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Green biathletes grab bronze at nationals

BiathlonA young Biathlon Yukon team headed to the Callaghan Valley last week to compete at the 2008 Squamish Life Canadian Championships at the…

Biathlon

A young Biathlon Yukon team headed to the Callaghan Valley last week to compete at the 2008 Squamish Life Canadian Championships at the Whistler Olympic Park and posted some stunning results.

Yukon’s relay team, composed of Nat Rodden, Aliye Tuzlak and Ryan Burlingame won a bronze on Sunday.

The six Yukoners were all first-timers at the nationals and the athletes, as young as 13, had to compete in the senior boys/girls division, the youngest division in the competition (15 to 16 years old).

Erin Clark, a 13-year-old, was the best overall shooter in the senior girls’ sprint race on Friday. She missed only one shot out of 10, while racing the best biathletes in Canada.

Nat Rodden was the best shot overall in the senior boys’ individual race, missing only four shots out of 20.

Other notable achievements included Erin Oliver-Beebe and Aliye Tuzlak finishing sixth and seventh, respectively, in the senior girls’ sprint, against an elite 21-skier field.

Tuzlak and Oliver-Beebe switched the order for the senior girls 7.5-kilometre individual, with Tuzlak claiming sixth and Oliver-Beebe finishing seventh.

Ryan Burlingame finished sixth out of 24 skiers in the senior boys’ 7.5-kilometre individual race, and Nat Rodden placed ninth.

Soccer

The Lead Dogs, a co-ed soccer team from Whitehorse, mushed down to Kona, Hawaii, to play in the 13th Annual Big Island Co-ed Soccer Tournament over the weekend of February 16-18th.

In 28-degree Celsius temperatures, the Dogs ended up playing five games in three days against teams from the Hawaiian Islands.

The opening day saw the Yukon contingent play back-to-back games in the heat of the day. During the second game a few players succumbed to the heat and were sidelined with leg cramps.

“Luckily they quickly recovered and we were able to field the full team again for the next game,” said Yukon coach Lauren Bradley.

The team improved throughout the weekend as the members adjusted to the larger outdoor fields after spending the winter practising in Whitehorse’s indoor facilities.

Although the team did not prove to be an offensive powerhouse, goals by Josianne Markley, Terry Markley and Robert Bousquet were all that was needed to make it to the bronze medal game. In that game, another outstanding defensive performance by goalkeeper Geoff Woodhouse resulted in a 0-0 tie for the bronze medal.

The Lead Dogs are the first co-ed soccer team from the Yukon to travel to a competitive tournament and everyone returned tanned and smiling from Hawaii.

Team organizer Tim Shoniker proudly carted the trophy home and is now seeking a prominent spot for display.

Banff Mountain

Film Festival

The Banff Mountain Film Festival world tour has hit the road. Stops are planned in more than 30 countries across the globe, including two nights in Whitehorse at the Yukon Arts Centre.

This year’s tour features a collection of action, environmental and adventure mountain films.

Travelling from remote landscapes and cultures to up close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports, the 2007/2008 World Tour is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world.

Join Coast Mountain Sports when the Banff Mountain Film Festival world tour brings the spirit of outdoor adventure to the Yukon Arts Centre with two different collections of shows at 7:30 p.m. on April 3rd and 4th.

Each night’s program will feature two and a half hours of films, including 20 Seconds of Joy, winner of Best Film on Mountain Sports and the People’s Choice Award:

“I don’t want to die, I want to live. I’m pretty good at running away, and this is my escape.”

This is how Karina Hollekim describes her dedication to BASE jumping in 20 Seconds of Joy. Documentary filmmaker Jens Hoffman first met the now 30-year-old Norwegian in 2002.

He immediately started to film, planning to follow Hollekim over a long period, trying to understand why a young woman would challenge herself mentally and physically in such an extreme sport. Hoffman accompanies her through many stages of her BASE-jumping career, until it comes to a sudden stop and changes all aspects of her life.

Cross-country with the Snakes is another selection, a seven-minute film about a Nordic-skiing punk band as they ski all day and play all night.

Nordic skiing, long portrayed as serene and classical, is cast in new light through the lens of punk/blues rock and fast-action photography.

For tickets and more film information contact Coast Mountain Sports 667-4074.