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Whistler: The Year in Sports

It’s been said a thousand times in a thousand different ways, but there’s really no place like Whistler. And one of the things that sets us apart from all the other mountain towns out there is our all-consuming passion for our sports.

It’s been said a thousand times in a thousand different ways, but there’s really no place like Whistler. And one of the things that sets us apart from all the other mountain towns out there is our all-consuming passion for our sports.

We are home to professional and amateur mountain bikers, skiers and snowboarders, who compete at the local, national and international level. Some came here for the mountains, while others grew up in Whistler surrounded by all kinds of excellence.

Our local sports scene is intense, and there are leagues and clubs for almost everything. Participation is generally through the roof.

Through our fame and our reputation as a town that takes its sports seriously, we have become a stop on world tours for a wide variety of sports, from golf to skateboarding to slo-pitch softball.

As a result of this fanaticism, we pack more into a single year than most towns our size can boast in an entire decade. Here are some of the highlights from 2001.

January

Jan 7 to 11 –Whistler hosted the Canadian Freeskiing Championships once again, and local skiers came out on top. Jennifer Ashton, a member of the Whistler Freeride Team, finished first among the women. Local Hugo Harrison, the reigning world freeski champion, was second in the men’s competition, while Whistler’s Pierre Yves-Leblanc took third overall.

Jan. 13 – Canadian skier Melanie Turgeon landed on the podium twice in one day, winning a bronze and a silver medal in two downhills in Austria.

Jan. 17 to 21 – Whistler hosted the 2001 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, with moguls, dual moguls and aerials events. Canada came up big. In the single moguls, Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau and Stephane Rochon claimed silver and bronze medals. Aerialist Veronika Bauer won the gold medal and the championship title, while Diedra Dionne took the bronze. In the dual moguls, Whistler’s Tami Bradley won the silver medal, facing Kari Traa of Norway in the last run.

Jan. 25 to 29 – Canada’s Jasey Jay Anderson wins the men’s GS at the 2001 FIS World Championships of Snowboarding in Italy. Whistler’s Lori Glazier is sixth in the women’s halfpipe.

February

Feb. 3 – The Wild Willies team once again wins the annual Peak to Valley Race, led by ski coach Chris Kent. This was Kent’s eighth win in nine years.

Feb. 9 – Fernie’s Emily Brydon, one of Canada’s top up and coming ski racers, tore three ligaments and injured her meniscus at the World Alpine Ski Championships.

Feb. 10 – Whistler’s Nikke Kassel wins the annual Fairmont Chateau Whistler Cross Country Ski Loppet, which attracted almost 300 competitors from the Pacific Coast and as far away as Australia.

Feb. 10 – Whistler’s Tami Bradley won her first ever World Cup gold medal in the dual moguls at Kogen, Japan. Stephane Rochon also won gold in duals. Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau took the silver medal in the single moguls on the following day.

Feb 18 – Snowboarder Natasza Zurek, who divides her time between Whistler and Vancouver, wins the Vans Triple Crown halfpipe in California.

Feb. 26 – The Whistler Secondary Storm senior boys basketball team qualified for the ‘A’ provincial championships, beating St. Thomas Aquinas and Pemberton Secondary at a West Vancouver Tournament.

Also in February – Whistler loses the right to host a triple crown mountain bike World Cup after the event organizers and the mountains are unable to agree to terms.

Whistler’s Rikka Tindle, an aspiring gymnast is named to the national team after winning five out of six gold medals at the provincial championships and the previous year. Whistler Valley Snowboard Club riders clean up at halfpipe and slopestyle events. Whistler skiers, led by Rachel Walker and Jennifer Bertram, earn podiums at the Pontiac GMC race series.

March

March 3 – Natasza Zurek is back on the podium with a gold in Park City. Gullaume Morisset earns a silver medal for the men.

March 3 – Whistler skiers rule at the 21 st Bob Parson Memorial Downhill. Gold: Kendall Benbow, Conrad Pridy, Mathew Holler. Silver: Kendall Benbow, Taylor Self, Rey Stanislas, Anastasia Skryabina (2), Jerry McArthur, and Haley McLeish (2). Bronze: Alison Leighton, Katherine Cape (2), Mila Rusimovich, Conrad Pridy, and Jerry McArthur.

March 4 – Melanie Turgeon wins a silver for Canada in the super-G World Cup finals.

March 5 – Grouse Mountain announces that it will hold the triple crown World Cup mountain bike event that Whistler lost.

March 15 – Whistler’s Britt Janyk was injured during a NorAm downhill at Snowbasin, Utah, separating her shoulder and spraining her knee.

March 17 – The Whistler Atom Winterhawks, aged 10 and 11, won the Lions Gate League playoff championships against the Hollyburn Huskies with an overtime slapshot by Troy Stager.

March 18 – The World Cup Snowboard Season wraps up in Ruka, Finland, with Jasey Jay Anderson winning the overall championship title and snowboard cross title.

March 18 – Whistler Mountain Ski Club racers win medals at provincial championships. Gold: Conrad Pridy, Matthew Holler, Kendall Benbow (2), Darren Chaddock. Silver: Taylor Self, Matthew Holler. Bronze: Matthew Holler, Jennifer Mah, Haley McLeish, Alison Matasi, Jerry McArthur. Chaddock and Benbow walked away as overall K2 provincial champions.

March 18 – Canadians dominated the U.S. Open, with Scott Gaffney, Robert Fagan and Mathieu Morency finishing one, two, three in the Boardercross. Whistler’s Star of Peace Quinn was second in the women’s event. In the halfpipe, Natasza Zurek took the gold medal. Quebec’s Annie Boulanger won the quarterpipe, and James Beach of Whistler was third in the men’s event.

March 26 – Legendary Crazy Canuck Dave Irwin sustained a life-altering head injury during a training run at the Export A Extreme Skiercross at Sunshine Village.

Also in March: Whistler mountain biker Will Routley is named to the National Junior Team. Five riders from the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club (WVSC) earn spots in the junior world champions, including three Whistler riders, Timm Orr, Mike Renca and Mercedes Nicoll; ten riders earn spots in the nationals.

April

April 7 – Local snowboarders Erin Simmons and Drew Neilson win the ISF Boardercross championships.

April 6 to 8 – The 2001 Sierra Wireless-Air Canada Whistler Cup brings in over 320 racers from 18 countries for K1 (ages 11 and 12) and K2 (ages 13 and 14) races. The Canadian Team – anchored by K2 Louise-Philippe Therrien’s bronze medal in the giant slalom, K1 Simon Mannella’s gold medal, and K1 Larisa Yurkiw’s bronze – finishes fourth overall. We put at lest one Canadian in the top 10 of every race.

April 8 – The annual Mouton Cadet Spring Festival and ski/snowboard races raise more than $10,000 for local charities.

April 12 to 14 – Canadian skiers dominate the World Ski Invitational, which is part of the World Ski and Snowboard Festival. A 17 year old David Crichton of Manotick, Ontario, wins the slopestyle, and finishes third in the big air to Whistler’s Vincent Dorion and JF Cusson.

April 17 – Despite some nasty weather, the first World Freestyle Snowmobile Association big air in Whistler went off. Jay Fentiman took the title, Chris Dimma was second, and B.J. Murray third.

April 19 to 22 – The World Snowboarding Championships is held, with most of the hardware going to American riders. Tara Dakides and Todd Richards won the slopestyle; Kevin Jones won the jib jam; Ross Powers and French snowboarder Dorianne Vidal won the Superpipe; Keir Dillon won the best hit award; and Jussi Oksanen of Finland and Dresden Howell of the U.S. won the big air titles.

April 22 – Whistler locals finish strong in the annual 10K Vancouver Sun run. Morgan Titus was second in the 18 and under race, and Mae Palm was first in the 60 to 64 category.

April 21 to 22 – Whistler skiers dominate Coast Zone finals. Medals went to James Finlayson (2), Brian Bennett, Michael Janyk, Christoph McCullough (2), Rachel Walker (2), Danielle Robson, Christopher Colpitts (2), Robert Dixon, Blake Jamieson (2), Anastasia Skryabina (2), Charlotte Whitney (2), Jerry McArthur (2), Mila Rusimovich, Alison Leighton, Matthew Holler, Adrian Levine, Rey Stanislas (2), Julia Murray, Jennifer Mah, Katherine Cape (2), Jeff Hume, Paul Boskovich, Scott Hume, Ben Chaddock, Kayla Benbow, Michael Messeguer, Britt Gibbons, and Kendall Benbow.

April 23 – The Westbeach Classic, which was scheduled for May 18 to 20, is postponed. The organizers decided that their sponsorship of the World Snowboarding Championships, where more than $260,000 U.S. was given away, was more than ample.

Also in April: Whistler’s Danielle O’Reilly is awarded a golf scholarship to Eastern Tennessee State. Two other Whistler athletes went south on scholarships last year – golfer Matt Woods and hockey player Tyler Dufor.

May

May 5 – The B.C. Cup mountain bike season kicked off. Whistler’s Chad Miles wins the Pro Elite category. James Crowe won the Under 15 race, Will Routley won the Junior Expert, and Brendon Edgar was third in the Under 17 men. Tony Routley won the Master Expert Men, while Eric Crowe was fourth. Jeff Beatty is 5 th in the junior expert downhill.

May 12 to 13 – Showcase Showdown. Charles Perrault and Iwabuchi Chiyoko win the pro halfpipe, WVSC riders Tyler Quarles and Sarah Kopinya won the amateur catgory, and Vinny Ligeti (also WVSC) won the 15 and under. James Beach and Mercedes Nicoll won the quarterpipe.

May 14 – Toronto’s bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games got a boost when International Olympic Committee (IOC) members said they had the best technical bid.

May 20 – Victoria’s Roland Green became the first Canadian male to win a cross country mountain bike World Cup, and the first competitor to win on a dual suspension bike.

May 21 – Marion Lay, the chair of the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Bid Corporation, was awarded the 2001 Women & Sport Trophy for the Americas by the IOC.

May 26 and 27 – Whistler locals are once again strong in B.C. Cup. James Crowe wins his third race, and Brook Baker her second. Chad Miles won again, Lisa Dickson was third, and Jeff Beatty won his first downhill since he moved to the Junior Expert category.

Also in May: Whistler gymnasts, who have been competing since January, collect their share of medals in zone and provincial level competitions. The gymnasts awarded are Christine Brett, Stephanie Moody, Julianna Waters, Melissa Manuel, Rachel Kleinman, Nicola Bennett, Renee Palkovsky, and Nickie Sadler. Whistler athletes also collected a number of top five and top 10 awards.

June

June 2 – James Crowe remains undefeated after the fourth B.C. Cup of the season. Will Routley won the Junior Expert category and Sylvie Allen won the women’s downhill race.

June 9 – Mountain bikers restore an old BMX dirt track in Pemberton and hold the first annual Pemberton Track Revival Bike Jam and Fundraiser to raise money to pay for the track’s upkeep. Hundreds of people turn out.

June 10 – Whistler mountain bikers are fast in the first Canada Cup of the Season. Chad Miles was second, Will Routley fourth, and Tony Routley second in their respective categories.

June 16 – The Whistler Hoary Marmots lose a close rugby game, 20-17, against the Rowers, up from Vancouver.

June 23 – A Whistler-Blackcomb Team raised almost $30,000 for B.C. children with disabilities at the annual 24-hour relay at B.C. Place in Vancouver.

June 23 – The annual Squamish Test of Metal attracts record crowds. Locals Dave Burch and Lisa Dickson finish fourth in the elite category, Angela Teng was second in the Senior Expert Women, Will Routley and Tyler West are fourth and fifth in the Under 19 Expert Men, and James Crowe won the Under 15 men.

July

July 3 – Joyride Bikercross. Dave Watson of North Vancouver won for the men, Whistler’s Claire Buchar won the women, and Jeff Beatty won for the juniors.

July 8 – Canadians Roland Green and Chrissy Redden settle for silver medals in the World Cup cross country race at Grouse Mountain.

July 14 – Whistler cyclists are quick in the Canada Cup. Will Routley claimed the silver, Chad Miles the bronze in cross country, and Jeff Beatty the gold and Sylvie Allen the Bronze in the downhill.

July 22 – The Squamish Triathlon attracts record numbers. Whistler locals did well in their categories.

July 23 – The municipality announces that it will be closing the Unmarked Hazards disc golf course and building a new course under the power lines by Spruce Grove park.

July 29 – Trail closures are announced for Danimal, Beaver Pass, and 99er to allow for the construction of a new subdivision. The developers announce a bypass trail, and later $10,000 in funding to finish the new Foreplay, to compensate mountain bikers.

July 30 to 31 – Roman Torn, Jamie Finlayson and Brian Bennett represent Team Canada at a 16 downhill endurance race in New Zealand.

August

Aug. 4 to 5 – The Pemberton Laoyam Eagles Dragon Boat Team won two silver medals at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Philadelphia.

Aug. 5 – Tyler West and Will Routley finish third and fourth in the Canadian cross country mountain bike championships. James Crowe won the Under 15 race. Eric Crowe and Tony Routley won the silver and bronze medals in the Master Men 40 to 49 race, and Rob McSkimming was fifth. Roland Green and Alison Sydor won the pro titles.

Aug. 2 to 5 – Skatespace returns to Whistler, running skateboard, BMX, and inline skating events in between showers.

Aug. 11 – The first STORMY held in Squamish, a long-distance running race around the 67 km Test of Metal course. Whistler’s Michelle Kaminski was the top woman and 13 th overall in 7:17:46.

Aug. 18 – The Whistler Rotary Club hosts the Rotary Riverside Greens Putting Classic, raising $5,000 for the new Whistler library. Matt Woods, who is playing NCAA golf in New Orleans, shot a seven under par 38.

Aug. 18 to 19 – the B.C. Grass Volleyball Provincial Championships takes place in Whistler. Locals Jas Michalski and Tim Bonnell come in second.

Aug. 19 – Will Routley wins the mountain bike bronze medal in the 2001 Canada Games in Ontario.

Aug. 19 – Only one rider gets seriously lost on the 45 km Tour de Soo mountain bike race from Whistler to Pemberton. Greg Grant of Squamish was the top male, and Whistler’s Nikki Kassel the top female.

Aug. 21 to 23 – The American Junior Golf Association hosts a FutureLinks tournament at Whistler Golf Course. Golfers from Alberta and the Lower Mainland finish on top.

Aug. 25 to 26 – Whistler locals do well in the B.C. Cup finals in Rossland. James Crowe wins the Under 15 race, and Eric Crowe was second in the Master Expert 40 to 49 race.

Aug. 26 – Locals compete in the Penticton Ironman Triathlon. Dawn Weberg-Titus, Mae Palm, Charles Coates, John Blok, Paul Nicholas, Jody Stockfish, Paul Suter, Christine Suter, and Tony Theriault of Whistler finish. Palm, Weberg-Titus and Christine Suter qualify for the world championships in Hawaii.

Aug. 27 – Victoria’s Roland Green wins the UCI World title in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, the first Canadian male to do so.

Also in August: Austrian skier and Olympic champion Hermann Maier went into a ditch on his motorcycle on Aug. 24, shattering bones in his lower right leg. He undergoes six hours of surgery, and is told he may miss the 2002 Winter Olympics. He doesn’t ski again until mid-December.

Five Whistler residents are named to the Canadian Team for the Mountain Bike World Championships – Will Routley, Tyler West and Chad Miles in cross country, and downhillers Sylvie Allen and Jeff Beatty.

The Whistler Downhill Series, hosted by Paul Fournier, wraps up.

September

Sept. 1 – Pierre-Yves Leblanc of Pemberton wins the World Heli Challenge extreme skiing competition in New Zealand.

Sept. 2 – Tony Routley and Rob McSkimming take third and fourth in the UCI Masters Mountain Bike World Championships in Quebec.

Sept. 8 to 9 – The team of Nikki Kassel and Dave Burch win the annual Sea to Summit adventure race, starting at Deep Cove and finishing in Whistler Village.

Sept. 9 – Lucas Curran wins the annual Westside Wheelup. Ronni Lister is the top female, and James Crowe the top junior.

Sept. 8 to 16 – Because of the attacks of Sept. 11, the only Whistler athletes who make it to the world mountain bike championships in Vail are Jeff Beatty, Sylvie Allen, and Will Routley. Beatty was 15 th . Victoria’s Roland Green wins.

Sept. 15 – An astonishing 91 of 96 Whistler Mountain bikers finished the first annual Samurai of Singletrack, covering 19 of Whistler’s bike trails in a single day. Lucas Curran posts the fastest time, and Nikki Kassel is the top woman.

Sept. 16 – Over 300 competitors turn out for the Whistler Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon.

Sept. 22 — Roland Green and Alison Sydor win the 19 th annual Cheakamus Challenge Fall Classic Mountain Bike Race. Will Routley is the top junior. Cheaky Awards are presented to Eric White, Vincent Massey, Paul Rawlinson, Charlie Doyle, Richard Kelly and Bob Eakins for their contribution to mountain biking in the region.

Sept. 27 – WORCA hosts its annual general meeting. Tony Horn is elected president of the 600-member mountain bike and trail advocacy group.

October

Oct. 5 to 7 – The Whistler Mountain Bike Park holds "HuckFest" to celebrate a record season – bike park visits were up 55 per cent over the previous year. Vancouver’s Ryan Day wins the WORCA Max Vert Enduro with 11 laps of the park. Whistler’s Jenine Bourbonnas is the top woman.

Oct. 5 – A golf tournament is held on behalf of the late Tony Tyler to honour his memory and raise money for his favourite charity, Whistler Minor Hockey.

Oct. 6 – Mae Palm wins the women’s 60 to 64 category at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Dawn Weberg-Titus finishes 16 th out of 38 competitors in the women’s 40 to 44 race.

Oct. 20 – Lucas Curran is 17 th at the Xterra world championships in Hawaii.

Oct. 29 – French ski champion Regine Cavagnoud sustains serious head injuries when she collided with a German coach during a training run in Austria. She died two days later. The accident is blamed on the fact that the teams were using different radio frequencies.

November

Nov. 3 – Whistler’s Sheila Mozes receives the Recreation Leader of the Year award from Gymnastics B.C. The year before it went to Whistler coach Tami Ross.

Nov. 11 – Fernie’s Emily Brydon tore a ligament in her left knee while training for a World Cup super-G in Colorado. She has qualified for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, and may still compete.

Nov. 15 – The Unmarked Hazards disc golf course is officially closed.

Nov. 17 – Whistler’s Jim McConkey is added to the Honour Roll of Canadian Skiing.

Nov. 18 – Whistler’s Drew Nielson wins the bronze snowboard cross medal at a World Cup in France.

Nov. 29 – Nanaimo’s Allison Forsyth, who trained with the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, wins the silver medal in the giant slalom at Copper Mountain, Colorado.

December

Dec. 2 to 9 – Whistler’s Jeff Hume wins the NorAm men’s downhill at Lake Louise. Christina Risler earned a gold and bronze bronze for the women.

Dec. 8 – Swiss skier Silvano Beltrametti is paralyzed from the chest down when he flies through a safety net in a World Cup downhill in France.

Dec. 6 to 11 – Whistler hosts a FIS Snowboard World Cup, with a Snowboard Cross, two halfpipes, Alpine and Big Air events. Gullaume Morrisset won a bronze and Natasza Zurek won a silver medal for Canada in the first pipe event. In the second contest Daniel Migneault, Guillaume Morisset, and Mike Michalchuk swept the podium and Dominique Vallee was third. In the parallel giant slalom, Jasey Jay Anderson won a silver medal after crashing in the final heat.

Dec. 13 – Whistler’s Matt Gibbons, a star forward with the Chiliwack Chiefs Junior A hockey team, is named to the provincial all-star team.

Dec. 14 – Whistler freestyler Tami Bradley wins a bronze medal in the dual moguls at Steamboat Colorado. Stephane Rochon won a gold in the singles and a bronze in duals.

Dec. 15 – The Windermere Extreme women’s volleyball team (Jan Budge, Laura Wetaski, Amy Moore, Georgina Titus, Jodi Rutten, Wanda Chalk, and Erica Swanstrom) finishes third at a B.C. Volleyball Association tournament in Vancouver.