Whistler Minor Hockey season underway
The Whistler Minor Hockey League’s regular season got underway this past weekend for most teams, and so far so good.
Pee Wee C1 (1-0-0) defeated North Van C8; 8-2
Pee Wee C2 (0-1-0) lost to North Van C5; 15-5
Bantam Rep (1-0-0) defeated Squamish; 5-3
Bantam Rep (1-0-1) tied Cloverdale; 4-4
Bantam C1 (1-0-0) defeated North Shore; 5-1
Bantam C1 (1-1-0) lost to North Van C2; 7-0
Midget Rep (1-0-0) defeated Burnaby; 6-5
Midget Rep (2-0-0) defeated North Van; 6-2
Midget C2 (1-0-0) defeated North Van; 5-3
Midget C2 (2-0-0) defeated Sunshine Coast; 4-1
Midget Girls (1-0-0) defeated North Shore; 13-0
Midget Girls (1-1-0) lost to Meadowridge; 4-0
Halloween Loonie Race returns
WORCA is hosting its second annual Halloween Loonie Race and party on Thursday, Oct. 26, with the best costumes taking the prizes. The venue is still being confirmed but the course will most likely be Lost Lake… after dark. Bring bike lights, headlamps — anything that will help you see the trail and make it to the finish safely — and bring warm, dry clothes for after the ride.
The after party will be a potluck, so bring enough food for yourself and a few others and there should be more than enough to go around. WORCA will provide refreshments.
Snowboard World Cup underway
The FIS Snowboard World Cup season got underway this past weekend with an indoor parallel slalom at Landgraaf, Netherlands.
While both men’s and women’s teams took part, the only Canadian rider to make an impression on the international field was team rookie Caroline Calve of Gatineau, Quebec. She placed seventh after being edged out in the second round to Amelle Kober of Germany, who advanced to win the gold. Kimiko Zakreski of Calgary and Alexa Loo of Richmond were 10 th and 15 th respectively, giving the women three in the top-30 — a rare occurrence for the race team.
“It’s one of the best performances for the Canadian women in a while,” said Calve. “We were all pleased. We showed we have a strong team and trained hard this past summer.”
Marlon Keier of Austria was second to Kober, while Heldi Neururer made it two Austrians on the podium by taking third place.
The Canadian men had a harder time on the course, which quickly softened up. Jasey-Jay Anderson of Mont Tremblant, Quebec was the top Canadian, in 18 th , but was disappointed by his first race of the season.
“The result doesn’t reflect my abilities,” said Anderson. “In fact, the course maintenance people did a lousy job. Instead of removing snow after each rider competed they would add some, which made the course soft and slow. The coaches had to meet with the officials to solve the problem.”
Anderson opted to miss several races last season to train on new equipment, and was bumped back on the start list — something that came back to haunt him in Landgraaf.
Canadians Michael Lambert and Mathieu Morison of Ontario were 23 rd and 34 th respectively.
Siegfried Grabner of Austria took the win, followed by Swiss racers Simon Schoch and Marc Iselin.
Spots still available in H2H
Two weeks out there are still a few spots remaining in the Haney to Harrison Road Relay and Ultra Marathon, a 100 km course along Fraser Valley backroads to the town of Harrison Hot Springs.
As one of the last running events of the season, the H2H typically sells out. Most of the participants will be members of teams of eight, but a handful of athletes will do the entire race solo.
If you’re interested in racing this year, visit www.bcathletics.org/H2H/
XC riders nab Pan Am medals
Canadian cross country riders brought home three medals from the Pan American mountain bike championships this past weekend in the intense heat and humidity of Camboriu, Brazil.
Victoria’s Max Plaxton placed first in the Under 23 Espoir category, while Quebec’s Mathieu Toulouse and Penticton’s Catherine Pendrel each earned bronze in the elite categories.
“I wanted to win this race so bad, as I took the silver as a junior in 2002 and the bronze in 2005,” said Plaxton, who recently won the Cheakamus Challenge race from Squamish to Whistler. “It was pretty hard for me in the first couple of laps, but after a while I succeeded in catching the leaders and I passed them. I soon got a lap ahead and I was feeling better at every lap.”
Plaxton finishes his season with the silver in the Under 23 national championships, and a bronze medal in the world championships.
Snowboarder takes wakeboard honours
Eighteen-year-old Dustin O’Ferrall, a member of the B.C. Snowboard Team who specializes in halfpipe, wrapped up his summer with another win at the Ronix Wakeboard Amassault contest in Florida.
Earlier this summer O’Ferrall won his category at Toronto’s Wakestock competition, following up with another win at the WWA Wakeboard World Championships in Texas.
O’Ferrall is based in Vernon, and spends his winters snowboarding and summers on Lake Okanagan.
LUNA hosts drop in dodgeball
The LUNA group, which organizes alcohol-free events and entertainment for young adults, is hosting a series of drop-in sports nights at Whistler Secondary School every Monday this winter from 8 to 10 p.m. The series started off with a game of dodgeball on Oct. 16. Other sports planned include volleball, indoor soccer, basketball, and floor hockey.
All participants should bring sports clothing and non-marking gym sneakers. All equipment will be provided. The cost is $5 to take part.
Magazine focuses on winter snowsports
[AM1] Ski Racing Canada magazine has a new look and logo this winter, being relaunched as SRC Magazine. The focus has also expanded to include other skiing disciplines, from freestyle to cross-country to ski jumping. Snowboarding will also be featured, as SRC is now the official publication of the Canadian Snowsports Association.
“We intend to be the most trusted source of Canadian snowsports news in Canada,” said Gordie Bowles, editor in chief for the magazine. “Through timely reports from our national and international correspondents we will share with Canadian sports fans the endless heroic stories of athletic triumph of Canadian athletes. We will also explore the human interest side of winter sports by profiling the athletes and coaches, and having inside information to give our publication an authentic and true-to-the-sport quality.”
SRC will be mailed to about 20,000 subscribers, and an additional 5,000 will be sent to competitions, snowsports shops and industry shows.
The first issue will include an article on the Austrian Stams Academy for ski racing, profiles on Canadian freestyle teams, a profile of Ontario racer Kelly Vanderbeek, a look at the 10 hottest skiers in Canada, and more.
The website is www.srcmag.com.
