Early bird registration is now open for this year’s Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay.
The 15th annual version of Yukon’s most popular sporting event runs June 16th. It begins in Haines Junction and follows the Haines Road all the way into the Alaskan town.
It looks like this year’s relay will be the biggest ever. After last year’s relay enrolment exceeded the limit of 1,200 cyclists, with no disastrous results, the cap has been raised to 1,300.
Solo riders, pairs and teams of four will start first. New this year: organizers have split the eight-person teams into two starting groups, to ease congestion at the first and second checkpoints.
Riders crossing the border on Leg 7 will again have to stop and show ID to US Customs officials, due to increased security concerns. It’s a new reality for the race that won’t likely change anytime soon.
“They’re were really no complaints, I thought it was pretty well run,” said race co-ordinator Mike Young about the ID check during last year’s race. “Those customs guys were in good spirits; they seemed to be having fun with it.”
Riders will be asked to respect a one-kilometre no-passing zone around the customs check.
Aerobars are not allowed, for safety reasons. “It’s really nice, especially for the solo riders, to be able to lean forward, and be more aerodynamic — but there aren’t any brakes, it’s not safe,” said Young.
The relay’s board of directors made the decision after consulting with similar races around North America. Young added that the board may look at the aerobars issue again if new braking systems become available.
Also, disc wheels will not be allowed, due to concerns about high winds in some of the valleys and summits along the Haines Road. “A gust of wind comes out of nowhere, it could lift you right off the ground,” said Young.
It’s too early to tell if any sections of the road will be under construction at this time, but Young recalled the 1999 race, when large portions of legs 7 and 8, on the Alaska side, were ripped apart.
Riders actually switched to mountain bikes for that section. “It slowed things down, but it was fun. Everyone was all muddied up.”
Early bird registration ends on May 19th, after that, prices go up by $15 per rider. Surf to www.kcibr.org to register. Interested in volunteering or need a team to join? E-mail Young at info@kcibr.org or call 334-6871.
Gymnastics
Three local gymnasts from the Polarettes and Polar Tumblers Gymnastic Club represented the Yukon at the Western Canadian Gymnastics Championships this past weekend in Edmonton, Alberta.
Anna Rivard, Sierra Palamar and Aletta Leitch competed against the best gymnasts from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
It was the first Western Championships for both Rivard and Palamar.
Leitch and Palamar competed in the Level 5 Open category against 21 athletes from across the West.
Both had an excellent Westerns experience, hitting seven of eight events between the them with no major errors and scoring personal bests.
Highlights:
Sierra Palamar: 9th on vault, 10th on bars, 14th on beam, 13th on floor and 11th all around.
Aletta Leitch: 16th on vault, 15th on bars, 9th on beam, 19th on floor and 17th all around.
Rivard competed in the Level 5 novice category, as determined by her age. She placed 5th on vault, 14th on bars, 12th on beam 11th on floor and 11th all around against 19 competitors.
Based on her result on vault, Rivard advanced to compete in vault finals on Saturday resulting in a silver medal in her first-ever Western Championships.
The remainder of the competitive athletes of the Polarettes and Polar Tumblers Gymnastics Club will be competing at the 2007 Yukon Gymnastics Championships on April 27-28 at the gymnastic facility on Duke Street in Riverdale and we invite all to come and watch this exciting event.
Whitehorse Recreational Hockey League
Wednesday playoff results:
Yukon Appliance Blues 8
Air North Jets 4
Joe Martin was an offensive dynamo for the Blues, scoring three and assisting on three more, Spencer Tomlin scored four goals and Jakub Jirousek added one. Ryan Martin had three assists as well.
Air North’s Jeff Foster netted a pair of goals; Wesley Marsh and Ben Harper added singles.
Southern Tutchone Storm 10
Cinderwood Canucks 9
The Horseys took charge in this barnburner for the Storm, with Matt Horsey scoring four and assisting on three, and Scott Horsey scoring four, and adding an assist. Ryan Hodgins added a goal and four assists and Tim McIntosh scored as well.
The Canucks’ Jay Glass scored a hat trick, while Ian Kuster and Jeff O’Farrell scored two each, and Martin Lawrie and Frank Aucoin added singles. Aucoin had three assists as well.
Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association
Atom division (Sunday)
Cinderwood 5
Gem Gas 0
Underdogs for the entire Atom season, Cinderwood came out on top — not only did they land the gold medal, they shut-out Gem Gas as well.
Cinderwood’s top scorer was Kole Comin, netting three goals, Cody Sims added one and Dakota Hogan scored as well, on a breakaway. Devon Trok recorded the shutout.
Squash
Semi-finals results for the Tuesday night league:
Underhill 12
Yukon Brewing Co. 8
Robert McMynn won in four sets after dropping the first to Kevin Daffe of Yukon Brewing, in the only contested match of this semi-final.
Grayson Peters took a default win for the Brewing, and Jane Bell took a default win for Underhill.
Kilrich 18
High Country Inn 12
Vince Boutelier had Kilrich’s most decisive win, beating High Country’s Matt Brown in four sets. Kilrich’s Dan Thompson went the distance against Steve Fecteau, winning in five. Most epic battle of the night honours went to Kilrich’s Kevin McDonnell, who beat Jim Gilpin after dropping the first two sets.
Phil Jackson had the High Country’s lone victory of the night, beating Lori Muir in four sets.
Assante 18
Pizza Hut 7
Trevor Mead-Robins led Assante with a straight-sets win over Eric Magnuson. Mark Tubman won a five-set back and forth battle with Kyle Marchuk, and Pierre LaCasse also won for Assante, beating Richard Meredith in five sets.
Assante will meet Kilrich for the gold medal, and High Country Inn will meet Pizza Hut for the bronze.