Every second season the Whistler Skating Club hosts another themed gala evening where all of their skaters get to perform in groups and their solo routines. The club also brings in guest skaters, and this year is no exception, with national level skater Gary Wong taking to the ice.
The theme for this year's show is Hollywood, and there are three performances open to parents, friends and the public. The first show is on Friday, May 1 at 7 p.m. and there are two shows on Saturday, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and students and $5 for children aged three to nine.
Tickets will be available at the door.
To help cover costs, the Whistler Skating Club is also holding a raffle, with prizes that include a 2009-2010 Whistler Blackcomb Season Pass, a Vermont Castings Barbeque, a "Mom's Day Off" gift basket, a "Dad's Gift Pack" and more. Tickets are three for $5 or $2 each and are available at Double Diamond Law, Mountain Law, Squamish Athletic Club, Whistler Physiotherapy, Whistler Real Estate Company, and through WSC members. The draw date is May 11.
Team Whistler back at it
Team Whistler road riders has been very active over the past month, taking part in spring series races hosted by the Team Escape Velocity Cycling Club. This past Saturday was the Atomic Race Course, which is a tough race with three hill climbs per lap and 10 laps to the finish.
Tony Routley and Mike Charuk managed to stay with the lead pack in the B category, with Routley placing sixth in the mass sprint to the finish - his second-best result this season after placing fifth in the second event. Charuk would have placed 20 th by a few bike lengths but he was already disqualified for a yellow line infraction. In the A race, Mike Boehm pulled out after eight laps.
On Sunday the team mixed it up a little by switching road bikes with mountain bikes for the first Squamish Off Road Cycling Association event of the season. Future SORCA races will be on Wednesday nights, as usual.
A touch of rugby
For years Whistler has fielded a rugby team that takes part in summer tournament and exhibition games against teams from the Lower Mainland. But this summer - with enough support - Mark Baldwin is hoping to establish a fun touch league as well. The rules are similar to rugby, as players run forward with the ball and pass it backwards to their teammates until a player is touched by an opposing player. The player then stops, touches the ball to his/her foot and resumes play until someone drops a ball, bumps a ball forward while catching it, passes the ball forward, runs out of bounds or runs out of field. It's a great workout, and something actual rugby players do to get into competitive condition.
If you're interested in joining a touch league, contact Mark Baldwin at mdb_nz@hotmail.com.
Every Woman adds race package
The sixth annual Every Woman has added a race package this year that includes the Whistler Valley Trail Run (5 km and 10 km courses) and a new RunWalk Tips workshop by Olympic bronze medalist Lynn Kanuka.
"I see walking and running as a springboard to experiencing all kinds of activities," she said. "I'm super excited about our new Every Woman RunWalk package for all those looking to add variety and fun to their RunWalk programs."
Every Woman is a women's health and wellness conference where women are invited to come out and try different sports and activities. Their motto is "Inspiring Women Through Physical Activity" and this year's theme is Every Woman Keep Moving. Guest speakers include improv comedian Christine Lippa of Rock.Paper.Scissors Inc. and Stephanie Tait, co-founder of "run for One Planet. She has been running a marathon a day, completing over 17,000 km across Canada and the U.S., to raise environmental awareness.
There are dozens of workshops available for participants this year, including: an ATV tour, hiking, mountain biking, circuit training, classical Hatha yoga, speed badminton, a drawing class, an Ayurveda cooking class, belly dancing "Bellyfit," and introduction to squash, stretching, golf tips, Nia, pregnancy fitness, day planning, learning to run, running faster, seniors yoga, power yoga, posture, Vijnana yoga, kayaking, the Whistler Try-A-Tri Triathlon, Gyrokinesis, clearing the clutter, Nordic walking, tennis, pole dancing, strength training, Feldenkrais, ZipTrek, cardio kickboxing, foot reflexology, nutrition, drumming, financial planning, Taekwondo, water running, Zumba, breathing techniques, jazz and hip hop dance, go-go dancing, Qigong, salsa dancing, the Chakra system, gemstones, healing techniques, goal setting, Pilates, ballet, and rock climbing. A full list and registration is available online at www.everywoman.ca.
Mountain biking comes to ski and snowboard festiv al
For years the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival has signaled the unofficial end of the snow season, which by default also signals the unofficial start of the mountain bike season. This year mountain bike guide Chris Winter is bringing both together with a slide show featuring three professional photographers - Blake Jordenson, Harookz and Sterling Lorence. The show is titled Supernautral, and it takes place during the festival on Friday, April 17 at Millennium Place, starting at 8:30 p.m.. Tickets are $9.99 with part of the proceeds going towards Zero Ceiling. Zero Ceiling reaches out to at-risk and street youths in Vancouver, exposing them to snowboarding and the possibility of a life and career in the mountains.
Jorgenson's segment will feature a downhill trip from Switzerland's highest peak, while Harookz captures freeride images from places like Los Angeles and Squamish. Sterling Lorence, arguably one of the best know mountain bike photographers in the world, is known for his work from the North Shore to Sea to Sky.
The event is presented by Big Mountain Bike Adventures, Winter's guiding company. Winter will also be showcasing a few of his photos from his around the world mountain bike adventures.
Province invests $5 million in amateur sports
This week the province announced $5 million in funding for amateur sports programs across B.C., which can be accessed by 65 provincial sport organizations through Sport B.C.
The money is used to develop and support amateur sport at the community levels, in whatever makes the most sense in terms of recruiting athletes to the sport and getting programs off the ground.
For example, funding over the last five years has helped Gymnastics B.C. increase enrollment by over 25 per cent across the province.
Over the past year Sport B.C. has been working with the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport and other stakeholders to realign sports and recreation sectors to increase participation.
Calling all climbers
It may still be winter in the valley, but the weather is always fine for climbing at the Whistler Core.
On April 20, The Core is bringing back its Hardcore Bouldering Competition, which was a huge success last year with 50 adults competing in different categories and almost the same number of kids taking part in a fun competition earlier in the day.
The competition runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with athletes scoring themselves on a series of challenging routes. No ropes or harnesses are required.
The cost is $25 for members and $40 for non-members, and everybody has a chance to win draw prizes donated by local businesses. Everybody also gets a T-shirts.
The Fun Kids Comp is from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and is open to everyone as well as the kids enrolled The Core's youth programs. The cost is $5, which also includes T-shirts and draw prizes. Registration is available at The Core.
WORCA looking for a 20 th anniversary log o
The Whistler Off Road Cycling Association turned 20 a month ago, and WORCA is celebrating the anniversary through the season. One component of the celebration is an anniversary bike jersey.
WORCA is currently holding a contest to design the jersey. Designs must be one colour, and should be visible on black, grey and red shirts. The design will likely be printed in black, grey, white and possibly red.
The design must fit the dimensions indicated on the PDF information sheet posted onine at www.worca.com. You don't have to incorporate the WORCA logo, but it should mention WORCA and the fact it's the 20 th anniversary. Designs should be submitted as PDFs, but other formats can be accepted as well.
The prize for the best design, as selected by the board of directors, is a free shirt, a WORCA membership and $75.
Designs should be submitted to tracy_howlett@hotmail.com by May 4, 2009. The winning design will be selected at the May 6 board meeting, and the winners will be announced that week. The shirts will be available in early June.
Youth soccer gets underway
The Whistler Youth Soccer Club is already hosting indoor practices, and outdoor practices for the Pemberton Youth Soccer Club get underway on April 14. The first games in the Green River League are on Saturday, May 2.
Spaces have opened up in both clubs since the fall session, and teams are looking for players. To register for Whistler visit www.whistlersoccer.com. For Pemberton, contact league administrator Bettina Falloon at 604-894-6130.
Registration is also underway for the Vancouver Whitecaps "Play like a Pro" camp on April 18-19. Early registration is recommended as the camp is expected to sell out early. Whistler players can register at their homepage, and Pemberton players can register at www.hometeamsonline.com/pembertonsoccer. Registration for summer sports camps is open as well.
And as always the league is looking for qualified referees to help out, and the clubs are offering a "Small Side Referee Course" on April 25 that covers the basics. Referees get paid for games. Contact Bettina Falloon or Angela Mellor at 604-938-0209 to register.
Coaches are also in demand. For parents looking to get involved the clubs are hosting a level one coaching course in Pemberton on April 18. The Community Coach Children's course is specifically tailored to coaches working with kids aged 6-10. Details at www.whistlersoccer.com.
Just do it...
Registration is open for several local biking and running events. The Whistler Kids of Steel Triathlon and Adult Try-a-Tri is available through the Whistler Triathlon Club, www.whistlertriclub.ca. Both events take place on Saturday, May 23, with a pool swim, road cycle and run on the Valley Trail.
Registration for the annual Whistler Valley Trail Run, taking place on Sunday, May 24, is at www.whistlervalleytrailrun.ca. Both 5 km and 10 km courses are available.
Registration for the 25 km Comfortably Numb Trail Run, taking place Saturday, June 27, also opened recently. More details and registration is available at www.comfortablynumb.ca.
