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Sports Briefs

Bike Park opens daily this week

The Whistler Mountain Bike Park will open daily starting this weekend, with regular hours of operation from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will also be a special Extended Play on Saturdays with discounted passes from 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., which come with a $10 voucher for the GLC.

After June 15, Extended Play will run from Wednesday to Saturday until Sept. 4, and on Sundays during long weekends.

Due to popular demand the park is opening a day early this year, with the chairs turning on Friday.

"Early season riding in the park has been amazing, and the trails are in great shape so we decided to start seven-day operations one day early," said Rob McSkimming, the vice president of business development for Whistler-Blackcomb.

Work has already started on the new Magic Park at the base of Blackcomb, a beginner park that will include two trails. The Magic Park will open on June 18.

With the early snowmelt this year, crews have already been working in the Garbanzo Zone, and may open the area early this year. The official opening is June 25.

Masters Doubles Tennis championship this weekend

This weekend, Friday to Sunday, the Whistler Racquet Club is hosting the HSBC Whistler Masters Doubles Round Robin Tournament, with categories for men, women and mixed teams in different age groups, 35 and up.

For more information visit www.whistlertennis.com.

Tickets on sale for Neil Falkner Memorial

Tickets to the Third Annual Neil Falkner Memorial Fund Putting Tournament are on sale, and organizers are asking people who are interested in participating to get their tickets early.

Hosted by friends and family of Neil Falkner, this annual event takes place on Saturday, June 4 with 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. shotgun starts at Riverside Greens Putting Course. The barbecue gets underway at 2 p.m. and the beer garden will run all day.

The cost is $25 in advance and $30 on the day of the event, which includes a round of putting, the barbecue, draw prizes and the silent auction.

The proceeds will to towards the Neil Falkner Memorial Fund, which provides Outward Bound Canada scholarships to high school students in Vancouver and Whistler.

The fund was created in memory of Neil Falkner, an Outward Bound graduate and a Whistler ski patroller who died on a ski traverse in the Rockies in April of 2002.

This is the first year that the fund has enough money to provide scholarships to two kids, including a successful candidate from Neil’s old high school, Britannia Secondary in East Vancouver.

To support the fund, you can enter the tournament as a solo or as a team of four, sponsor a hold for a tax-deductible donation of $100, or sponsor a youth to come up from Vancouver for $25. Organizers are also looking for businesses and individuals to donate items for the draw prize and silent auction.

To sign up or make a donation, contact Greg McDonnell at 604-905-6898 and gregmcdonnell@hotmail.com, or Chris Roscoe at 604-935-2996 and roscoe@whistlercamping.com.

For more information visit www.members.shaw.ca/neilffalkner.

More Rat Racers

In the first B.C. Cup downhill of the season on May 1, the On The Edge Rat Race in Robert’s Creek, Pique missed a couple of competitors in our event coverage.

Jeff Leigh won the Senior Expert 19-29 category in 3:24, four seconds faster than his closest competitor.

Chad Hendren won the Master Expert Men’s 30-39 category in 3:31, just a second ahead of the competition.

If you take part in a contest this year and we miss your name, please let us know who you are at sports@piquenewsmagazine.com and we’ll look out for your name at future events.

Young riders featured in Unknown Soldiers

Whistler’s Brandon Semenuk, 14, is just one of the local riders to be featured in the new DH Soldiers movie, Unknown Soldiers. Brandon’s segment includes dirt jumping, street riding and freeriding around Whistler, while other segments feature the skate park and mountain bike park. The soundtrack is also local, with both Mat the Alien and Rev contributing music.

The Whistler premiere takes place at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 28 at Dusty’s in Creekside. Admission is $5, which includes a chance to win draw prizes. For more information an a trailer of the movie visit www.dhsoldiers.ca.

One week to the Valley Trail Run

The 14 th annual 5K and 10K Whistler Valley Trail Run and Teddy Bear Trot will take place on Sunday, May 29 at 9 a.m.

Runners and walkers are welcome to come out, and for parents free professional child care is available through the Kids Drop Zone.

The race will be followed by the Teddy Bear Trot. Kids bring their teddy bears and run a short course around the village with their parents. All participants get a number one bib and prizes, and are encouraged to bring their favourite stuffed animal along for the run.

You can register at the Mountain Adventure Centre in the Pan Pacific Lodge or by calling Dynamic Core Fitness at 604-938-9467.

Women’s only soccer camps

Sarina McKenzie, the founder of Women’s Only Soccer Camps, is coming to Whistler for three camps this summer –July 9, July 16 and Aug. 6.

McKenzie has been running the camps for the past two seasons out of Ambleside, and decided to come up to Whistler after several inquiries from Whistler residents.

The camps, which run from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., teach basic soccer skills through drills and scrimmages. The program is popular with women looking to join community leagues, and who wish to volunteer coach for kids’ soccer programs.

For more information and registration visit www.womensonlysoccercamps.com.

Whistler Summer Soccer League is co-ed, and will get underway in June. Drop-in soccer will be available Tuesdays and Thursdays through the month of May starting at 6 p.m. Between six and eight co-ed teams will be formed from regular players and drop-in participants.

More information should be posted online at www.whistlerfc.com in the next few weeks.