The competitive biathlon season concluded on Sunday (March 4) but organizers of the Stride and Glide B.C. Biathlon Championships were thrilled with the weekend and are excited about the potential in the sport.
Whistler Olympic Park (WOP) hosted the third B.C. Cup of the season and the sprint race brought 55 competitors to the park on Saturday (March 3) and attracted 57 athletes to the mass start competition. In addition, 32 people took part in the recreational race on Saturday, along with 40 on Sunday.
"I think the weekend exceeded all of our expectations," said Clayton Whitman of the Callaghan Winter Sports Club (CWSC). "There's always concerns about weather at WOP and earlier in the week we weren't really sure if it would be any good or not. But the weather held up and our turnout was bigger than expected for both competitive and recreational races."
Whitman said the race attracted racers from all over the province and it's the marquee stop on the biathlon circuit.
"Just the chance for a lot of these competitors from other parts of the province to compete in an Olympic venue like WOP is a thrill for them," he said. "We got a lot of really good feedback, the athletes love coming here and it's one of the highlights of the B.C. Cup series to compete at such a great venue."
The growth of the sport locally is also apparent, with several young biathletes posting great results over the two days. Holden Jones of West Coast Nordics took home the gold medal in the Juvenile category on Saturday, with Hunter Sones placing second in the Junior Boys group. Eli Chappell placed first in the mass start Juvenile race on Sunday, with Sones again grabbing second among Junior Boys.
Whitman said he's pleased to see the local talent shine.
"We've had biathlon programs up and running for a few years now and we're starting to see increased participation and some good young skiers and shooters coming up," he said. "That's why most of us are in it - to help develop the sport. It's a good sign when we have local guys doing really well."
Other winners on Saturday included Eden Anana (Midget), Markus Klein (Junior Boys), Kyra Teetzen (Junior Girls), Dave Anana (Master's Men), Karen Ogilvie (Master's Women), George Nevgodovskyy (Youth Men) and Mirena Dimova (Senior Girls).
Sunday winner's were Eden Anana (Midget), Angus Tweedie (Junior Boys), Hailee Friesen (Junior Girls), Cedric St-Pierre Borchert (Youth Men), Dave Anana (Master's Men), Lea-Marie Bowes-Lyon (Master's Women) and Elise Putnam (Senior Girls).
Whitman praised the nearly 70 volunteers who helped the event run smoothly.
"It was a good showing by our volunteer base in 麻豆社国产and the Sea to Sky Corridor," he said. "A lot of people are getting the sense that biathlon is making a comeback from the Olympics and building towards bigger things for next year."
He added that there are still biathlon group lessons available at WOP and the summer biathlon series will return with bike, running and roller-ski races.
For full results from the race, visit www.biathlonbc.ca.
