Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Chabot, Williams reign at King of the Rail

WORCA bike swap set for May 7

Chabot, Williams reign at King of the Rail

The fourth and final King of the Rail competition presented by Showcase took place on Saturday at the base of Whistler. There was another good crowd of skiers and riders for the event, with a selection of rails and boxes to jib.

As always, the winner of each category was decided by the athletes themselves after an extended jam session under the lights. Cash prizes were handed out based on the number of skiers/riders in each group.

Nicholas Marcoux topped the Snowboard Male 1 and Over category, winning $100.

Max Morello won the Ski Male 16 and Over category, plus $50.

Luke Smart topped the Ski Male 15 and Under group, winning $20.

Winning $15 each were Annabelle Blake in Ski Female 16 and Over and Christine Williams in Snowboard Female 16 and Over.

Olivier Chabot and Christine Williams were also voted King and Queen of the Rail.

The biggest winners were the ones who took home draw prizes. Patrick Duval won a pair of Atomic skis, Andy Noga won a Burton snowboard, and Drew Wilson took the Nintendo Wii.

 

Small turnout for Park Rider Sessions halfpipe

Fresh snow generally spells death for local events, and Sunday's Park Rider Sessions presented by Telus was no exception with a handful of athletes turning out to ride the superpipe.

Finn Finestone competed in Snowboard Boys 13 and Under.

Cowan Cumming was first in Ski Boys 13 and Under, followed by Kian Moayeri.

J.C. Heckman was first in Male Ski 14 to 16, followed by Tim Ravenna and Graham Williams.

 

Cold, wet race for Team Whistler

The Escape Velocity Spring Series was anything but this past weekend, with temperatures just above freezing, 80 km winds and freezing rain from start to finish of the race.

Team Whistler riders Trevor Hopkins and newcomer Jean-Phillipe Boulais took part, with Hopkins going close 90 km in B category, and Boulais going 60 km.

Hopkins stayed with the lead group until he threw his chain, and ran out of road while trying to catch up. He ended up in 15th place overall.

"I tried desperately to bridge the gap solo for about 12 km but couldn't catch up," wrote Hopkins. "Four other riders caught up to me and we worked together to just finish the race. I ended up about 15th place. I was happy to be finished. I was so cold I couldn't feel my fingers."

Boulais raced in C grade, his second road race ever, and despite a slow start he managed to bridge up the lead pack. He got dropped again while trying to conserve energy for the final sprint, and the winds made it impossible to catch up. However, he stayed with the chase pack to place roughly 20th overall. With the huge number of riders, only the top riders are given places and times.

 

Local riders contend at Junior Freestyle Nationals

While Canada's national team athletes dominate at the World Cup level, the next wave of athletes is working its way up through the system. The level of talent was on display this past weekend at Marmot Basin, which hosted 140 athletes from seven provinces in Canada Post Junior Nationals.

In the F2 category (ages 16 to 18), Pemberton's Yuki Tsubota placed second in the opening Big Air contest, while Nicola Halliwell was fourth. Taylor Wilson was 22nd in the M3 (ages 14 to 15) group, while Mitchell Wilson was second in the M4 (ages 12 to 13) category.

In slopestyle, Yuki Tsubota moved up to first in F2 and Taylor Wilson was fourth in M3. There were no M4/F4 categories in this event.

In moguls, Yuki Tsubota placed third and Nicola Halliwell fifth in F2. Sophie McGregor was ninth in F3, Brandon Woods was 15th in M2, Brenden Kelly was 10th in M3, Mitchell Wilson was fourth in M4.

In dual moguls, Yuki Tsubota and Nicola Halliwell were third and fourth in F2.

In F3, Sophie McGregor placed 10th. In M3, Brenden Kelly hung in through five rounds to place third overall.

 

Toonie races go into extra innings

With a huge amount of snow on the ground, the Whistle Nordics have added a race to their schedule. Tonight (Mar. 17) the Whistler Nordics are hosting a special ski orienteering race sponsored by the Wild Wood Bistro, Scandinave Spa and Ryders Eyewear.

Although it's light out until later, headlamps are recommended. Otherwise, participants follow maps around Lost Lake to find all the control points.

Registration is from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. at Lost Lake PassivHaus, with the race getting underway at 6:15 p.m. The after-party is at the Wild Wood.

You need to be a member of the Whistler Nordics to take part, although a one-time $5 try-a-toonie registration is available.

 

Registration underway for "The Show"

Registration for the The Show: A Snowboarding Event got underway on Monday, Mar. 14, with roughly 200 spots available to the public for the five-day event, April 15 to April 19.

The Show, sponsored by Monster Energy, is filling the gap left by the Grenade Games in the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival calendar, bringing back the moguls/style competition, launching a new combination snowboardcross and slopestyle event, and staging an elimination/last man or woman standing halfpipe contest. You can do all three events or pick-and-choose based on your interests.

All of the Grenade Games events sold out, and The Show is also limited to 300 riders per event - with roughly 100 spots already held for returning riders, sponsored riders and so on.

Early registration is recommended and available online at www.wssf.com/monster-show-athlete-registration.

 

Showdown throws down on Saturday

The annual Showcase Showdown constantly reinvents itself, but the 2011 edition on Saturday, Mar. 19 will be familiar to the 2010 event for participants.

The name of the game is three trick slopestyle, with 80 participants competing in two groups to decide who advances to the afternoon finals. The middle trick is a jump feature where competitors can face off in the Samsung Best Tweak competition, and the bottom of the course will feature a "skate inspired re-entry feature."

The theme for this year is Superbowl, and all of the features will have a football tie-in - the top rail setup is being called the Linebacker, followed by the Field Goal gap jump and finishing with the Quarterback Sneak quarterpipe.

The event will also kick off again with the Vans pancake breakfast and on-mountain food and drinks will be available at the Forum Bar-B-Q. Post-Showdown festivities are hosted by Thirtytwo at Merlin's, with $5,000 in cash and prizes for the top men and women.

Sponsors include Showcase, Burton, Forum, Bonfire, Quiksilver, Ride, Vans, Kokanee, Red Bull, Nature Valley, Nintendo, Camp of Champions, Merlins and the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation.

Registration is available at the Showcase village store for $60, and bib pickup and registration is at Merlin's - along with the pancakes - from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday. Spots are limited so early registration is strongly recommended.

For more information visit www.showcasesnowboards.com.

This Saturday there will be a Showcase Progression Session for riders looking to tune up their skills for the contest. The price is $99 for a full day with top Whistler coaches, focusing on park and pipe riding. That price includes the camp, lunch, discounts at Showcase and an Apres party at Merlins. For more information visit www.whistlerblackcomb.com/snowschool/adults/camps/showcase/.

 

Date set for bike swap

The Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association is hosting its annual bike swap on May 7 this year, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Whistler Olympic Plaza.

Last year's swap sold over 150 bikes and hundreds of other gear items, raising $12,000 for the WORCA's youth programs. That includes support for the high school team, 10 weeks of WORCA youth dirt camps, youth toonie nights, the Lumpy Leidal Award, and more.

More details will be announced in April, but drop-off will be between 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.

 

Hockey Teams bring home banners

Hockey seasons are wrapping up and so far two Whistler teams have added banners to the growing collection at Meadow Park.

The Whistler Bantam girls' hockey team won the Flight 3 Playoffs last week with a 3-1 win over Burnaby. The team placed second to Burnaby in the regular season standings, guaranteeing that they wouldn't face each other until the finals. Before the finals the best Whistler managed was a tie.

Whistler got on the board first with a pair of goals early in the first period, and never let go of the lead. Burnaby scored a power play goal in the second period, but Whistler answered back in the third to put the game out of reach.

The team was comprised of goalie Hunter Proall, forwards Sammy Knapton, Sydney Knapton, Jenya Nordin, Alexandra Mann, Kristina Bell, Jewel George, Mackenzie Sharpe, Siobhan van Gruen, Sydney Jackson and Lauren McIvor, and Jennifer McTavish, Bobbie Douglas, Averi Willis and Georgia Astle on defence.

On the boys' side, the Whistler Peewee C1 team played a 14 game season and finished with a record of 11 wins, three ties and no losses. That was the best record in the league and the team finished with league banner for the regular season.

The team was set to add a playoff banner to the collection, but suffered its first loss in the first round of the playoffs. The team went on to win the next three games, but the one loss put them in a tie at the end of the playoffs with the team that beat them, which prevented them from making the finals. The end result was a record of 14 wins, three ties and one loss.

The team was comprised of Kobe Burton, Ethan Gottschalk, Liam Gottschalk, Kolt Hoyle, Matt Davis, Jack Douglas, Anders Farr, Jonah Regan, Isabel Peters, Charles Wetaski, Hugh Horler, Adam Bell, Thomas Rozsypalek and Zac Davis. Dan Davis was the head coach, and assistant coaches were Tim Regan and Jamey Farr.