Blackcomb will once again host its Queen of the Rail competition at the base of Blackcomb.

The event is open to female skiers and boarders of all ages, and will be judged by the participants themselves.

Registration gets underway at 5 p.m. at Whistler Kids, and the contest runs from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. under the lights. The cost is $15, with some of the entry fees going back to the top riders in each category.

All participants are eligible to win draw prizes, including items from Showcase Snowboards, Glacier Shop, Atomic, Nintento, Telus, DNA and others.

 

More trouble for WHA, but Squamish attracting interest

The World Hockey Association ramped up its playoff schedule earlier than expected for the second straight year, with the Squamish Cougars firmly in fourth place behind the Oliver Jets, Armstrong Sharks and Lumby Fighting Saints. The Cougars are the stingiest team in the league defensively, but are second to last in the league for goals scored.

While nobody is sure what the future will be for the WHA and the Junior West Hockey League, it seems that there is interest in the Squamish community from other leagues if the Cougars should fold. The Pacific International Junior Hockey League is reportedly in discussions with Squamish, as is the B.C. Hockey League.

 

Mushers in the medals

A group of Whistler dogsled teams took part in the annual Caledonia Classic Dog Sled Sprint Race this past weekend, racing across a frozen lake near Fort St. James.

All of the teams were from Whistler Doglsedding, and more used to mountain trails than frozen lakes, but all five local teams managed to finish in the top-10.

Richard Critterden placed third in the 10-dog, 10-mile race (16 km), while Chris Coghlan was third in the 6-dog, 6-mile category.

Nico Hazel was fourth in the 4-dog, 4-mile race, while Same Decoste and Will Jackson were sixth and seventh in the same category.

“It was like running on Green Lake,” said Critterden. “Here we have trails that we follow but there it was an open lake with a shallow snowmobile track. At first the dogs really didn’t know where to go. By the second day they were awesome.”

Racers competed on both days, and the winners were the teams with the lowest combined time.