The Whistler Sea Wolves welcomed their annual meet to the Meadow Park Sports Centre this weekend, and all 34 swimmers performed admirably.
The Whistler swimmers set 61 personal bests over the course of the weekend as they competed against four other clubs. In all, 134 competitors took to the water.
Sea Wolves head coach Brandi Higgins was proud of all the swimmers and volunteers who helped make the meet a must-attend for clubs from Vancouver and Washington state.
"We're on the calendar as a meet to go to for a lot of the Lower Mainland clubs," Higgins said.
Next up for the Sea Wolves is the Thompson Rivers University Wolf Pack meet this weekend, which 14 swimmers are set to attend. Kieran Higgins will enter the meet looking to achieve a second Tier 1 time in his age group, while Jamie Tait and Zach Currie will look to qualify for more events at June's Long Course Provincials. That's an accomplishment in itself considering in some cases, provincial standards changed at the beginning of the year to become more stringent than Western Canadian standards.
"B.C. changed the way you qualify for provincials, and at the beginning of the year, we weren't sure if we'd have anybody going, but now, we should have two at least," Coach Higgins said.
ILLEGAL TRAIL DISCOVERED IN GARIBALDI PROVINCIAL PARK
An illegal trail has been discovered and deactivated in Garibaldi Provincial Park.
In a May 24 release, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said in April, BC Parks and BC Wildfire Service staff teamed up to halt public use of the trail, which started in the park and extended onto Crown land.
While Recreation Sites and Trails BC director John Hawkings didn't want to disclose the exact location of the trail, he said it was located in the Diamondhead Trail Area of the Squamish mountain bike network.
"It was relatively well built. It had clearly been used," he said in a follow-up interview. "There may still have been some work going on, but by and large, it was completed."
Hawkings said the land used for the trail will rebound to its original condition.
"I wouldn't say there's going to be lasting damage. The work we undertook to deactivate it restored the land back to its original condition," he said.
Hawkings said the investigation is ongoing and natural resource officers are maintaining a file on unauthorized trail building.
He reiterated Rec Sites and Trails' interest in working with community groups like the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association and Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association. He added the department approves the "vast majority" of applications that come in, provided they are safe and "can be built in an environmentally sound manner."
Illegal building can result in environmental damage like "soil erosion or compaction, negative effects on water quality or water flow, slope stability concerns, negative impacts for other resource users, safety and liability concerns, due to improperly built or maintained trails and structures, the spread of invasive plants, (and) the disruption of wildlife habitat or sensitive plant ecosystems," according to the release.
"We think that by demonstrating the willingness that we have to create new mountain-bike opportunities, that should deter illegal trail building," Hawkings said.
Unauthorized trail building can be punished through fines up to $10,000, remediation orders to return the land to its original condition, and a jail term of up to six months.
Members of the public are encouraged to report any illegal trails or suspicious activity by calling 1-877-952-7277 or visiting www.for.gov.bc.ca/hen/nrv/report.htm.
DYCK, MOBERG TOP NIMBY FIFTY
Mical Dyck and Quinn Moberg were the big winners at the Nimby Fifty in Pemberton on May 26.
Cumberland's Dyck, a five-time champion in the event's nine years, topped the elite women's category by topping Kelowna's Sonya Looney by three minutes and 16 seconds (3:16) and Nanaimo's Carey Mark by 5:39.
Meanwhile, Squamish's Moberg bested defending champion Cory Wallace of Jasper, Alta. by 1:02 and Chilliwack's Ricky Federau by 11 minutes.
Other women's champions were: Lucie Kaucky (senior 19 to 29); Jo Peters (master 30 to 34); Marissa Szajcz (master 35 to 39); Robin O'Neill (master 40 to 44); and Naoko Forderer (master 45 to 49). As for the men, winners were: Dylan Joyce (junior 18 and under); Mahon Lamont (senior 19 to 29); Jamie Sparling (master 30 to 34); Drummond Lawson (35 to 39); Michael Robinson (master 40 to 44); Kim Steed (master 45 to 49); Paul Berry (master 50 to 54); Ted Russo (master 55 to 59) and Rob McSkimming (master 60-plus).
Full results are at www.webscorer.com.
THINKBIKE POSTPONED
This weekend's Thinkbike event is being postponed until 2019.
In an email, organizer Grant Lamont said: "Due to light entries and some issues beyond our control we have had to postpone Thinkbike Whistler until 2019.
"Everyone is being given a full refund and we look forward to a strong event in 2019."
Lamont noted the BC Council meeting slated for Friday night at Whistler Museum at 7 p.m. will go ahead as planned, however.
CHOMLACK MAKES NEXTGEN TEAM
Pemberton's Jadyn Chomlack will look forward to the 2018-19 season.
Chomlack was one of eight men named to Snowboard Canada's slopestyle NextGen team for the coming season.
Meanwhile, Whistler resident Darcy Sharpe was named to the men's slopestyle team once again. The full list is available at www.canadasnowboard.ca.
TENDERFOOT BOOGIE LOOKS FOR HELPERS
This year's Tenderfoot Boogie 50-mile ultra race from Squamish to Whistler is set to go on June 23.
However, organizers require some volunteers to help make the race a success. Positions include: flaggers, sweeps, pre-sweeps, marshals and orientation-run volunteers.
Those interested in lending a hand can contact organizer Gottfried Grosser at gottfried_grosser@shaw.ca.
