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WORCA swap pulls in $110,000

Great turnout for annual bike swap

Despite the late date and delay, over 150 people were in line Saturday morning for the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association's annual bike swap.

The total sales were slightly below the record set last year, but all told roughly 350 items were sold including a few bikes priced over $3,000. The total sales were just over $110,000, with WORCA raising between $12,000 and $13,000 for youth programs.

"It was a little different this year being later in the year, although it was certainly warmer for the volunteers," said Craig Mackenzie, WORCA's youth director. "All the local bike companies that support us so well had three more weeks to sell their own demo bikes from last year so the number of bikes was down a little. Last year we had around 320 bikes for sale and this year we opened in the 290 range."

The proceeds from the event go towards WORCA's youth programs. Most of the funding will subsidize WORCA's Youth Dirt Camps, which are available for $175 for a full week of coaching. The camps went on sale on May 17 and by Tuesday, May 24 over half the spots had sold.

There will be nine weeks of camps this year. For kids aged 6 to 9, the camps are the week of July 4, July 11, July 25, Aug. 8 and Aug. 22. For youth aged 10 to 12 and 13 to 15 there are camps the week of July 18, Aug. 1, Aug. 15 and Aug. 29. Each camp is capped at 31 participants, with a five-to-one ratio of riders to coaches. Participants need to be WORCA members and have a working bike with gears and front and rear handbrakes. A complete rundown of equipment and parent information is online at www.worca.com.

As well as the camps, WORCA purchased shirts for the high school team this year, and will be hosting youth Toonie Ride nights through the summer for families with younger children learning to ride bikes. WORCA also gives out the Lumpy Leidal Award and Scholarship each year to a young rider who is involved in competitive racing and shows other qualities such as sportsmanship and dedication to mountain biking.

 

Toonie Ride heads to bike park

Tonight's Toonie Ride (May 26) is sponsored by Summit Sports and Whistler Golf Club, and will likely involve an uphill/downhill ride in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. Sign-in will be outside Summit Sports behind the Carleton Lodge, and the après party is at the Whistler Golf Course.

Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. and the race gets underway at 6:30 p.m. You need a membership to take part, and online registration is encouraged to keep the lineups short at sign-in. The cost is $2 to enter.

The June 2 ride is sponsored by Whistler Chiropractic, Team Whistler and Uli's Flipside, with a sign-in in Function Junction and race on west-side trails.

For more information visit www.worca.com.