The most important accomplishment thus far has been the society’s initiative in forming the BC Rivers Alliance (BCRA).

The BCRA is a province wide network of environmental, political, and recreational organizations that have come together by sharing the core values of opposing the current government’s (“goldrush”) strategy regarding privately developed hydroelectric energy projects. Four BCRA meetings were organized by the BC CPS at the Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) head office in Vancouver to coordinate this province-wide opposition. Furthermore, the BCRA issued an official letter to the government aiming to criticize its current policy. The letter was also sent to 180 members of the Government, the Opposition, and Mayors across the province.

Currently, the BCRA consists of 15 member organizations and information concerning the alliance can be found at www.bc-creeks.org/wiki/.

Canada impressed the world with its ability to stage a record 10 World Cup alpine ski races this winter, Alpine Canada Alpin and the Canadian Snowsports Association said Tuesday.

In three different communities and at three different resorts – Whistler, Panorama in Invermere, and Lake Louise – volunteers and corporate partners came together to successfully host the races. The record-breaking season for alpine ski races in Canada came to a close Sunday in Whistler, BC.

Canadian Snowsports Association Managing Director Dave Pym said the achievement could not have been possible without the tremendous effort of many partners, most notably the residents of the communities in which the races were held.

“Many of these residents, through their membership in the CSA/ACA along with the experienced ACA officials and volunteers from across Canada have volunteered tirelessly for the World Cup races in Lake Louise, Panorama and here is Whistler. These volunteers also put hundreds of man-hours into alpine races at all levels and their contribution to this record-breaking season cannot be understated. They are a driving force as we all work together to pursue the goal of making Canada a world-leading ski racing nation,” said Pym.

Alpine Canada Alpin Chief Executive Officer Ken Read said the many partners of ski racing in Canada deserve a lot of credit for the success of the Canadian ski races this season.

“The sponsors, both our new and the older partners who have been with us for many years, provide the human, technical and financial resources that are required to put World Cup-calibre ski races together. I would like to mention TELUS specifically for their title sponsorship of six World Cup events in Canada, including the recently completed ‘TELUS presents the Whistler World Cup’,” Read said.

“I would also like to thank Bombardier for presenting the opening World Cup races of the season at Lake Louise. The success of the Lake Louise event carried forward for the rest of the outstanding events in Canada thanks to our partners and the volunteers.”

Read also credited the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Whistler-Blackcomb, VANOC, the Race Organizing Committee and the ACA staff for their tireless efforts at the World Cup races in Whistler.

Several athletes commented on the excellent racing conditions and flawless execution of the Whistler event.

“It’s always special to race a World Cup in Canada and the races this past week were exciting. With Emily (Brydon), Erik (Guay) and myself coming close to reaching the podium it gives us a lot of energy and motivation to finish both this season strong and when we return in 2010,” said John Kucera (Calgary, AB), who finished fourth in the TELUS Whistler Super-G.

Krista Patterson, of the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance (CKCA), will be presenting workshops on how to apply for Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) Arts, Culture, and Heritage Program funding, managed and distributed by the CKCA.

The Arts, Culture, and Heritage programs include: project funding for individuals and groups through Community Arts Councils; minor capital project funding; funding support to touring; arts and heritage mentoring/master classes; organizational development; major project funding; artists in education; major exhibition funding; major heritage capital funding; and funding for new heritage projects.

These workshops are free to the public and open to any groups or individuals residing in the Canadian Columbia Basin who are interested in applying for arts, culture, and heritage project funding. The program supports projects in all arts disciplines, including visual art, theatre, music, dance, media, literary, and inter-arts, and includes grants to individuals, as well as to arts, culture, and heritage organizations.

Dates, locations, and times are as follows:

Cranbrook – Saturday, March 8, 9:30-11:30 am
Hosted by the Cranbrook Arts Council
Location: College of the Rockies, 2700 College Way, Room 205

Fernie– Saturday, March 8, 3:00-5:00 pm
Hosted by the Fernie and District Arts Council
Location: The Arts Station, 601 - 1st Avenue

Creston – Sunday March 9, 1:00–3:00 pm
Hosted by the Community of Creston Arts Council
Location: Rotacrest New Horizons Hall, 230 19th Avenue North

For more information please contact the CKCA toll free at 1-877-505-7355 or e-mail wkrac@telus.net.

As any of the many Aussies who populate Whistler might tell you: Good on ya, mate! If this weekend’s World Cup was supposed to be a pre-Olympic test, the overwhelming consensus among FIS officials, coaches, racers, and spectators was that Whistler passed with flying colours. For four days, the weather was unusually cooperative, the athletic performances were often inspiring, there were a few crowd-wowing crashes, and fans, usually two to three thousand strong, were warmly appreciative.

Gunther Hujara, the long-time FIS referee, was especially impressed, voicing at a team captain’s meeting his admiration for the work of local organizers. All the courses were ready and tested two years ahead of time, said Hujara, and “that’s never happened before.”
Racers were generally appreciative of the courses, with most feeling that Whistler would be a commendable test of Olympic worthiness. Canadians in particular were pleased with what they saw. As downhiller Emily Brydon said, “It’s pretty exciting to say that this is the Olympic hill.”

That said, however, challenges still lie ahead in the preparations and planning for 2010. When American downhiller Scott McCartney was asked about his impressions of Whistler as an Olympic venue, his quick quip was “I don’t see a lot of parking lots.” He meant it as a joke, but he pointed out what has traditionally been an Olympic sore point: transportation.

The route between Vancouver and Whistler has been under construction, and presumably will be widened and ready when the Olympics arrive. But whether or not the road improvements will be enough to handle the massive amounts of Olympic traffic – always a problem area at any Olympics – remains to be seen.

The other big concern, as U.S. head coach Phil McNichol said, will be “snow management.” All men’s and women’s races – 10 in all – will finish on the same slope, unprecedented at the Olympics. Even under the best of circumstances, that will mean hundreds of racers putting edge to snow on the same hill, chewing up the racing surface. If any bad weather moves in – rain, snow, or snow-softening warmth – the effects on the course and the tight program schedule could be disastrous. And no one is expecting that the run of good weather that blessed this World Cup will be repeated for the entirety of the Olympic fortnight.

One guy who is never shy in voicing his criticism of almost anything is Bode Miller, who called the race courses “very moderate,” a euphemism for being too flat. “With all the terrain they have (at Whistler), it seems crazy to have to have the courses here,” he said of the Creekside setting.

In general, though, Bode’s opinion of the courses was in the minority. No one was calling the hill death-defyingly, Kitzbuehel-caliber steep, but Austria’s Benjamin Raich, who finished third in Saturday’s giant slalom, expressed the prevailing attitude among racers and coaches. “It’s a really unique course with a lot of terrain,” Raich said. “It will be a good test for sure.”

One issue that seemed beyond question, however, was that Whistler as a whole will be a great site for hosting the Olympic circus. As American Ted Ligety said, “I like being in Whistler. It is such a cool ski town.” Teammate McCartney agreed. “For sure the vibe (at the Olympics) is going to be outstanding,” he said.

As the four days of racing came to an end, perhaps Steve Podborski, the former Canadian team downhiller and now Director of Sports Marketing for Telus, summed up the look ahead to the Olympics best. Kinks to work out? Sure, said Podborski. “But things will be just fine,” he said. Or as any of the Whistler Aussies might say: “No worries, mate!”

-Text and photos by Peter Oliver

World-leading Toronto-based mining company Aquiline Resources Inc. will providing valuable support to Canada’s alpine ski teams through 2010, Alpine Canada Alpin announced today.

Aquiline Resources Inc. has agreed to a three-year partnership becoming a Champion partner and exclusive mining sector sponsor to ACA.

“The partnership announced today with Aquiline Resources is very important to us as we pursue our goal of making Canada a world leading alpine racing country. This partnership will have a direct impact on our summer training programs in South America,” said Alpine Canada Alpin Chief Executive Officer Ken Read.

The partnership between ACA and Aquiline, which has mining operations in Rio Negro and Chubut Provinces in Argentina, will also assist the Canadian teams as they train in the summer in South America as Aquiline becomes the team’s official Argentinean training camp sponsor.

“We view the partnership as an opportunity to include Argentina within the international training schedule, and to foster relationships between Canadian and Argentinean athletes in the sport.” said Marc Henderson, President & CEO of Aquiline.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ABOUT AQUILINE RESOURCES INC.
Aquiline Resources Inc. (TSX: AQI) is a Canadian-based precious metals development and exploration company. The Company’s core strategy is to acquire advanced stage high-grade precious metal deposits within the Americas. Aquiline’s two main assets are the Navidad Silver Project, in Chubut Province, Argentina, and the Calcatreu Gold Project in neighbouring Rio Negro Province. These projects both occur along the Gastre Fault, an emerging mineralized district, and consist of several near-surface zones of high-grade mineralization. Aquiline has a Board of Directors and a management team with years of experience in the resource sector from exploration to mine development.

Britt Janyk (Whistler, BC) had the hometown crowd on the edge of their seat, finishing today’s thrilling Ladies TELUS Whistler Downhill just 0.16s from the podium.

Janyk ended up in fourth, equaling the performance of teammate Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC) a day earlier in the TELUS Whistler Super-G. American Lindsay Vonn, who was beaten today by Switzerland’s Nadia Styger by a mere 0.01s, clinched the World Cup downhill title with the second place finish.

Janyk, who was living out the childhood dream of racing in a World Cup in her hometown, screamed down Franz’s Downhill to finish in a time of one minute 45.65.

“I really followed my plan of attack the whole way down and was really focused in on the course,” said the 27-year-old World Cup champion. “It’s a technical hill and you need to remember that because every section has something different.”

Styger grabbed the first downhill victory of her career, crossing the finish line in 1:45.30. Vonn’s teammate Julia Mancuso was third, finishing 0.19s behind the winner.

There were three Canadians in the top 17 on the day, including Kelly VanderBeek (Kitchener, ON) who placed ninth.

“I don’t feel more pressure racing at home, I feel a lot more support,” said Vanderbeek about her experience thus far in Whistler.

“Before I even put my poles out, all the volunteers are cheering the whole way and I was so excited. We spend so much time on our own and in isolation on the road either racing or training that it’s nice to have people cheering from top to bottom,” she added.

Emily Brydon (Fernie, BC) finished 17th with Emilie Desforges (Montréal, QC) in 39th and Danielle Poleschuk (Calgary, AB) 46th.

The Men’s TELUS Whistler Giant Slalom takes place tomorrow with the first run scheduled for 10 a.m. PT followed by the second run at 1 p.m. PT. The races can be seen on TSN with coverage beginning at 10 a.m. PT. / 1 p.m. ET.

Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC) narrowly missed becoming the first Canadian male to be on a World Cup podium in Whistler, BC since Rob Boyd’s dramatic downhill win in 1989, finishing in a tie for fourth in today’s TELUS Whistler Super-G.

Guay powered down the Dave Murray Downhill course in a time of one minute 26.89 seconds, to miss the podium by just 0.18s as ski racing returned to Whistler for the first time since 1995.

“I’ve been there before and the last couple times I haven’t been too affected by it but I’m getting a little tired of finishing fourth place,” said Guay, who has two fifth place finishes this season in the super G. “It was meant to be I guess.”

“On this particular race I know exactly where I lost it. I was a little too round in the middle, I could feel it. I was able to make the correction and get back on line and ski aggressively towards the bottom but it was already too late by then,” said Guay, a 26-year-old World Cup downhill champion.

“To win a World Cup you’ve got to be perfect from start to finish,” he added.

Austria’s Christoph Gruber was nearly perfect from start to finish, winning in a time of 1:26.60. His teammate, and in fact his roommate, Hannes Reichelt placed second just 0.03s back with Slovenian Ales Gorza finishing third to earn his first World Cup podium in 95 career starts.

It was a very successful day for Canadians with four in the top 15, including François Bourque (New Richmond, QC) who was 13th

“There are only three spots on the podium and everything needs to be right to be there,” Bourque said. “When you’re on [the podium] everything is fine but when you’re not you have to find the little things that are missing to get on (the podium).”

Robbie Dixon (Whistler, BC) had the second best World Cup result of his career, finishing 14th on his home ski hill. World Cup super G champion John Kucera (Calgary, AB) followed closely behind in 15th with Manuel Osborne-Paradis (Vancouver, BC) a SG career-best 21st.

“The team has been doing really well this year. They’re having consistent top 10, top 15 results and I know that our main goal is to be on the podium, so it is a disappointment obviously. You’re on your home hill and you want to be in the top 3,” said Dixon, who came sixth at a World Cup super G in Kitzbühel, AUT in January.

“It’s pretty nice that you guys waited for 55 because most of the time I’m coming down in super G and I have to dodge the podium in the finish area. So this is a nice treat,” joked a delighted Osborne-Paradis in the finish.

“I’m in contention for top 10 and that’s what I’m going to focus on now,” added Osborne-Paradis a little more seriously.

As for the other Canadians, Patrick Wright (Oakville, ON) was 41st and Jeffrey Frisch (Mont-Tremblant, QC) finished in 47th.

Please note the start time for tomorrow’s Ladies TELUS Whistler Downhill has been pushed up to 10:15 a.m. PT. Rogers Sportsnet will have television coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT.

The Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) is increasing its funding to $500,000 for the Arts, Culture, and Heritage program, administered by the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance (CKCA).

The increase in funding for this year is primarily focused on a number of new heritage programs, making CBT one of the leading supporters of heritage projects in the province. Last year, CBT added a pilot program which supported heritage projects and events which will occur during Heritage Week, February 18-24, 2008.

“CBT is pleased to be able to support the arts, culture, and heritage community in such a significant way this year,” says Garry Merkel, Chair of the CBT Board of Directors. “CBT is committed to creating a legacy in the Basin for future generations and preserving our local heritage is an important part of that. That’s why we are working closely with the heritage sector to develop specific programs to help bridge the gap in funding opportunities and to build on the success of the pilot program.”

Last year, two representatives from the Heritage Federation of South-Eastern BC joined CKCA’s Steering Committee to ensure a direct link to the heritage community.

“Finding funding support is always a challenge and the heritage sector is no different,” says Laurie Charlton of the Heritage Federation of South-Eastern British Columbia. “We are extremely pleased CBT listened and acted on our recommendations by introducing specific programs for heritage projects. CBT’s support will not only help us protect and preserve our local heritage, but also expand our opportunities in heritage tourism.”

The CKCA administers and manages arts, culture, and heritage program funding on behalf of the CBT. The program supports projects in all arts disciplines, including visual art, theatre, music, dance, media, literary, and inter-arts, and includes grants to individuals, as well as to arts, culture, and heritage organizations. Funding applications are adjudicated once a year by local arts councils and the CKCA Steering Committee.

“This boost in funding will go a long way to strengthening and supporting arts, culture, and heritage projects in the Basin, and at the same time, create stability and long-term sustainability for these sectors,” says Jacquie Hamilton, Chair of the CKCA Steering Committee. “We look forward to receiving project applications in all twelve of our funding programs.”

The Arts, Culture and Heritage programs include: project funding for individuals and groups through Community Arts Councils; minor capital project funding; funding support to touring; arts and heritage mentoring/master classes; organizational development; major project funding; artists in education; major exhibition funding; major heritage capital funding; and funding for new heritage projects.

Application forms and program information are available online at www.basinculture.com <http://www.basinculture.com/> and are also available from local arts councils or by phoning the CKCA at 1-877-505-7355.

Deadlines for submitting applications are March 20 and April 4, 2008, depending on the program.

Columbia Basin Trust is a regionally-based Crown corporation created in 1995 to deliver economic, social, and environmental benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin. For more information about the Columbia Basin Trust visit www.cbt.org or call 1-500-505-8998.

Britt Janyk (Whistler, BC), preparing to compete in a World Cup ski race in her hometown for the first time, finished second in today’s opening training for the TELUS Whistler Ladies Downhill. Teammate Kelly VanderBeek (Kitchener, ON) was also impressive, finishing fourth.

Janyk finished in a time of one minute 46.67 seconds, just 0.13s behind this season’s overall points leader American Lindsey Vonn.

“It’s really exciting to be home, to leave the start and hear everybody cheering for me. It’s a great feeling,” said Janyk, an alumni of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. “It’s great to cross the finish and see people I know, people I grew up with. And My Mom is here, working on the hill.”

The 27-year-old Janyk said she was really impressed with the condition of the course, describing it as technical and difficult.

“On this course you have to be awake from start to finish, you can’t let up anywhere and it’s got a nice big jump in the finish,” said Janyk, who is currently third in the overall Ladies DH standings.

“I skied it well but I know where I can make some changes. It’s just the first training. I just tried to ski relaxed, to feel the course out and the line out today. I’m going to look to stay in the top group throughout the rest of the training runs,” she added.

“It would be amazing to be on the podium here, that’s what I’m shooting for on Friday. I’m just going to have fun with it and enjoy the run,” said Janyk, who won a World Cup ski race in Aspen earlier this season.

VanderBeek finished fourth in a time of one minute 47.02, just 0.30s behind Marie Marchand-Arvier of France who was third.

“There are no words to describe the excitement. It’s not the same kind of nerves as it normally is, I think we’re all just so excited to be out there, to be finally on the track,” said VanderBeek. “This is our first run today and we’re going to be here for the Olympics and we have a World Cup this Friday. We’re all in the mix and that’s so fun.”

“I’m fourth and Britt is second. I know I made a huge mistake in the middle and nearly went out and I think every single person made huge mistakes today, so part of this course will also be just staying calm through the mistakes,” added VanderBeek.

Emily Brydon (Fernie, BC), who earned the first World Cup downhill victory of her career in St. Moritz earlier this month, finished today’s downhill training in 24th. Danielle Poleschuk (Calgary, AB) was 43rd while Emilie Desforges (Montréal, QC) did not finish.

The TELUS Whistler DH training #2 is schedule to take place tomorrow beginning at 10:45 a.m.

For all the latest information on “TELUS presents the Whistler World Cup,” please visit http://www.whistler-worldcup.com/

FLASH QUOTES
Britt Janyk (Whistler, BC) 2nd place
On her performance:
“I know I can ski fast on this hill. I know the hill so I’m going to try and use that to my advantage. I grew up skiing down this run daily.”

On the team’s performance:
“We knew we could do it and it’s really nice and rewarding to see that we are doing it and that we’re producing results every weekend. We’ve been so consistent and we’re looking forward to finishing the season off strong.

It feels like we’ve got a wave going right now, but we’ve worked hard to have a consistency. We’ve stuck to the plan that we started with at the beginning of the winter and I think that’s what we’re going to keep doing right up until 2010.

Kelly VanderBeek (Kitchener, ON) 4th place
On the course:
“The course never stops from top to bottom, you’re always turning, you’re always on edge, you’re always working, lots of terrain, air all over the place and one really big one at the bottom but the lots of little hops for which you really have to be on your line.”

“You have to be smart to run this course, so I think a lot of experienced and smart skiers will do something here, but you also have to be risky enough, so it’s going to be a fine line here between being risky enough and going out of the course and being too smart, it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.”

“The speed isn’t as high as some courses, but the tracks always speed up by race day and at the same time, it’s a pretty gnarly hill so they have to control our speed. It’s a fine line for the course setters to keep it fast, keep it aggressive, but also keep it as safe as downhill can be.”

Emily Brydon (Fernie, BC) 24th place
On the course:
“It felt good to go down the hill for the first time, you get all the little kinks out. I took a bit of a wide line, but it was really fun. You can hear people cheering in the start and we’re home again. It’s really cool.”

“It’s challenging because there’s no point in the course where you can let up and re-focus. It’s constantly coming at you. You just have to really stay focused and charge. It’s the kind of course where maybe it’s not the smartest to cut the line – you can actually ski faster by skiing smart and producing more speed.

You try to make every course suitable to your abilities. I think that our team in general has done a lot of technical training for this sort of course and so as a group we’re very capable on it. I think that this year for me, I’ve skied a lot better technically and I’m doing well in the turney sections.

Lindsay Vonn (USA) 1st place
On the course:
“The course is awesome, it’s really fun, there’s a little bit of everything. It’s got technical, there are some traverses and some big sweeping turns, there’s two jumps that carry pretty good and there are a couple of gliding sections. I think it has everything that you could ever want in a downhill.”

On the Canadian team:
“The Canadian team has done an amazing job. It’s really cool to see, they’re a great group of girls, they have a lot of energy and they’re always fun and happy. It’s really nice to see them doing well.”

The outstanding season for aerialist Steve Omischl continued with a silver medal in FIS Freestyle World Cup action Sunday. Omischl made his sixth podium appearance in seven starts while eyeing the third overall World Cup men’s aerials title of his career. Omischl, 29, led after the first round of jumps. But he was overtaken when Anton Kushnir of Belarus nailed his second jump, a quad-twisting triple somersault.

Steve Omischl

The Belarusian, who sits second in this season’s overall standings to Omischl, scored 249.31 for his two jumps. Omischl was second with 242.56, while Ryan St. Onge of the United States finished third in 241.87, with his first podium performance of the season.

“I’m a little bit disappointed, given my results of the past few weeks,” said Omischl, who has four wins, one second and one third, to lead the overall standings with 569 points.

Omischl had a huge first jump, a quad-twisting triple, to score 129.65 points. But he had a little trouble on his second jump, a triple-twisting triple somersault, for only the seventh-ranked jump of that round.

“It was one of my best jumps, but I was just a little forward,” he explained. “I didn’t sell my landing very well. I was a little bit too heavy and it was a little bit softer than I anticipated.”

Unlike the controversy surrounding the difficult moguls’ course Saturday, Omischl said the aerials site will be very suitable for the 2009 World Championships. “It’s a very fair site for aerials. It’s probably the best venue we’ve jumped at all year. The moguls’ course is a different story.”

The only other Canadian male competing, Warren Shouldice of Calgary, was 15th.

In women’s aerials, Jacqui Cooper of Australia won her fifth World Cup of the season and 24th of her career in a tight battle with Alla Tsuper of Belarus. Cooper prevailed 205.46 to 203.73, leaving Nina Li of China third in 192.28.

Amber Peterson was fourth, the second best placing in her World Cup career, with a score of 165.81. “I’m pretty happy about it,” said Peterson, 25, in her last World Cup of the year. “There were strong headwinds, but thankfully it was pretty consistent,” said Peterson, who will skip the last two World Cups in Europe to train at Quebec’s Mont Gabriel in the lead-up to the season-ending National Championships.

“My landings are coming,” said Peterson, after performing her first triple-twisting double somersault in about two years. “They’ve always been something I’ve struggled with, but I’m making them better and better.”

Deidra Dionne of Red Deer, Alta., who’s back competing after a nearly two-year layoff, was sixth in 156.03. Veronika Bauer of Toronto finished eighth.