Multi-sport, multi-stage racing returns Saturday
The popular Sea2Ski race is back on Saturday, except it is now called the White Kennedy Ski2Tree Race. This multi-sport, six-stage race will take participants from the Kelowna Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club near Big White Ski Resort to the Tree Beer Institute in downtown Kelowna.
This rebrand of the popular Ski2Sea race, last held in Kelowna in 2014, will include the following stages: a Nordic ski, snowshoe run, mountain bike, road bike, run and paddle.
Registration is open until Tuesday. Athletes can sign up as solo participants or in teams. The Ski2Tree will appeal to competitive men and women, recreational groups, masters (55+), and teams of corporate companies and sports groups. Athletes of all ages and fitness levels are encouraged to participate.
“We are very excited to welcome the Ski2Tree race to Kelowna,” said Harvey Hubball, sport and events sales manager at Tourism Kelowna. “Hosting the event in March gives us a terrific opportunity to not only showcase the destination as a world-class race venue but also as a year-round venue for all types of events.”
Ski2Tree is part of the Elevation Series, comprised of multiple outdoor races organized by Penticton-based Hoodoo Adventures.
One hundred per cent of the net proceeds from each race will be donated to the Youth Outdoor Recreation Society (YORS), a subsidy program that funds outdoor recreation opportunities for schools in the Okanagan. In addition, Tree Brewing Beer Institute, the finish line host of the Ski2Tree, will donate $1 from every beer sold during the March 11 race to YORS.
“The weather is warming up and the course is looking great,” said Lyndie Hill, co-owner of Hoodoo Adventures. “We are really excited to showcase Kelowna in all its outdoor recreation glory, and we look forward to growing the event for the city and for our notfor-profit, YORS, to help get kids outside and active. We encourage more people to get involved and participate as it will be a ton of fun and it’s for a great cause.”
Spectators can catch the action and cheer on the athletes during the run-topaddle transition and the finish line, both of which can be viewed at Tree Brewing Beer Institute. Participants are meeting at Kelowna Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club at 8:30 a.m.
Hoodoo Adventures is seeking volunteers to assist on race day (for two fivehour shifts between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.)
For more details and to apply, go to volinspire.com/event/430 or email Hill at lyndie@hoodooadventures.ca.
Registration costs range from $60 per person for a team of seven to $175-plus for solo registration. Registration includes a swag bag, a branded Ski2Tree glass and a beverage at the finish line at Tree Brewing Beer Institute. To register for the Ski2Tree, go to ski2tree.ca.
The sixth annual Elevator Race, Penticton to Apex Mountain Resort, is on March 25, and involves paddling, road biking, running/snowshoeing, mountain biking, Nordic skiing, alpine skiing and snowboarding.
For more information or to register, go to elevationseries.ca.
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Friends of Black Mountain will hold its AGM at the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan (ECCO) in Mission Creek Regional Park on Springfield Road in Kelowna at 7 p.m. on March 13. The guest speaker is biologist Kyle Hawes from Ecoscapes Consultants, who will discuss The Nuts and Bolts of Stream, Pond and Grassland Restoration.
“The meeting is open to the public, and we will be showing photos of the new 1,300-acre Black Mountain Regional Park, a gem in the Central Okanagan’s regional park network,” said spokesman Ian Pooley.
*** Controlled burns were done for the second consecutive week on Tuesday and Wednesday in a portion of Black Mountain / sntskëilínt?n Regional Park (sinch-KEEL-en-tin).
Crews are disposing of fire hazard debris collected as part of a fivehectare fuel modification project on the east slopes just outside the Kelowna city boundary. The park is closed to the public with the fuel management project part of the ongoing effort to prepare it for future access.
For more information, go to regionaldistrict.com/parks, email parks@cord.bc.ca or call 250-469-6232.
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The Central Okanagan Naturalists Club sent out a reminder about an important spring warning this week.
“The snowshoer in me is sad to say this but it looks like winter is coming to an end,” wrote president Rick Gee. “On the other hand, the hiker in me is happy that hiking season will soon begin. If hiking season is beginning, then so is tick season.”
With the recent concern about Lyme disease in B.C., he drew everyone’s attention to the following websites:
• Government of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/publichealth/services/diseases/lymedisease.html
• BC Centre for Disease Control: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/ diseases-conditions/lyme-diseaseborrelia-burgdorferi-infection
• Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation: https://canlyme.com/
Coincidence or not, longtime hiking buddy Lise provided a Messenger link to a petition drive now underway. The window will close for public feedback on Tuesday. Petition organizers are asking signers to also send an email to their local MP asking him or her to attend an all-party MP round table meeting to learn about Lyme disease on Monday. Go to: lymehope.ca, enter your name, email and postal code and click “send.” Simple.
Lyme disease is one of the fastest spreading infectious diseases in the world, the Messenger note says.
For those who don’t know, Lyme disease is carried by ticks that are migrating all across Canada at an alarming speed. Canadian scientists predict that by the year 2020, 80 per cent of the population in Eastern Canada (including Manitoba) will be living in a tick-populated area.