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A summer of events

While the Olympics are a memory that is getting more distant every day, Whistler and Sea to Sky are busier than ever when it comes to events.

While the Olympics are a memory that is getting more distant every day, Whistler and Sea to Sky are busier than ever when it comes to events. Summer is always a busy time, but the summer of 2010 features several new events, as well as the return of a few events after being absent for several years.

First there are the weekly events.

WORCA is hosting 19 Toonie Rides this season, starting on Thursday, May 6 with a rip on Shit Happens. The complete schedule and course list is available at www.worca.com.

WORCA also co-hosts the Phat Wednesday downhill series with the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. It is geared to riders of all levels and abilities. In 2009 they also partnered on three "PhaSt Wednesday" races that were geared to expert riders and featured some of the more challenging trails in the park. More information on those races will be posted online at www.whistlerblackcomb.com/bike.

The Whistler Sailing Club is also planning to bring back its sailing races this year, as well as hosting camps and clinics.

The Whistler Outdoor Volleyball Association is back for a fifth season, with four nights of competitive play. Monday is competitive two-on-two, Tuesday and Friday are recreational co-ed four-on-four, and Thursday is intermediate three-on-three. For more information on registering a team visit www.wova.ca.

The co-ed Whistler Touch Rugby League is also returning this year, inviting teams of seven to 10 members to join and play every Tuesday evening at Whistler Secondary. No experience is required. Registration day was on April 19, but you can contact whistlertouhrugby@gmail.com for more information.

That's a short list of the regular events, and doesn't include spring hockey, slo-pitch, soccer, or any of the other leagues and regular events around Whistler.

As for the event events, the list is longer than ever:

 

May

 

May 9 - Squamish Youth Triathlon - This is the 10 th anniversary for this event and it's completely sold out. Details on the event are at www.squamishlive.ca.

 

May 15 - Ore Crusher - This is a classic mountain bike race with a Lemans-style sprint on foot at the start, followed by multiple laps of a 6 km loop of the Cheekeye Fan trails in Brackendale. While there are no prolonged climbs or descents the course is deceptively tough with long false flats and nowhere to rest from start to finish.

There are categories for ages 12 and up, with racers doing anywhere from one to five laps depending on their category.

The website is www.orecrusher.com.

The Ore Crusher is also the first of five races in the newly minted "Hell of a Series," (www.hellofaseries.ca), which includes the North Shore Bike Fest on June 5, the Test of Metal on June 19, the GearJammer on July 24 and the new "Just Another Bike Race" in Squamish on Aug. 21. You must do at least three of the five races to qualify for a Hell of a Series title, and if you do all five only your top three results will count.

 

May 22 - Crud 2 Mud - This was a classic transition event for years before it was cancelled one year due to the lack of snow on the upper part of the mountain, and then the following year because there was too much snow in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. The event fell by the wayside, but Whistler Blackcomb is reviving it this year for Saturday, May 22.

The event includes an on-mountain giant slalom course for skiers and snowboarders, who will switch to bikes at a transition point that will be decided by the snow line. From there riders will race to the bottom of the mountain on two wheels, with the overall winners in each category decided by the lowest combined time on both sections. You can race solo or as part of a team of two.

For more information visit www.whistlerblackcomb.com/bike and click on the Events tab.

 

May 22 - MOMAR Squamish - This is the fourth year that the Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race Series has held an event in Squamish, combining trekking, trail running, orienteering, mountain biking, rappelling and other skills into a single one-day competition. There are categories for solos, teams of two and teams of four on the full-length 50 km course, and for teams of two on the shorter 30 km course.

For more information visit www.mindovermountain.com.

 

May 29 - Kids of Steel / Tri a Tri - It's online registration only this year for Whistler's entry level triathlon events, the Kids of Steel and Adult Try a Tri. Both events are sanctioned by Triathlon B.C., and start with a swim leg at Meadow Park Sport Centre, followed by a road ride and a run on the Valley Trail. Routes and distances depend on age.

For more information or registration visit www.whistlertriclub.ca.

 

May 29 - B.C. High School Mountain Bike Championships - For the second time since mountain biking was recognized as a high school sport Whistler will be hosting the provincial championships, as well as series race on May 12. Whistler Secondary, with support from Team Whistler and WORCA, is supporting a 20-member Whistler team, which will take on riders from around the province on a course at Lost Lake. More details to come.

 

May 29 - NimbyFifty - This is the first year for this Pemberton mountain bike epic, which weighs in at around 50 km from start to finish. The centerpiece of the trail is the new Big NIMBY climb, which is comprised of 101 switchbacks of 11.2 km. This is a tough race and not recommended for beginners and most intermediates, but should have no trouble selling out the 200 available spots. For more information and registration visit www.nimbyfifty.com.

 

May 29-30 - Fluidride Cup - For the first time ever the Whistler Mountain Bike Park is being featured in the U.S.-based Fluidride Cup downhill series. It's the first of five races in the Technical DH series, with a limit of 250 riders age 13 and over. For more information visit Fluidracing.com.

 

May 30 - Valley Trail Run - This is the 19 th anniversary for the annual Whistler Valley Trail Run, which offers both 5 km and 10 km courses on Lost Lake doubletrack. The race starts and finishes at Spruce Grove. Online registration is available at www.whistlervalleytrailrun.org or in person at the Salomon Store from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, or on Sunday morning at Spruce Grove from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. All proceeds from the event go towards the Youth Community Foundation of Whistler.

 

June

June 19 - Test of Metal - The annual North Shore Credit Union Test of Metal sold out all 1,000 spots in record time this year. The race itself covers 67 km, with over 30 km of singletrack mountain bike trails. It's also the third event of the Hell of a Series. If you weren't one of the people to get through on registration day there is an entire weekend of events including the Mini-Metal, the invitation-only Rockstar downhill and the Rotary Celebrity Challenge.

 

June 26 - The XTC Squamish off-road triathlon returns for a second year with a wide range of categories available for all levels. The more experienced triathletes will do a full-length off-road course that starts off with a leg, moves on to the mountain bike and finishes with a trail run. You can also do a half-distance race if you're not up for the full pull, and there are duathlons in both categories for people that having biking and running but aren't up for the swim. More information is at www.xtcanada.com.

 

June 27 to July 3 - B.C. Bike Race - The organizers completely changed the ride for the fourth edition of the B.C. Bike Race, which is open to teams of two. The organizers have added a Day 0 this year, which is a short rally on the North Shore. Day 1 is Nanaimo, Day 2 is Cumberland, Day 3 is Powell River, Day 4 and 5 are on the Sunshine Coast, Day 6 is Squamish and Day 7 is Whistler, which includes a section of Comfortably Numb, Young Lust and the Green Lake Trail to the Lost Lake area. If you decided not to do the full eight days of racing, the organizers did open up the Whistler leg last year to additional racers. For more information visit www.bcbikerace.com.

 

July

 

July 2-4 - 2010 Whistler Dragon Boat Festival - Back for a third season, the Whistler Dragon Boat Festival is also capitalizing on the Olympic buzz as the Canadian National Dragon Boat Championships. This event is based out of Rainbow Park on Alta Lake, and there are opportunities for Whistler teams to take part.

 

July 8 to 11 - Four Queens mountain bike stage race - The natural transition to the inaugural Four Jacks race in 2009 is the Four Queens in 2010. This is a four-day race that starts off with the July 8 Loonie, heads to the Bike Park on Friday, goes long on Saturday and then technical on Sunday. Registration will get underway some time in mid-May.

 

July 24, 25 - The Gearjammer is one of the most technical local mountain bike epics in Sea to Sky with over 40 km of singletrack on the 52 km course. New this year there will also be a downhill race on the community's new machine-built trail. For more information and a look at the course visit www.gearjammer.ca.

 

July 30 to Aug. 1 - Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival - This is one of the longest running events in Sea to Sky, celebrating its 53 rd anniversary this summer. The schedule of events includes the actual loggers sport show - tree climbing, tree topping, axe throwing, log rolling, etc. - as well as events like chainsaw carve, the bed races, the Squamish Days 10 km run (sanctioned by B.C. Athletics), and the Squamish Days Flashback Mile (also sanctioned). For more information visit www.squamishdays.ca.

 

August

 

Aug. 7-8 - STORMY Trail Race - This local ultra running race has 50 mile (80.5 km) and 100 mile (161 km) categories, as well as a fun 50 mile team relay for teams of up to eight athletes. For more information visit www.stormytrailrace.ca.

 

Aug. 7-13 - Crankworx - There is a full slate of competitions on the list at this year's Crankworx freeride mountain bike festival. The events get underway with the dual slalom on Aug. 7, followed by the Monster Energy Garbanzo Downhill on Aug. 8, the Ken Quon Ride On and B.C. Cup cross-country finals on Aug. 8, the Canadian Open Enduro on Aug. 10, the Air Downhill on Aug. 11, the VW Trick Showdown on Aug. 12, the Giant Giant Slalom on Aug. 13, the Monster Energy Slopestyle on Aug. 14 and the Kona Canadian Open Downhill on Aug. 15. For more information and registration when it opens, visit www.crankworx.com.

 

Aug. 21 - Just Another Bike Race - This is a new event for Squamish, something to fill in the gap between July and September's slate of races. The level of difficulty will be somewhere in between the Test of Metal and GearJammer, which is to say intermediate or harder, and it will weigh in around 40 km. More information is on the Test of Metal website at www.testofmetal.com.

 

Aug. 21 - The annual B.C. 5 Peaks trail running series drops in to the high alpine of Whistler Mountain with two events. There is a short 4.9 km sport course, a 10.6 km enduro course and a 1 km children's challenge. Visit www.5peaks.com.

 

September

 

Sept. 5 - Xterra Canadian Championships - After a long absence Xterra Canada is bringing their off-road triathlon back to Whistler, with the national championships no less. Details are still coming and will be posted online at www.xterracanada.ca as more information becomes available.

 

Sept. 11 - West Side Wheel Up - This annual mountain bike race is a Whistler classic, following a selection of trails off Alta Lake Road to the finish area outside of Rainbow Park. It's about a Loonie Race and a half in length, roughly 12 km, and all proceeds go towards the B.C. Para Alpine Ski Team. More information will be posted at www.worca.com as it becomes available.

 

TBA - Loop The Lakes - There is no information available regarding this Squamish trail run, which offers both 8 km and 15 km courses.

 

Sept. 18 - Cheakamus Challenge - Whether you opt for the full pull - roughly 70 km from Brackendale to Whistler Creek, or the 40 km short course, the Cheakamus Challenge is worthwhile goal to train for over the summer. For more information visit www.cheakamuschallenge.ca.

 

Sept. 19 - Terry Fox Run - You can walk, bike, skate or run either 5 km or 10 km in this annual fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. More information will be announced in August.

 

Sept. 26 - Rubble Creek Classic - This is one of the most breathtaking trail runs in the corridor, spanning the high alpine meadows behind Black Tusk before descending the Rubble Creek trail. The distance is roughly 26 km, but the last 12 km is all downhill. More information at http://escaperoute.ca/rubble/.

 

TBA - Whistler Spirit Run - No date has been announced for the third annual Whistler Spirit Run which takes place at Whistler Olympic Park, but the event typically takes place over two days with a classic 10 km run on Saturday and a sanctioned classic cross-country race on Sunday that involves school, universities, corporate teams and others.

 

October

TBA - Lumpy's Epic Trail Run

 

TBA - WORCA's Halloween Loonie

 

Of course this is the tip of the iceberg. Pique will run this calendar online each week through the summer. Please add your events by contacting sports@piquenewsmagazine.com.