Whistler’s Brad Lennea is giving up the Canadina Para-Alpine Ski Team and a chance to compete at home in 2010, according to Alpine Canada.
Lennea said it was a difficult decision to make, but necessary.
“I have a problem with my back and I have been thinking about retiring for a while,” said the 36-year-old sit skier, who finished 11 th in the Paralympic downhill in Torino in 2006. “It’s really hard to deal with that and keep up a regular training and travel routine.
“Just training or competing alone is really hard on my body physically and I just kind of decided that it would be best for me to slow down and take it easy.”
Lennea could not be reached, as he was selected to be a torch bearer for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing this week, but said he was interested in staying involved on the coaching side.
The Para-Alpine team also announced the departure of Emily Glossop, who has guided visually impaired skier Kathleen Forestell the past four seasons. Forestell plans to keep competing.
This year the IPC Para-Alpine World Cup season wraps up in Whistler with events March 11-13.
Women’s hockey draft on Sept. 11
The Whistler Women’s Hockey League is hosting its annual draft on Thursday, Sept. 11, inviting women who have some experience and are looking to join a team for the season.
The draft runs from 8 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. Sign-on is at 8 p.m., followed by drills and a scrimmage from 8:15 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. Teams will draft players from 9:15 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.
Annual fees range from $250 to $350, depending on team sponsorship, and games take place from late September to late March. All levels of players are welcome to try out, but participants should know how to skate, have a good understanding of the game, and have full equipment. There is no cost to try out.
Players should pre-register by emailing Tim Houlihan at houli32@hotmail.com.
Bobsleigh, skeleton recruitment camps this weekend
The B.C. Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association will be hosting three recruitment camps in the Sea to Sky corridor this weekend in their search to find athletes who meet the physical requirements to race in these two sliding sports.
Athletes will receive dryland physical testing, including short sprints, leg hops, sled pulls and vertical jumps. Athletes that make the cut will have a chance to train with the team and get some time at the Whistler Sliding Centre this winter.
The Squamish camp is on Friday, Sept. 5 at 3 p.m., Brennan Park Recreation Centre. The Whistler Camp is on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 9 a.m., Meadow Park Sports Centre. The Pemberton camp is on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 9 a.m. at Signal Hill Elementary School.
Strut Your Stuff gets kids into sport
Getting kids registered for sports and activities is a lot
easier than it used to be at the Strut Your Stuff one-stop community
registration fair. This year the fair is on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Myrtle Philip
Community School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Parents can register their children for fall and winter
activities, talk to representatives from community programs, trade-in and
purchase sports gear and clothing, and watch sport displays.
Parents with lower incomes can also apply for KidSport grants
that can help cover the cost of registering kids for accredited sports and
activities in the community.
Groups at KidSport include the Whistler Minor Hockey
Association, the Whistler Skating Club, the Whistler Nordics, Whistler
Gymnastics Club, Whistler Children’s Choir, Whistler Mountain Ski Club,
Whistler-Blackcomb ski and snowboard programs, the squash club, the tennis club,
and others.
If your community group wants to host a table at Strut Your Stuff this year, contact the RMOW Community Life Department at 604-935-8350. The cost is $20 for non-profit and community service groups, and $30 for commercial service groups and suppliers.
