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Sports briefs

Finnish jumper tops opening Big Air

The World Cup Big Air season kicked off at the Relentless Freeze Festival in England this weekend with an urban event in downtown London starring some of the biggest names in the sport - European names anyway, as Canada's top big air athletes like Sebastien Toutant (second in the rankings last years), Zachary Stone (seventh), Robby Balharry (eighth) and Matt Kulisek (11th), opted to miss the event.

Instead, the Canadian team was anchored by Maxence Parrot and Antoine Truchon, who dominated in the New Zealand Open in August. Parrot finished the day in 14th while Truchon was 25th.

The win went to Finnish rider Janne Korpi, who landed a frontside double 1080 and backside 1260. Seppe Smits of Belgium was second and Joris Ouwerkerk of the Netherlands placed third. Jamie Nicholls of Great Britain and Staale Sanbech of Norway rounded out the top five.

The World Cup halfpipe season kicked off this week at Saas-Fee, Switzerland with two men's and women's events on Nov. 2-3.

 

Gymnastics club hosts Trampworx, freestyle gymnastics workshop

This weekend the Whistler Gymnastics Club is hosting a pair of free events and inviting the public to come out and watch.

On Friday, Nov. 4 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., the club is hosting Jessie Pierce of Team Hybrid Movement - a freestyle gymnastics troupe that specializes in parkour, free-running, stunting, martial arts tricking, circus arts, and more. The event will start off with a demo, followed by a workshop on parkour, free running and stunting for athletes 15 and older. Participant numbers are limited so call 604-902-FLIP to reserve your spot.

The event kicks off a four-week "Freestyle Fridays" session hosted by Whistler Gymnastics, which starts on Nov. 18 and runs until Christmas break - and will likely return in the New Year as well.

Also this weekend is Trampworx, a freestyle trampoline competition that's limited to club members enrolled in gymnastics and trampoline programs, adults in programs and athletes registered with the club that use the facility for training.

Jumpers will be broken down into age groups and will compete in three events: Trampoline Big Air, Double Mini Big Air and Trampoline Slopestyle.

The event runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5, and spectators are welcome to come out and watch.

This is a first for the freestyle trampoline format, and Whistler Gymnastics is hoping to use the first event to work out the details and then host an invitational competition in the spring with clubs from across B.C. and Alberta.

 

Saints snap losing streak

The Whistler Saints flag football team is back on its feet after a 28-0 win over the North Vancouver Raiders this past Sunday. Luke Haasen set the tone when he ran back the opening kick for a touchdown. Haasen added another touchdown and Matt Seamans scored two, while Zayden Goertson kicked two conversions. Liam Forsyth led the defence with three sacks and six flags.

The pee wee Sea to Sky Broncos lost their first in six games as injuries took their toll. They lost 20-0, despite the defensive efforts of Adam Klimchuck-Brown and Nolan Robinson Nault.

 

Moyse misses track selections

Canada's Heather Moyse, a current Olympic champion in bobsleigh and a standout member of the national women's rugby team - who currently boasts the most tries of any female international rugby player in World Cup competition - has decided to give cycling a try. However, she missed the cut for the national track team and will have a tough road ahead of her to represent Canada at the 2012 Summer Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee posted a story recently about the 33-year-old Moyse, detailing her work to join the national track cycling team as a sprinter.

"I want to be an athlete in three nationals sports," said Moyse. "I needed a new challenge, it's what motivates me."

She started to ride over the summer, but took some time off when she injured her ankle playing rugby. Back in the saddle she gradually progressed onto the track. At the start of October she had 10 days on a beginner track, then six more days in a proper velodrome.

But while she doesn't have a lot of pedalLing experience, she has other qualities that could make her latest dream a reality - explosive power and a certain fearlessness that you need to race bobsleigh and compete in international rugby.

"I transitioned from rugby to bobsleigh, so now I'm transitioning that power to the bike, she said. "But it's a lot more challenging than I expected.

"My mom wished it was badminton and not riding my bike on a wall. But everyone's really excited for me, I think they knew I needed this motivation."

The learning curve has been steep, she admitted. "Being able to maintain the proper technique while essentially riding on a wall - plus there's lots of other bikes on the track as well - it's a huge challenge for me."

While it will be tough to make the national team in time for 2012, Moyse has done it before. She only started bobsleigh four months before she qualified to compete in the 2006 Games in Italy.

 

Red Bull Joyride to wrap up freeride mountain bike tour

The annual Crankworx slopestyle event has long been one of the premiere events in the mountain bike freestyle world, but in 2012 the event will go up another notch on the Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour with the announcement that the Red Bull Joyride will be the final stop on the FMT world tour.

The tour will start at the Vienna Air King competition from Mar. 31 to April 1 in Austria, followed by events in Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and France, before crossing back over to North America for the Claymore Challenge, Crankworx Colorado, Bearclaw Invitational and Red Bull Joyride on Aug. 18.

Whistler's Brandon Semenuk, who won Joyride in 2011, finished the 2011 on top of the leader board by more than 600 points. Three other Canadians also cracked the top 10 with Anthony Messere in fourth, Darren Berrecloth in ninth and Kurtis Sorge in 10th.

For more, visit www.fmbworldtour.com.