The top 50 high school mountain bikers in the province, many of them from the Sunshine Coast and the North Shore, were in Squamish last weekend to take part in a special two-day riding camp with several Canadian national team members.
The camp played host to a number of riders from Chatelech, including Chris Bates, Matt Cottrell, Jesse Horn, Katherine Short, Sean Stanhope and Brett Wildeman and Elphi's Colwyn Sleep. Local coaches Dave Bates, Susan Servo-Sept and Doug Detwiller were also on hand.
While the majority of the attendees received their invitations as a result of top placings at last year's B.C. high school championships, others were also given a nod due to consistently solid performances within their school leagues, said Sam Scorda, camp organizer and North Shore High School Mountain Bike League chairman.
"We do have some spots for kids who have done well in their individual leagues and for whatever reason they weren't able to come to the B.C. championships or had a bad day, but they are excellent bikers. The coaches alert us to those people."
The camp has become a popular annual event for the bikers, who get to rub shoulders with Olympians the likes of Lesley Tomlinson and Alison Sydor, who have both been big supporters of the camp since day one through the Sprockids Shoreriders youth program, as well as national team bikers such as Seamus McGrath, Ryder Hesjedal and Geoff Kabush."Both Alison and Lesley have been tremendous supporters of high school mountain biking over the years," said Scorda, a coach at Argyle. "They have been there every time, every year."
Scorda first launched the local high school mountain bike league back in 1996. Last year the loop celebrated its highest ridership numbers ever, as more than 340 students from all North Shore schools save Balmoral hit the trails for the league's spring race series.
At the Squamish camp, the riders enjoyed a barbecue on Friday and then a mechanic workshop bike check. Saturday the troops headed out with national team riders for a three-hour ride and to learn technical on-trail skills, as well as information on weight and dryland training, nutrition and goal setting. "It's good to see that these (professional) riders are coming out and are so great with all the kids," Scorda said. "They just love what they do, and they're willing to give up their whole weekend to do this."
The North Shore High School Mountain Bike League will kick off the 2005 schedule with a race at Blair Range on April 13. Other races will be held at Roberts Creek (Apr. 20), Brackendale (Apr. 27), Blair Range (May 4) and Cypress (May 11). The North Shore/Lower Mainland championship is set for May 18 at the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve, while the B.C. championships are set for May 28 in Halfmoon Bay.
