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Look back and ahead in sports

Whistler hosts test events in 2006

The fact that 2006 is an Olympic year, and that the next Winter Games in 2010 will have events in Whistler, doesn’t seem to have been lost on anybody. Canadians spent the last year trying to qualify for 2006, and a younger generation of athletes has started training in earnest for 2010.

For Whistler, it’s a busy time. At least five Whistler athletes – snowboarders Crispin Lipscomb, Maëlle Ricker, Justin Lamoureux, Mercedes Nicoll, and skier Mike Janyk – have already qualified to represent Canada in Torino, Italy in February, and there’s a good chance that a few others will make the cut as well, or fill in for injured teammates.

Whistler also hosted a Vancouver Canucks training camp this summer, and so far at least eight players from their roster have been selected to compete on their Olympic teams. For Canada, Todd Bertuzzi and Ed Jovanovski were selected by team manager Wayne Gretzky.

For Team Finland, Jarkko Ruutu and Sami Salo made the cut.

But it’s the Swedish roster that will borrow the most Canucks, with Markus Naslund, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, and Mattias Ohlund heading to Italy.

This year Whistler also hosted a game between the B.C. Breakers and Calgary Oval Extreme of the Western Women’s Hockey League. Most of the Olympic players on those teams were still at a tournament against the U.S. team, but at least four Oval Extreme players were selected this year for the Olympic women’s team – Colleen Sostorics, Cassie Campbell, Danielle Goyette and Hayley Wickenheiser.

The top players may not have been in Whistler this year, but all of them were here the year before including Team U.S.A. captain Cammi Granato.

Whistler has also hosted a few Olympic qualifying events. In the past 12 months we’ve had the FIS Snowboard World Championships (January) and a FIS Snowboard World Cup (December).

The mountains also hosted the Sierra Wireless Whistler Cup, which helped Canadian coaches to identify alpine skiing prospects.

As 2010 nears, Whistler will be hosting test events for the Olympics – some as early as 2007. The new Whistler Nordic Centre in the Callaghan will host national and international cross-country, biathlon, ski jumping, and Nordic combined events. The new sliding centre on Blackcomb will host bobsled, luge and skeleton events. And the new and/or improved runs on Whistler will host World Cup alpine skiing events again – including an event that would feature all five disciplines and both genders.

If you think 2005 was a busy year, wait until you see 2008.

Here are some of the highlights of Whistler and Canadian sports from 2005.

January

Jan. 8 – In numbing cold Pemberton’s Arlene Schieven and Whistler’s Keith Ray won the fourth annual Lost Lake Shuffle enduro race. Both skiers made 22 laps of the 3.5km course in four hours.

Jan. 8 – Revelstoke’s Greg Hill was the top backcountry skier for the third year running in the third annual Randonnee Rally. Whistler’s Tamsin Mills and Erika Janackone were first and second in the women’s recreational category.

Jan. 8 – Whistler’s Jeff Hume finished sixth in the World Cup downhill at Chamonix, France, his best result to date. The same weekend Allison Forsyth of Nanaimo, a Whistler Mountain Ski Club alumnus, won silver in the women’s World Cup GS at Val Thorens, France, followed by teammate Genevieve Simard.

Jan. 14-22 – Whistler hosted the FIS Snowboard World Championships, including more than 300 athletes from over 20 countries in all four World Cup disciplines – halfpipe, parallel giant slalom, parallel slalom, snowboardcross, plus the exhibition big air. It was a banner week for Canada with the team winning five medals and 14 athletes finishing in the top-16 to qualify for funding from Sport Canada. In snowboardcoss, Maëlle Ricker won bronze in the women’s race, François Boivin won silver in the men’s race, Jasey-Jay Anderson won gold in both the parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom, and Justin Lamoureux won silver in the halfpipe.

Jan. 14-16 – The Blackcomb Freestyle Ski Club won 14 medals in its first contest of the year.

Jan. 15-16 – The Whistler Mountain Ski Club K2 skiers won 11 medals in its first competition of the year.

Jan. 17 – Rain. Record rain and a pineapple express. This wasn’t a sports event necessarily although it threw a wrench in local sports events for a long time to come. It led to a serious downsizing of the Peak to Valley Race, and eventually the cancellation of the Crud to Mud downhill in the spring. The annual Whistler Nordics Loppet, Whistler’s longest running event, was also cancelled. Still, you have to give credit to the Whistler-Blackcomb Events Department, park rangers and groomers for working with the conditions to run the Kokanee Valley Race Series, the Sprite Park Rider Series, the King of the Rail series, the Sierra Wireless Whistler Cup, and other key local events.

Jan. 22 – Whistler’s Ashleigh McIvor won the U.S. Open women’s skiercross event, while Quebec’s Charles Gangier won the slopestyle and Vernon’s TJ Schiller took the men’s big air.

Jan. 26-30 – Erin Simmons of West Vancouver, who rides in Whistler, finished second in the X Games snowboardcross, while Natasza Zurek was third in slopestyle. Whistler’s Davey Barr earned a silver in the Ultracross.

Jan. 28-29 – Whistler Valley Snowboard Club riders earned five medals in their first provincial event of the season.

Jan. 29 – Whistler Dale Begg-Smith, who competes for Australia, finished second in a World Cup dual moguls competition, his best result to date.

Jan. 30 – Skier Robbie Dixon was selected to represent Canada at the 2005 World Junior Championships.

Jan. 30 – The Peak to Valley Race was postponed to March 11-12 due to the lack of snow.

February

Feb. 3-6 – The WMSC FIS team won nine medals at Apex.

Feb. 3-5 – Huere Darquier, an Argentinian who teaches skiing in Whistler, finished second in the U.S. Freeskiing Nationals.

Feb 11-12 – The Blackcomb Freestyle Ski Club won nine medals in three events.

Feb. 17-19 – Six Whistler skiers and snowboarders took part in the Sports Illustrated For Kids Next Snow Search in Keystone Colorado. Logan Pehota, just nine years old at the time, was the only skier to qualify for the Next Snow Team after leading his age category. The other competitors who qualified for the finals at a Whistler test event in January were Garrett Milan, Simon Louwe, Keltie Hicks, Bryan Bowles and Brin Alexander.

Feb. 19 – Whistler runner Duncan Munro finished first in his category in the 10 km Grouse Mountain Snowshoe Classic, running without snowshoes.

Feb. 25-26 – Several Whistler and WVSC athletes took park in a provincial snowboard contest at home. Finding the podium were local riders Robert DiBari, Lisa Mason, Brin Alexander, Steve Kopyt, Tamo Campos, Hajime Takemura, Andrew Jackson, Brian Bowles, Vincent Ligeti, Francois Ligeti,

Feb. 25-27 – The Whistler Mountain Ski Club hosted the annual Parsons Memorial and Enquist Slalom, dominating at home. In the Enquist Slalom Whistler athletes won 11 out of 12 podium spots in two days.

Feb. 26 – Whistler mogul skier Syliva Kerfoot cracked the top-10 in the moguls event, her best result of the season after a head and back injury in training. That helped her to qualify for the world championships.

Feb. 26 – Snowboarder Crispin Lipscomb finished second and Mercedes Nicoll won two bronze medals at a World Cup in Korea.

Feb. 27 – The second annual ReMax Sea to Sky Hockey Challenge took place in Whistler, helping to raise $50,000 for elite and high performance athletes through the PacificSport PodiumFund. The Whistler game was entertaining, coming down to a shoot-out after a 6-6 draw.

Feb. 28 – Tyler Mosher, who is hoping to compete at home in the 2010 Paralympic Games in cross-country and possibly snowboarding, won the Harry Jerome Comeback Award presented by Sport B.C.

March

Mar. 4-6 – Skiers from the WMSC competed in the Mars J1 Junior Alpine Championships. Several finished in the top-10, while JD McLean claimed a bronze in the men’s giant slalom.

Mar. 5 – Snowboarder Mercedes Nicoll earned her third medal of the season, a silver, at the Lake Placid World Cup. Erin Simmons also won a silver.

Mar. 5-6 – Kim McKnight and Ken Peterson win their categories at the Velocity Challenge speed skiing World Cup at Sun Peaks, reaching speeds of over 160 km/h.

Mar. 11-12 – Local athletes found the podium at the annual Gravity Games. Crispin Lipscomb won the men’s halfpipe and Leanne Pelosi won the women’s snowboard rail jam.

Mar. 11-12 – The Appleton Rum Peak to Valley Race took place on a much shorter course than usual, with some treacherous, hard-packed conditions. The AKS WMSC team, comprised of WMSC coaches Sead Causevic, Linas Vaitkus, Hilary Lindh and Peter Todd finished first overall, followed by the Team Mild Millies (Tom Prochazka, Steve Fleckenstein, Kent Wills and Liz Roehrig) and Wild Willies (Joe Jacques, Tommy Thompson, Jame Emerick and Joey Gibbons).

Mar. 11-12 – Whistler and WVSC boarders had a good showing at the provincial championships. Max Ripper and Brin Alexander were first and second in the 12 and Under slopestyle and first and third in the halfpipe; Tamo Campos was second in the 13-14 slopestyle and halfpipe; Vinny Ligeti was first in the 15-16 slopsetyle, Matt Poynter was third in the 19 and Over slopestyle, Sarah Kopinya won the women’s 19 and Over slopestyle. In halfpipe, Helen Schettini was third and Pemberton’s Jamie Parker first.

Mar. 12 – Several local athletes took part in the annual UBC Triathlon, with David Higgins finishing seventh overall and winning his age category, Paul Suter finished eighth overall and won his age category, Dawn Weberg-Titus finished seventh among women and first in her category, and Claire Daniels won the 19 and Under women’s group.

Mar. 16-20 – The Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships (which are coming to Whistler this March) took place in Quebec. Whistler skiers and alumni did well with Michael Janyk taking the silver in the slalom.

Mar. 17 – The Kokanee Valley Race Series wrapped up for the season. Kim McKnight, Sanae Tanaka and Hilary Lindh were the top three women overall in the pro category, and Chris Kent, Mark Anderson and Derek Burgen the top three men.

Mar. 19 – The Bantam Winterhawks team finished their season undefeated in regular season and play-offs to claim two banners for Meadow Park. The team won all 22 regular season games, and every playoff game to finish 30-0. Garrett Milan, who missed two games, led the team by scoring 84 goals in 28 games. The Winterhawks Atom team also won a regular season banner last year.

Mar. 19-20 – Whistler hosted the provincial freestyle championships. Member of the Blackcomb Freestyle Ski Club who won medals included Keltie Hicks (2), Simon Louwe (2), Devon Krainer (2), Tom McKay (2), Eddie Hicks (2), Cameron Doyle, Tadashi Akutsu and Taisuke Tatenake.

Mar. 19-20 – Sylvia Kerfoot was sixth and eighth in the single moguls and dual moguls at the World Cup finals in Ruka, Finland.

Mar. 19-10 – Maëlle Ricker finished her World Cup season on a high note with a silver at the snowboardcross finals in Sweden. Also for Canada, Jasey-Jay Anderson won a silver in the men’s snowboardcross.

Mar. 25-27 – Sylvia Kerfoot won bronze in single moguls and silver in dual moguls at the national freestyle championships.

Mar. 25-27 – Maëlle won the national snowboardcross championship and finished third in the halfpipe. Mercedes Nicoll and Crispin Lipscomb won the national halfpipe titles, Dan Raymond was second for the men.

Mar. 25-27 – Whistler skiers took part in the Western Canadian K2 Championships in The Yukon. The WMSC’s Banjamin MacLean won gold in the super G and slalom, Alexander Binks was third in slalom.

Mar. 26 – The Bleeding Nipples (local adventure racers Gary Robbins and Mark Fearman) finished second in their category in the Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race.

Mar. 26 – Whistler’s Frances Moody won gold on beam in the provincial Level 2 championships in a field with 40 other girls, and finished sixth all around.

April

Apr. 1-3 – After winning the league and championships the Whistler Bantam C1 team took the Paul Brenner Memorial in Chilliwack, losing just one of seven games on their way to the title.

Apr. 1-3 – Whistler’s Ian McIntosh finished third in the overall IFSA freeskiing standings after finishing fourth at Kirkwood, California.

Apr. 1-3 – The Whistler Mountain Ski Club hosted the annual Sierra Wireless Whistler Cup, with 350 juvenile skiers aged 11 to 14 from 17 nations taking part. One racer, Richard Long of Collingwood won Canada’s first two gold medals at home, and Mathieu Routhier of Quebec added a bronze. Madison McLeish was the top Whistler racer, finishing sixth in the K1 slalom.

Apr. 8-10 – The World Snowboarding Invitational kicked off this year’s World Ski and Snowboard Festival. Whistler’s Neil Connolly won the slopestyle title, while Brad Martin (who is moving to Whistler at the end of the season) won the men’s halfpipe and was second in the slopestyle. Mike Page, a previous winner in the big air event, won the big hit contest in the slopestyle contest. Crispin Lipscomb and Justin Lamoureux were second and third in the men’s halfpipe (Lamoureux competing with a broken arm), and Maëlle Ricker was second in the women’s superpipe.

Apr. 10-15 – Adventure racer Jen Segger, who recently moved from Whistler to Squamish, finished 10 th among women in the six day, 245 km Marathon de Sables, running across the Sahara Desert in Morocco. She was the top North American, and the youngest racer in the group.

Apr. 14 – Iannick B. was the top skier and Aaron Shapiro the top snowboarder in the second annual Urban Rail Session in Whistler Village.

Apr. 15-17 – Young athletes ruled the World Skiing Invitational. There was no real Whistler winner, but women’s halfpipe winner Sarah Burke used to live here and still teaches here at summer glacier camps.

Apr. 30 – Opening day for the Whistler Mountain Bike Park broke all records with 600 riders. Since 1999 the park has seen a 700 per cent growth in numbers.

May

May 1 – More than 20 local runners took part in the Adidas Vancouver International Marathon and half marathon. Greg Sandkuhl won Whistler’s only medal, finishing first out of 66 men in the 60 to 64 age group.

May 5 – Sport B.C. recognized local sports volunteers through their Community Sport Heroes Program. Award winners were Mae Palm, John Benbow, Phil Chew, Chuck Gage, Sheila Mozes and Bob Calladine.

May 14-15 – Twenty-eight members of the Soul Funktion Dance Studio’s performance troupe earned seven gold medals at the New City Dance Power competition in North Vancouver.

May 21-22 – Soul Funktion won two categories in the 5-6-7-8 Showtime competition in Whistler, earning $6,000 for the club.

May 21 – Whistler’s Lesley Clements won the women’s category in the Shore 2 Tha Core marathon race.

May 22 – Locals found the podium in the North Shore Spring Triathlon. David Higgins won the men’s 35 to 39 category, Paul Suter was second in the 45-49 category, Marie-Anne Prevost was first in the women’s 30 to 34 category, and Kai Riess was second among 12 year olds.

May 28 – Only two Whistler high school students took part in the B.C. High School Mountain Bike Championships. Brandon Semenuk, who is devoting more time to dirt jumping and street style, won his age group, while Alex Prochazka, who is more into freeriding and downhill racing, finished third in the big bike category for his age group.

May 29 – A handful of locals took part in the 25 km Half Knacker trail run. Kevin Titus was fifth overall and first in his category, Gary Robbins was ninth and fifth in his category, Sean Wolfe was 14 th overall and second in his category, Duncan Munro was 16 th overall and ninth his category, and Mark Fearman was 23 rd overall and ninth in his category.

May 29 – There was a record turnout for the Valley Trail Run. Pemberton’s John Teitzel was the top male in 36:12, and Denise McLaughlin of Garibaldi Highlands the top female in 43:02.

June

June 4 – Whistler’s Ashleigh McIvor won the women’s category in the Beyond the Valleycliffe of the Dolls mountain bike challenge in Squamish. Joe Lyons was also recognized as one of the few riders who could actually ride up to the downhill sections.

June 4 – Under 15 riders Tyler Allison and Brandon Semenuk were second and third at the B.C. Cup at Hemlock Mountain. Bob Allison won the men’s Master 40-Plus category.

June 11-2 – Some locals took part in the Mountain Bike National Cross Country Championships in Quebec. Mike Boehm was third in the Master Expert 30 to 39 group and Neal Kindree of Squamish was second in the Expert 17-18 race.

June 12 – The Green River Riding Club in Pemberton hosted a CMRC motocross event. Locals finishing on the podium included Jody Dean in second, Shane Wiebe in third, Aaron Brue in second, Robert Fawcett in second and Patrick Rouillard in third.

June 17-19 – The Pemberton Laoyam Eagles dragon boat team captured its sixth consecutive high school title at the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival in Vancouver. They also competed in the Open event, and finished ninth in the Competitive A division against adult teams. The Falcons, the development team for the Eagles, made the finals with the Eagles, and finished last in that heat. The Bald Eagles, an adult team, were second overall in the regatta, while the Pemberton Spirit women’s team won the B Division Open Category.

June 18 – The Test of Metal took place in pouring rain this year with more than 800 riders in the field. Local riders on the podium included Jen Segger in second, Brandi Heisterman in first, Mike Edwards in second, Mike Charuk in third, Tony Routley in first, Rob McSkimming in second, and Grace Blok in second.

June 18-19 – Tyler Morland won the Canadian Downhill Championships in Quebec, while Adam Billinghurst was fifth out of 60 riders. In the women’s race, Whistler riders Danika Schroeter and Brook Baker were second and third respectively.

June 19 – Dawn Weberg-Titus finished first in her age category in the Oliver Sprint Triathlon.

June 19 – Marie-Anne Prevost was third in the New Balance Half Iron in Victoria, while the Tri Hards relay team was first overall out of 51 teams.

June 26 – The second annual Comfortably Numb race took place with a field of 130 runners. The top local was Greg McDonnell who finished sixth overall, while Daniel Havens, John Blok and Grace Blok won their age categories. Michelle Kaminski was third among women.

June 26 – Some runners opted for the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon instead of Comfortably Numb. Lindsay Dyck was third in her age group.

July

July 1-2 – The Whistler Hoary Marmots RFC missed their first game, but won all their other games to take the consolation title at the Williams Lake Stampede Rugby Tournament. They won three games in the process, all shut-outs.

July 4-6 – Calgary’s Stephen Ames took eight skins at the soggy Telus Skins Game. Jack Nicklaus was second on the prize list with seven skins, followed by John Daly with three skins. Vijay Singh, despite his dominance of all things golf, didn’t win any of the prize money.

July 9 – Will Routley was sixth in the road nationals Espoir (Under 23) category.

July 10 – A handful of locals took part in the annual Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run, a 50 km trail race from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove. Gary Robbins was sixth overall, while Duncan Munro was ninth, just four minutes back. Other finishers were Georgina Titus, Shelley Webster, Vanessa Murphy and John Hall.

July 10 – The Whistler Triathlon Club had a good weekend at the Squamish Triathlon. Individually, David Higgins was second in his age category, Marie-Anne Prevost was third among women and won her category, and in age categories Greg Sandkuhl and Claire Daniels were first, and Bob Deeks second.

July 16-17 – In the Bear Mountain B.C. Cup downhill Tyler Morland was second and Danika Schroeter and Brook Baker first and third in the elite category. Alex Prochazka won the Under 15 category, while Tyler Allison was second. In cross-country, Tyler Allison won the Under 15 category, followed by Brandon Semenuk.

July 23 – Tony Routley finished first out of almost 50 starters in the 45-49 age group at the 2005 World Masters Games mountain bike race, as well as fifth in the road race.

July 30 – Tyler Morland won the Mount 7 Psychosis in Golden, the longest downhill mountain bike race in the world, while Kevin Phelps took the hard trail category.

August

Aug. 2-7 – Whistler athletes held their own at home in the Crankworx freeride mountain bike festival, with podiums in almost every event. In the pro category in the Air Downhill Jeff Beatty was fifth, behind four top World Cup racers, while Jen Ashton was second among women and James McSkimming second among juniors. In the Nissan Bikercross, Ashton made the finals and finished fourth, while McSkimming claimed the bronze medal. In the Garbanzo Downhill Claire Buchar was fourth among women and Tyler Allison was fourth among junior men.

Aug. 9-13 – The Under 20 Junior National Team hosted a tryout over five days in Whistler, followed by three full-contact scrimmages. Huge audiences came out to watch 44 of the top juniors from across Canada, which were pared down to a team of 23 for the IIHF World Championships.

Aug. 7-14 – The team of Eric Crowe and James Crowe were sixth overall in this year’s TransRockies Challenge from Fernie to Canmore, while the Whistler team of Hillary Harrison and Nikki Kassel were second in the women’s open category.

Aug. 13 – The Squamish Test of Running Metal — Yeah! is a 64 km ultra trail run on the Squamish Test of Metal course, open to solos and teams. Michelle Kaminiski was the top Whistler runner, finishing fifth in her category. Whistler A Physio, comprised of Lisa Kallio, Marilyn Hellier and Catherine O’Neill also won the women’s relay category.

Aug. 20 – The Five Peaks Running Series hosted 5 km and 10 km runs around Whistler’s alpine. Pemberton’s John Teitzel won the 5 km race, Sean Wolfe took the men’s 40 to 49 10 km race.

Aug. 20 – Locals did well in the annual Squamish Gearjammer. In their respective categories Tyler Allison was first, Ryan Edwards third, Mark Knight third, Keith Ray second, Dustin Gordon first, Todd Carter first and Johnny Lloyd first.

Aug. 21 – Four athletes qualified for the world triathlon championships with top-nine results in the Kelowna Apple Triathlon. In their age groups David Higgins was seventh, Marie-Anne Prevost third, Dawn Weberg-Titus second, and Christine Suter fourth.

Aug. 27 – Jeff Beatty won the elite category of the B.C. Finals at Mount Washington, as well as the elite title. Local rider Mike Jones was third.

Alex Prochazka and Tyler Allison were second and third in the Under 15 downhill, with Prochazka winning the overall title. In the cross-country race, Allison was first and Brandon Semenuk was third, Bob Allison was third, and Trevor Hopkins second.

Aug. 27 – Red Bull hosted Elevation, a pro BMX dirt jumping event featuring the top riders in the world. Here’s hoping it’s an annual event.

Aug. 28 – Several athletes took part in the Ironman Canada competition at Penticton. Greg Sandkuhl won his category, and the list of finishers included Mike Edwards, Greg Sandkuhl, Greg McDonnell, Paul Suter and Christine Suter.

September

Sept. 3-4 – It was the wettest and coldest 24 Hours of Adrenaline yet for Whistler. Local teams on the podium included Team Whistler in first, Bearbackbiking.com in second, Team Gerber in first and Team Atomic in second for their respective categories.

Sept. 10 – The 11 th annual West Side Wheel Up took place. Andreas Hestler, who recently moved to Whistler, took the win, followed by Greg Grant and Dave Burch. Joanna Harrington was the top woman, followed by Cathy Zeglinski and Brandi Heisterman.

Sept. 10-11 – Only a few locals took part in this year’s Sea2Summit race. Team Eye Candy Up Front, including Oliver Fraser, Nils Robinson, Marnie Walter and Cameron Worman, was second in the co-ed category. Gary Robbins was the only solo racer, finishing 11 th .

Sept. 17 – The fifth Samurai of Singletrack was a success, despite the long, technical climbs. Andreas Hestler was first, Greg Grant second and Matt Bodkin third. Joanna Harrington was the top woman, followed by Lesley Clements and Nikki Kassel.

Sept. 17-18 – Whistler’s World Cup snowboarders were at Valle Nevado, Chile for the first event of the season. Maëlle Ricker won two silver medals in snowboardcross, while Mercedes Nicoll won bronze in halfpipe.

Sept. 17 – Three Whistler teams dominated in the Grand Columbian Triathlon half iron category. Team Left Overs (Brandi Higgins, Bob Deeks and Scott Young) were first, followed by Team Strongest Link (Christine Suter, Marie-Anne Prevost), followed by Team Weakest Link (Paul Nicholas, David Higgins and Paul Suter) where all the athletes did their worst events.

Sept. 24 – The 21 st annual Cheakamus Challenge. Local medal winners included Joanna Harrington (third), Mike Boehm (first), James Crowe (first), Tyler Allison (first), Benoit Renault (second, short course), and Catherine Mulvihill (second, short course).

Sept. 25 – Morgan Titus was second in the Grouse Grind, while other locals finished in the top-10.

Sept. 25 – The 27 km Rubble Creek Run. Of the locals competing Scott Pass won the men’s event, while Lindsay Dyck was second among women.

October

Oct. 1 – The Whistler Tri Club hosted the first annual Kids of Steel triathlon.

Oct. 7-8 – The bike park season wrapped up with the Joyride Harvest Huckfest. In the Super D (a downhill race with uphill sections) Andreas Hestler was the top male, followed by Dave Burch and J.S. Therrien. Lesley Clements won the women’s race, follow by Megan Hoodspith, while Tyler Allison was the top junior. In the slopestyle, Whistler’s Brendon Semenuk and Alex Prochazka were seventh and ninth respectively. In the Joyride DH, Tyler Morland won the men’s race after crashing, while Claire Buchar took the women’s title, and Tyler Allison was the top junior.

Oct. 8-9 – The GRRC hosted a motocross in Pemberton. Shaun Greenaway was first and Shane Wiebe second, in their categories, while Justin Patjas won the B Main category.

Oct. 9 – Twenty-seven local runners took part in the Royal Victoria Marathon. The top time belonged to Daniel Havens, who was sixth in his category.

Oct. 16 – Kevin Titus set a new course record on the Lumpy’s Epic Trail Run in 41:15, while John Teitzel was second and Sean Wolfe third. Lindsay Dyck was the fastest woman, followed by Brenda Baker and Jeannie Helmer.

November

Nov. 10-12 – Three out of four Whistler riders finished La Ruta de los Conquistadores this year, with more than half the field of almost 500 riders making it to day three. Ryan Watts was 46 th overall, Duncan Munro was 226 th and Charlotte Klein was 228 th .

Nov. 20 – Brenda Baker was 22 nd overall, third among women and first in her age category in the Fila Fall Classic Half Marathon. Marie-Anne Prevost was second in her category.

December

Dec. 5 – Cat Smiley won Canadian Trainer of the Year Award from the International Sports Science Association.

Dec. 3-8 – Jen Segger’s adventure race team, Team DART-Montrail placed first in the Baja Travesia.

Dec. 8-11 – The Canadian snowboard team won five medals in four days at the Whistler World Cup. The medals went to Erin Simmons (2) and Jasey-Jay Anderson in Snowboardcross, and Brad Martin and Kory Wright in halfpipe.