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Sports briefs

Locals in Burnaby 5 Peaks

The second event in the B.C. 5 Peaks trail running series took place this past Saturday on the trails surrounding Simon Fraser University, with a 9.8 km enduro course and a 6.3 km sport course.

In the Enduro category, Whistler's Mike Conway placed 11th overall out of 160 racers with a time of 51:02. He was also fifth in the Male 30 to 39 category.

Duncan Munro was 22nd overall and 11th out of 40 runners in the same group with a time of 55:37.

Barry McClure was 36th overall and second in Male 50 to 59 in 58:30. In the same category Walter Wallgram was third in 1:00:32.

Gillian Woodward was 11th in Female 30 to 39 in 1:13:17.

From Squamish, Helen Spencer was 59th overall and third in Female 20 to 29 in 1:02:57.

The third event in the series is at Mt. Seymour on July 23, followed by the Whistler event on Aug. 20. For more information visit www.5peaks.com.

 

Registration open for Betty vs. Veronica

Registration for the inaugural, women's only Betty vs. Veronica race opened on June 15 on the WORCA website, www.worca.com.

The core of the Betty vs. Veronica race is a two-part event: a race down the blue Crank It Up run on Whistler mountain in the morning and a 15 km bike race on Whistler west side trails in the afternoon - most of it blue with a few black sections thrown in. All of the participants will be competing for themselves, but will also be divided into two teams after answering a questionnaire to determine whether they'll race with Team Betty or Team Veronica. Teams will be balanced, and the winning team is decided on a points system rather than by cumulative time.

The cost is $60 for WORCA members, and a jersey will be available for $25. Registration is limited to 180 riders.

The after-party will be at the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre with live music, silent auction and other festivities, with the proceeds of the event going towards the Howe Sound Women's Centre - and the creation of a Whistler Women's Centre in the fall of 2011.

For more, visit www.worca.com.

 

WORCA's next rides, trail days

Tonight, (June 16), the weekly WORCA Toonie Ride is hosted by Garbanzo Bike and Bean and the GLC with a ride in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. Check-in is at 5:30 p.m. at the Bike and Bean, and the race gets underway at 6:30 p.m.

As always, you need to be a member of WORCA to take part and pay a $2 entry fee. Online registration is encouraged at www.worca.com, but you can also register in person at the start. The cost is $45 for an adult plus $2 for the race. Youth memberships are $25 and children 12 and under are $15.

The following week (June 23) the ride is sponsored L'ecole La Passerelle, Scandinave Spa, Crepe Montagne and Dairy Queen as Whistler's French Canadian community celebrates Saint Jean-Baptiste Day. The ride will be unique with a special kids race as well as a course through Lost Lake for everyone else.

The event also includes a crepe and an entry to the Spa, while kids get a hot dog and ice cream at Dairy Queen.

And, as a L'ecole La Passerelle tradition, the course will be marked with words in French and English to teach riders some French words as they go.

WORCA will also be hosting a trail day this Saturday, June 18, sponsored by Whistler Community Church. Volunteers can meet at 9 a.m. at Myrtle Philip Community School, and will head off to work on various projects around the valley including Tunnel Vision and Cut Yer Bars. Come prepared to work outside (lotion, bug spray, good boots and jeans and bring whatever tools you have - clippers, loppers and hand saws. Whistler Community Church will provide lunch.

If you're interested in sponsoring a trail maintenance day over the summer, email info@worca.com.

 

Running clinics take on cancer

The Core and trainer John Blok are hosting a series of running clinics starting Tuesday, June 14 and continuing through the summer, with the proceeds going towards the Sears Great Canadian Run - The Relay to End Kids Cancer. The runs take place at 7:30 a.m. and will last an hour. Each run will be different, like runs to mid-station on Whistler, trail intervals, pace line running and barefoot running on grass. Participation is by donation, meeting at The Core at 7:15 a.m. Parking is free in the parking lot until 10 a.m.

 

Whistler soccer team in the running for BMO award

The Whistler F.C. is looking for the support of its community in winning the BMO Soccer Team of the Week contest.

The promotion, run by Bank of Montreal, lets parents and coaches nominate teams between U8 and U13 categories on the basis of team spirit, passion for the game, community involvement and team pride. For 15 weeks, BMO will pick a winner, which will receive team tracksuits, $500 for team costs and $500 more to donate to a team's charity. The 15 finalists also have an opportunity to win $125,000 in soccer improvements for their community fields and facilities.

Coaches Andrew Ellott and Mike Tomcheck nominated their U12 girls team, which won the North Shore Community Cup in 2010 despite coming to the eight-on-eight tournament with just nine players. The team plays practices indoors in between seasons and makes the most of short spring and fall seasons to train outdoors.

To cast a vote in support of the team, visit http://community.bmo.com/soccer/ and look for the Team of the Week link. Once there, enter "Whistler" into the Team Finder window to support Whistler F.C.

 

STORMY 2011 cancelled

The 2011 edition of the STORMY ultra trail run and relay was cancelled last week due to unspecified "permitting challenges," according to a post by Ryne Melcher on the official website, www.stormytrailrace.ca.

This would have been the 11th year for the run, which features a 50-mile (80-km) solo race and a 50-mile team relay. It was originally called the "Squamish Test of Running Metal-Yeah!" as the first editions of the race followed the

 

PVTA raising funds

The Pemberton Valley Trails Association is hosting its second annual fundraiser on Saturday, June 18 at the Pemberton Community Centre. The fun starts at 8 p.m. with a silent auction, t-shirt sales, updated map sales, a slide show by Johnny Foon, door prizes, beer garden and more. Tickets are $10 in advance at the Whistler and Pemberton Bike Co. and $15 at the door.

Funds go towards building and maintaining trails in the Pemberton area.

 

Crankworx 2012 dates announced

It's never too early to start planning, especially if you're organizing one of the biggest mountain bike and freeride festivals in the world.

This week Whistler Blackcomb confirmed that Crankworx, which has jumped around in past years, would be moving back into the August timeslot in 2012, with 10 days of events from Aug. 10 to 19.

This year's festival takes place July 15 to 24. Registration is still available for most of the events at www.crankworx.com.