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Xterra seeking athletes, volunteers

For the first time in a decade the Xterra off-road triathlon series is returning to Whistler, with a wide range of categories to choose from for the competition Sunday, Sept. 5.

For the first time in a decade the Xterra off-road triathlon series is returning to Whistler, with a wide range of categories to choose from for the competition Sunday, Sept. 5.

There are both sport and competitive categories available, with the competitive category roughly double the distance of the sport group. The sport category will do one lap of the 750 metre swim course on Alta Lake, one lap of the 11 km mountain bike course, and one lap of the six kilometre trail run.

People can also enter relay teams into the competition, and if individual racers aren't up for the swim then there are sport and competitive duathlon categories as well.

Online registration has wrapped up, but racers will be able to register in person until noon on Saturday, Sept. 4 at the Nita Lake Lodge.

The event organizers are looking for 20 volunteers to help out on race day from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m., with the racing getting underway at 9 a.m. Volunteers will get an Xterra shirt, Xterra visor and an invite to the barbecue banquet at Nita Lake Lodge.

If you can volunteer on Saturday then contact Grant Lamont at gjlamont@gmail.com.

Buchar wraps World Cup season with team win

Whistler's Claire Buchar was nothing if not consistent on this year's World Cup downhill tour, finishing seventh at every single race including the finals at Windham New York last week. She was also seventh overall in the final World Cup standings.

On her blog, Buchar said the last result was the hardest with her time just over a second back of the podium.

"Not a terrible run but I had better ones in practice," she wrote.

Sabrina Jonnier of France finished the season ranked first overall for the women, followed by fellow French racer Emmeline Ragot. Tracey Moseley of the U.K. was third.

In the men's standings Nanaimo's Steve Smith was the top Canadian, in 10 th place overall. Gee Atherton of the U.S. took the overall series title, just ahead of Greg Minnaar of South Africa. Sam Blenkinsop was third.

Buchar's results helped her factory team, Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense, place first overall on the UCI World Cup team standings, ahead of Scott and Santa Cruz Syndicate.

Next up is the UCI World Championships taking place over the week at Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec.

 

WORCA hosting Toonie Ride

Tonight's (Sept. 2) Toonie Ride is sponsored by the Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association and will celebrate the completion of renovations to Austria Passiv Haus, an Olympic legacy that was donated to the community that will include offices and meeting space for WORCA and the Whistler Nordics.

The race will take place on a selection of Lost Lake trails.

The format is pot luck, so bring some food to share. Also, bring your own mug for post-race refreshments. Sign-on is at 5:30 p.m. at Passiv Haus and the race gets underway at 6:30 p.m.

The Sept. 9 ride is hosted by Merlin's and the Garbanzo Bike and Bean, following a course in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. The final Toonie of the season - not including the annual Halloween ride - is the following week, Sept. 16, and is sponsored by Whistler Fire Services. For more information visit www.worca.com.

BMX riders head to nationals

With the 2012 Summer Games just two years away more than 400 riders turned out to the BMX National Cycling Championships in Airdrie, Alberta last weekend. Several members from the Squamish BMX Racing Club took part, many of them finishing on the podium.

In 6 and Under Boys, Jackson Goldstone placed second. Bailey Goldstone was second in 8 Girls and Maja Woolley second in 9 Girls. Kasper Woolley was was first in 11 Boys, Miriam Bailey first in 45 Girl Cruiser and Ron Goldstone seventh in 40 to 44 Cruiser.

The club has been hosting almost weekly single point races since April, as well as three sanctioned double point races. Club members have also participated in several national level events, including the Gateway Nationals in Prince George from Aug. 13 to 15. In that event several athletes finished on the podium.

On day one Robyn Schenk was third in 8 Girls, Heidi Schenk third in 6 Novice, Chloe Carlson first in 8 Novice, Holden Jones first and Nathan Romanin third in 9 Novice, Zak Berrisford second in 9 Intermediate and Kasper Woolley second in 11 Expert. On day two Robyn Schenk was third in 8 Girls, Holden Jones first in 9 Novice, Zak Berrisford first in 9 Novice and Kasper Woolley second in 11 Expert.

Weekly results are posted online at www.squamishbmx.ca.

 

Locals top Hell of a Series points

The five race Hell of a Series wrapped up on Aug. 21 with the Squamish Just Another Bike Race. There were points up for grabs at each event, and this week the series total were added up with only the best three results counting for each rider.

Whistler's Melanie Bernier ranked first in the Female 20 to 29 race, competing in three of five events and winning all to earn 600 points. Jenny Strong was a close second, competing in all five events and finishing with 575.

Michael Robinson raced in all five events, winning every one, and finished with 600 points.

Trevor Hopkins won two out of four events and placed second in another to take the Male 35 to 39 category with 575 points.

Cathy Zeglinski won the Female 45 to 49 group with three wins in three races, and a perfect 600 points.

Tony Routley raced in all five events, winning two and placing second three times to take the Male 50 to 54 category with 575 points.

Mike Hawes won the Male 60 to 69 category with 505 points.

Gary Baker won the Male 70-Plus category, going four for four in the races he entered and earning 600 points.

 

Wolfpack lose exhibition games but keep first one close

The Squamish Wolfpack played a pair of games against the Grandview Steelers over the weekend, one of the top teams in the league. Despite an abundance of rookies in the lineup the Wolfpack held their own at home and sent their Saturday night game into overtime tied 4-4. Grandview was tougher at home on Sunday, beating the Wolfpack 6-2.

The Wolfpack are heading to the Kootenays on a four-game roadtrip this weekend, playing exhibition games against other Junior B teams in the Kootenay International Hockely League.

Their first regular season game is at home on Sept. 11 against the Richmond Sockeyes. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. and tickets are $8 or adults, $5 for students and seniors. Kids 6 and under are free.

Whistler's Matt Bonin has been given a shot with the Wolfpack this year. The team also has two games scheduled for Meadow Park arena - Port Moody on Monday, Oct. 11 and Grandview on Friday, Oct. 22.

The team is still in the process of putting a final roster together and looking to pick up some additional players that have been released by Junior A teams.

 

Strut Your Stuff scheduled for Sept. 11

Whistler community registration fair will return on Saturday, Sept. 11 at Myrtle Philip Community School, offering parents a one-stop shop to register their children for community sports, arts and activity groups, as well as to apply for Kidsport Whistler grants.

Community groups can apply for a table by contacting the RMOW Community Life Department at 604-935-8350. The cost is $20 for non-profit groups and $30 for commercial service groups and suppliers.

Strut Your Stuff runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., giving parents a chance to meet with groups, watch displays and even buy and sell equipment for various activities.

 

Month of Pain draws near

For locals, the Month of Pain has been a bit of extra motivation for several years now, and fitting given the sheer number of events taking place through the month. This year Pique will once again recognize the athletes that attend the most events, a list that includes the West Side Wheel Up on Sept. 4, the Xterra Canadian Championships on Sept. 5, the Cheakamus Challenge on Sept. 18, the Terry Fox Run on Sept. 19, the Whistler Spirit Run cross-country on Sept. 25 and the Rubble Creek Classic trail run on Sept. 26. All told the King and Queen of pain will bike 103 km of bike trails and run roughly 56 km.

This is about participation so the King and Queen will be the athletes who take part in the most events. If there is a tie then the cumulative time in the Wheel Up, Xterra, Cheakamus Challenge and Rubble Creek Classic will be considered.

Here's a complete list of events taking place in September, and more information on registration:

 

Sept. 4 - West Side Wheel Up - This annual mountain bike race is a Whistler classic, following a selection of trails off Alta Lake Road to the finish area outside of Rainbow Park. It's about a Loonie Race and a half in length, roughly 12 km, and all proceeds go towards the B.C. Para Alpine Ski Team. Registration starts at 10 a.m. in Function Junction and the race is at noon. The $25 entry fee includes a raffle ticket that could win a dual mountain ski pass.

 

Sept. 5 - Xterra Canadian Championships - After a long absence Xterra Canada is bringing their off-road triathlon back to Whistler, and with the national championships no less. That means the winners could qualify for the Xterra worlds in Hawaii in October.

There are both sport and championship distances available. The sport course includes a 750-metre swim, one lap of a 15 km mountain bike course, and one lap of the 4.5 km trail run. The championship course is two laps of the swim course for 1.5 km, two laps of the bike course and two laps of the run course.

The swim course is in Alpha Lake, and the bike and run trails are on Whistler's west side.

For more information visit www.xterracanada.ca.

 

Sept. 11 - RBC GranFondo - It's every road riders dream. A 120 km stretch of the Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver to Whistler will have a dedicated bike lane open to 4,000 road cyclists. The event sold out months ago, but check out the details at rbcgranfondowhistler.com.

 

Sept. 18 - Cheakamus Challenge - Whether you opt for the full pull, roughly 70 km from Brackendale to Whistler Creek, or the 40 km short course, the Cheakamus Challenge is a worthwhile goal to train for over the summer. For more information or registration visit www.cheakamuschallenge.ca.

 

Sept. 19 - Terry Fox Run - You can walk, bike, skate or run either 5 km or 10 km in this annual fundraiser for the Terry Fox Foundation, not the Canadian Cancer Society as was reported previously. This is the 30 th anniversary of Fox's attempted cross-Canada run - which was made to raise funds for the Cancer Society. His run ended after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres when his cancer returned.

The Four Seasons Whistler is the main organizer for the event. There is no corporate "sponsor" of Terry Fox Runs.

 

Sept. 25-26 - Whistler Spirit Run - Saturday is a classic cross-country run open to runners and school teams, from Grade 4 to university. There is also a Masters and open category, with courses ranging from 1 km to 8 km. There is a classic 10 km run on Sunday that is open to everyone.

Both events take place at Whistler Olympic Park. For more information visit www.whistlerspiritrun.com.

 

Sept. 26 - Rubble Creek Classic - This is one of the most breathtaking trail runs in the corridor, spanning the high alpine meadows behind Black Tusk before descending the Rubble Creek trail. The distance is roughly 26 km, but the last 12 km is all downhill. More information at http://escaperoute.ca/rubble/.

 

Horseback archery club hosts Kassai World Cup

Once upon a time archers on horseback conquered the world, a big part of the reason why Atilla the Hun conquered much of Europe and Asia. Virtually every dominant culture had some version of the archer on horseback.

Recently Mythbusters tested a theory that an arrow shot from a horse penetrated twice as deeply, and found that there was in fact about a 25 per cent increase in power over an arrow shot from the standing position.

The fascination with archery from horses is worldwide, and includes the Borso Storz Horseback Archery Club in Mt. Currie. From Sept. 4 to 10 the club is hosting a horseback archery training camp for all levels of riders and archers, including beginners. On Sept. 11 and 12 the club will host a Kassai World Cup event, inviting riders from other clubs to compete.