Rona kicks in for B.C. athletes
Rona, a top-tier national partner of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, has announced sponsorship for 19 high performance athletes across the province, each of whom will receive at least $40,000 over the next five years to assist their training, travel and living expenses. The total value of the Growing With Our Athletes program is over $4 million through the 2010 Games.
The list of recipients includes both summer and winter sports athletes, including three Whistler snowboarders — Maëlle Ricker, Mercedes Nicoll and Drew Neilson.
There is also an in-store donation fund that could raise another $2 million for the athletes, with each of 100 Rona stores sponsoring a local athlete. For example, The Kelowna and Penticton Rona stores will support Neilson, who hails from Vernon.
Rona has also committed $1 million to the Canadian Paralympic Committee, as well as $2 million to Own The Podium 2010.
Halloween Loonie tonight
With the forecast calling for rain riders in the second annual WORCA Halloween Loonie might want to forgo the papier mache when planning their costumes this year.
Registration gets underway at 6 p.m. at the Lost Lake Warming Hut, and the race will start at 6:30 p.m. on a network of Lost Lake trails. It will be dark out, so riders will have to bring lights — and make sure their batteries are working.
Instead of awarding the fastest riders, the prizes will go to the riders with the best costumes.
The format is potluck, and riders are asked to bring enough food for themselves and one other person to ensure there’s enough for everybody. WORCA will have some plates and forks, but members can bring their own as well.
Minor hockey teams get jump in home games
The season is now officially underway for Whistler Minor Hockey teams, with 15 games this past weekend.
The Atom Rep team played four home games from Oct. 14 to 21, tying North Van 5-5, and beating the T-birds 4-3, Richmond 5-3 and Hollyburn 9-3 for a record of 3-0-1.
The Atom C1 team (0-1-0) was beaten soundly by the North Van C7, 15-0.
Peewee C1 saw their record drop to 1-1-0 after losing to North Van C10 by a score of 9-8.
Peewee C2 is now 0-1-1 after tying North Van C7 6-6.
The Bantam Rep team dropped their first game 3-2 to Cloverdale on Thursday, but rallied against Hollyburn on Sunday with a 5-1 win to improve to 2-1-1 on their season.
Bantam C1 lost to North Van by a score of 4-3, dropping their record to 1-2-0.
The Midget Rep team beat Aldergrove 10-0 on Friday, then lost 7-2 to Langley on Sunday to bring their record to 3-1-0.
Midget C2 played on Saturday and Sunday, losing to Hollyburn C1 5-3 and beating Sechelt by 6-2 to wrap up week to with a 3-1-0 record.
The Midget Girls team lost to Abbotsford 4-3 on Sunday, dropping to 1-3-0.
