The July 15 Squamish GearJammer mountain bike race is now open for registration at www.gearjammer.ca.
The event takes place on 47 km of trails in the Squamish area, starting at Alice Lake Provincial Park and finishing near downtown Squamish. About 70 per cent of the trail falls on singletrack, and the fastest riders take about two and a half hours to finish. The average rider will take between four and five hours to finish.
This is the fifth year for the race, and it has an entry limit of 500 racers. The cost is $55 to take part, including insurance. All riders have to be at least 14 years old.
The course description and map is still being finalized, and will be posted on the website in the near future. Due to development in the Crumpit Woods area and other issues the course will follow a different route than past years.
This year the GearJammer is part of the annual “Hell of a Series” marathon mountain bike race series, including the Brodie Rat Race in Roberts Creek and the Test of Metal. For more information visit www.hellofaseries.ca.
Tae kwon do coach inducted into Hall of Fame
Before she started teaching Tae kwon do locally, Whistler’s Dawn Lefebvre was one of the top competitors in Canada. A 6 th Dan Black Belt, Lefebvre is a former Canadian champion, a bronze medalist from the Pan-American Games, and a regular participant in international competitions. She was only the second woman in Canada to receive the rank of 6 th Dan Black Belt, and has been running the Whistler Tae Kwon Do Club since 1987.
Now she is being honoured by the newly established Taekowndo Hall of Fame as one of only three Canadians to be chosen in the first induction ceremony on April 6.
The Hall of Fame is a global entity, recognizing Masters throughout Europe and Asia as well as North America.
“I’m quite honoured,” said Lefebvre. “It’s quite huge, because it’s the first induction ceremony ever, and I’ll be standing alongside some Masters who have made huge contributions to the sport, and won Olympic medals.”
The list of inductees includes Masters from the U.S., Korea, Netherlands, Egypt, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Nepal, Ireland, Malaysia and Singapore.
Lefebvre has already bought her plane ticket to the event, which is taking place in New Jersey, just over the bridge from New York City.
LUNA wraps up drop-in nights
LUNA will wrap up its popular drop-in nights this Monday, March 26 with a final floor hockey game at Whistler Secondary School. The game is co-ed, and all are welcome.
The gym is booked from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., and participants should wear sports clothing and non-marking gym sneakers. The cost is $3 for LUNA members and $5 for non-members.
LUNA is also hosting LUNA Poker: A Black Toque Affair on Friday, March 30. The game is limited to 64 participants, and will take place at 18 Below at Blackcomb’s Base II over about six hours, from 6 p.m. to midnight.
The event, which costs $15 ($13 for LUNA and Club Shred members) is almost sold out. The last tickets will be sold on Friday, March 23, from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Visitor Information Centre at the taxi loop.
The champion and top runners-up will be presented with prizes, while other participants will be eligible for draw prizes. Spectators are welcome for $6 ($4 for card holders), and can participate in side-events like speed writing and card-house building.
Team Whistler riders continue to lead
The Team Escape Velocity/dEVo Spring Series road races continued in Langley last weekend, and for the third week in a row Whistler riders posted a strong result. In Saturday’s race, where riders in Group B made six laps of a 96 km course, Lloyd Thomas and Mike Boehm of Team Whistler/Nature’s Path placed first and second. It was the second week in a row where Thomas finished first in the category.
On Sunday, it was Team Whistler’s Tony Routley who took the lead in Group B, placing second overall after 90 km of racing.
The last two events are this weekend, March 24 and 25, followed by a two-day stage race and time trial the following weekend.
Whistler Golf Club announces $1.2 million improvement
The Whistler Golf Club will be using a temporary hole throughout the summer season, called Arnie’s Extra, which will be added to the rotation as crews install a new irrigation system to ensure there will always be 18 holes.
“We built the new hole in July and August of 2006, knowing that this would provide us with necessary flexibility moving into the 2007 season,” said Alan Kristmanson, director of golf. “Being able to open Arnie’s Extra as we’re working on the fairway irrigation lines in July and August will allow us to get the installation done quicker while also ensuring guests continue to enjoy the exceptional golf experience they’ve come to expect at the Whistler Golf Club.” Arnie’s Extra is named after course designer and golf legend Arnold Palmer.
The extra hole is a 165-yard, par three, located between the first lake of the 16 th hole and Crabapple Creek. Golfers will continue to tee off from the elevated decks.
The Whistler Golf Club is scheduled to open on May 5. The Learning and Performance Centre, which includes the driving range, is tentatively scheduled to open on April 14.
Banner collection grows again
Just one week after the Whistler Winterhawks Pee Wee C2 team brought home the Lions Gate banner by winning the end-of-season tournament, Whistler’s Bantam Rep “A” team headed to Sooke for the provincial championships. The team went undefeated in the tournament until the final round, when they were beaten by the Vanderhoof Bears by a score of 4-2. As a result the Winterhawks placed second in the province.
