JANUARY
• Dakota Ridge had its best season ever with an abundance of snow and often more than 200 visitors per day. In early January, there were two metres of snow at the parking lot and three metres higher up.
• Sechelt’s Nevan Flay made waves in the Sunshine Coast Minor Hockey Association and was chosen as the Delta Ice Hawks’ starting defenceman.
• Trout Lake in Halfmoon Bay froze enough for people to skate on over the Jan. 7 and 8 weekend, prompting a hockey game with players from all age groups and skill levels. Many on the ice said they’d never seen Trout Lake frozen like this before.
• Gibsons lacrosse player Thane Huson was picked up by Langley Thunder in the British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League’s 2017 Midget draft held in Nanaimo on Jan. 7.
• The annual Men’s Bonspiel at Gibsons Curling Club was held Jan. 20 to 22. Seven local teams competed with 22 teams from out of town. In the final game on Sunday, the Meyer team finished in first place.
• Jan. 14 and 15 the Sunshine Coast Minor Hockey Association hosted a 16-team Peewee C tournament at the Gibsons Area Community Centre and Sechelt Arena. Teams came from as far away as Seattle to take part.
• Seven of the 10 Chatelech students who raced on the Ski and Snowboard long course in Whistler placed in the top 10.
• Members of the Sunshine Coast Special Olympics swim team, newly dubbed the Orcas, all achieved personal best times at the swim meet in Richmond’s Watermania on Jan. 22.
• Beres Clements, a 15-year-old Gibsons skater, placed third in novice men in the short program and fifth overall at the 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, held at Ottawa’s TD Place Arena Jan. 16 to 22.
FEBRUARY
• On Feb. 2, Sunshine Coast Special Olympics basketball players from Sechelt and Gibsons gathered with officers of the local RCMP detachment to play a friendly game of hoops, in what seems to be an annual event.
• The second annual Sunshine Coast Loppet and Snowshoe Challenge was a huge success Feb. 4 at Dakota Ridge Winter Recreation Area. There were about 60 participants ranging in age from three to 70.
• Well-known Sunshine Coaster ‘Captain’ Quinn Barabash landed a show on the World Fishing Network, called Cast Northwest. Quinn combines humour, fishing, friends, and a strong environmental message.
• Gibsons Curling Club president Kate Barratt was awarded Curling Canada’s volunteer of the year at the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier national curling competition, broadcast on The Sports Network on March 11. Barratt is responsible for, among other things, raising $140,000 for a much needed new ice plant at the Gibsons Curling Club.
• The Elphinstone senior boys basketball team finished their season at the end of February, taking third in the Howe Sound/North Shore playoffs.
MARCH
• Gibsons’ Ryan Dempster stepped back onto the pitchers’ mound to throw for Canada in the World Baseball Classic. Dempster – who pitched in the major leagues until 2013, most notably with the Chicago Cubs – said he is excited to represent Canada, although this isn’t a move out of retirement.
• Roberts Creek fencer Fynn Fafard finished the Canadian fencing season with a gold medal at the January Canada Cup in U17 Epée, holding onto his No. 1 ranking in Canada. Fynn then added a bronze medal in U20 Epée and finished a solid fifth in Senior Men’s Epée.
• Skater Beres Clements, 15, placed second at the Challenge Cup The Hague in the men’s advanced novice, his first international competition representing Canada under Skate Canada. He also placed first with his short program.
• Sunshine Coast Thunderbirds became the U17 North Shore District Champions after a hard-fought win in North Vancouver March 4. The 2-0 victory over North Vancouver Torrent earned the boys a spot in the Coastal Cup where they will compete for a berth to Provincials.
• Erin Clark received a first place medal on Feb. 19 in the B.C. Power Lifting Association Winter Open, Bench Only contest. At the meet she set a new provincial record, bench-pressing 187.6 lbs.
• Julia Budd faced off against Marloes Coenen in the first ever Bellator women’s featherweight world title fight on March 3 in Oklahoma. The mixed martial arts fighter from Roberts Creek made history when she set three new records: she became the first woman to headline a Bellator MMA fight and the first Canadian to challenge for a gold win in the cage, and she was crowned the first female featherweight champion of Bellator.
• For the first time in 23 years the Douglas College Royals women’s basketball team took first in the PacWest Conference, with former Elphi grad Ellen Fallis playing guard. She earned 14 points in their gold medal game against the Capilano Blues March 4, which ended 70-63 for the Royals.
• Sunshine Coast figure skating fans packed the Gibsons and Area Community Centre March 11 for two sold-out performances featuring Olympic medalist Elvis Stojko.
• The Coast Storm U-11 rep team won four straight at the Surrey Mayor’s Cup March 11 and 12. The Storm dominated the competition, demonstrating outstanding skills and team play.
• On March 26, the Sechelt Indian Band Hall was electrified with Midget Time All Star Wrestling. Headlining the night, 18-year wrestling veteran Short Sleeve Sampson took down up-and-comer Little Fabio.
• Shaun Stephens-Whale was poised as one of the best in the world at tower running, set to reach the pinnacle of this crazy sport. He finished sixth overall at the Verticale de la Tour Eiffel in Paris March 16 against the very best and took second place at the Boston Prudential Tower in a one-on-one battle with world champion Piotr Lobodzinski of Poland. In Las Vegas, Stephens-Whale took the win and set a new record of 7’03” in the very high 1,665 steps of the Stratosphere.
• On March 24, the Sunshine Coast Minor Hockey Association hosted an Esso Fun Day that brought together 21 female hockey players, with ages ranging from five to 14.
APRIL
• Sunshine Coast Boxing Club’s War on the Shore 5 amateur boxing event was held April 1 at the Gibsons and Area Community Centre, with nine fights on the card, and 350 in attendance.
• The 2017 BMO Sunshine Coast April Fool’s Run was the largest in the event’s long-running history. A total of 651 runners, walkers and relay team members registered for the 40th edition of the half marathon. Paul Kimugul won the men’s race by over a minute over second-place Shaun Stephens-Whale.
• Fynn Fafard, a 17-year-old fencer from Roberts Creek, anchored Canada to a silver medal in the U17 Mixed Team Event at the Fencing World Championships in Bulgaria.
• The third annual Mountain Grind was held along the Sun-coaster Trail in Pender Harbour on April 22, with 298 participants in the fun, family-friendly 10km obstacle race.
• Seventy-five-year-old Helen Sabourin of Gibsons finished the Boston Mara-thon in second place in her age category. It was her seventh time running the world-renowned marathon, her first time in the 75 to 79 age category. She crossed the finish line with a time of 4:56:38.
• Sitas emerged victorious from the Men’s Over-30s’ soccer league tournament, hosted April 29 by the Sechelt Indian Band at Ted Dixon field.
MAY
• On May 13, the 18th annual Sunshine Coaster mountain bike race came to West Sechelt. The cross country race was well attended by 200 racers.
• Pender Harbour’s Dane Hanna placed first in China’s Fortune Hill Challenge – a twisting, hazardous downhill longboarding competition in Yichang, Hubei province, which ran from April 21 to 23.
• A legion of longboarders descended on Pender Harbour on May 24 for Attack of Danger Bay 16. Kevin (K-Rimes) Reimer from Santa Barbara, Calif., won the race for the fifth year in a row and Adam Persson of Stockholm, Sweden took the second-place finish. Pender Harbour Team Irene racer Dane (Danger) Hanna took third place on the podium.
• The 19th season of drag racing on the Sunshine Coast revved up May 28 with the Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association hosting the Late May Drag Race.
JUNE
• On June 3 and 4, the Sunshine Coast Pickleball Association held the fourth annual Arena Bowl Pickleball Challenge tournament at the Gibsons and Area Community Centre. A total of 116 players making up over 100 teams played in 11 competitions.
• In the final game of a momentous season, the Chatelech girls rugby team defeated the Westside Warriors 27-5. Making the provincials in Sevens, placing 15th in the province, was an impressive accomplishment for the youngest team in the tournament.
• On June 10, Lily Riggs of Gibsons set a new national record at the B.C. Powerlifting Association Provincial Championships with her deadlift of 347.5 pounds in the women’s sub-junior, 72 kg weight class. She also holds the B.C. records for her squat at 282 pounds and bench press at 150 pounds.
• On June 24, over 250 cyclists took part in the sixth annual Gibsons Grind Gran Fondo bike race. The 110 km route started at the Langdale ferry terminal, then to Secret Cove Bay and back.
• The Elphinstone Senior Boys rugby team pulled off a silver medal result at the Provincial Rugby Sevens Tournament held at Brentwood College, on June 9.
JULY
• The 28th Malaspina Regatta was held on July 1, with a record number of 30 boats showing up on the start line.
• More than 600 riders from 33 countries launched onto local streets, backroads and mountain biking trails July 9 and 10 as the BC Bike Race rolled down the Sunshine Coast.
• Sixteen Sunshine Coast athletes arrived home from the Special Olympics 2017 Provincial Games in Kamloops on July 9 bearing 26 medals.
• Over 70 basketball players from age 13 to over 40 came out on July 22 for the second annual Daniel Kingsbury Memorial 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament at Roberts Creek School. The event was organized by Kingsbury’s friend and teammate Tony Dill to honour him and raise funds for The Jellyfish Project.
• Team BC dominated the North American Indigenous Games, taking the overall title for their effort in 13 different disciplines, and Sechelt Nation youth Tahlaela Marks was among the athletes who made it happen. Team BC took the top spot, securing a total of 176 medals.
AUGUST
• Gibsons’ marksman Allan Harding won first place in the men’s 10m pistol event at the 2017 Canadian National Pistol Championships, held July 30 to Aug. 7 in Cookstown, Ont.
• Two Team BC athletes from the Sunshine Coast competed at the 2017 Canada Summer Games. Lucy Schick, the 16-year-old mountain biker from Gibsons, had a strong showing in the relay race on Aug. 1 where she was instrumental in securing a bronze medal for her team. Participating in the games for the Special Olympics on Team BC was swimmer Genny Verge from Sechelt. Genny returned with a full set of medals for her stellar performance in the pool.
• It was a scintillating weekend of tennis Aug. 19 and 20 at the 42nd annual Sunshine Coast Open Tennis Tournament, with close to 60 participants.
• The Sunshine Coast Dart League was host to over 70 dart players for the fifth annual dart tournament, held in recognition of Mark Dove, who passed suddenly earlier this year. Mark was well know to the dart community as an avid player in many dart leagues on and off Coast. The dart players took over the Gibsons Legion Hall from Aug. 18 to 20, with 38 boards being used.
SEPTEMBER
• PaceSetter’s final race of the 5-Dollar 5K series was held Sept. 10, with more than 30 runners of all ages participating. Tamas Mihalyi posted the fastest men’s time at 22.41 and Alison Rhodes posted the fastest women’s time at 26:47.
• Sechelt’s Nevan Flay was traded from the Delta Ice Hawks to the Port Moody Panthers Junior B hockey club.
• Coast Gravity Park hosted a Backwoods Jam on Sept. 16 at the bike park above Sechelt Inlet Road, featuring five of the world’s best riders, who entertained several hundred spectators with slope-style competition and high-flying tricks.
• The Sunshine Coast Seniors Swim Team won 22 gold medals, nine silver and 12 bronze at the 55 Plus BC Games.
• Gibsons’ Richard ‘Buzz’ Bennett was inducted into the International Skydiving Museum’s Hall of Fame on Sept. 23. Bennett is described as one of Canada’s foremost sport parachuters, with more than 6,300 jumps since making his first in 1966.
OCTOBER
• Tamas Mihalyi qualified for Team Canada’s outrigger canoe team for the second year in a row. Next year he will represent the country at the Outrigger World Sprint Championships in Tahiti.
• Lorraine Wareham, a member of the Pender Harbour Golf Club, captured the title for the local Dorothy Olive Franklin Tournament for Zone 4, comprised of 38 Lower Mainland clubs. Wareham was the third best in the province with a formulated score of -7.8.
• On Oct. 14, Lily Riggs of Gibsons competed at the Vancity Showdown, her third IPF British Columbia Powerlifting Association competition. Lily was the youngest competitor and placed second overall.
• Ed Steeves was inducted into the Moncton Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 29. He spent 30 years as a curler, curling coach and representative on the Canadian Curling Association, and was part of the Mabey curling team that won the Canadian Mixed Curling Championships in 1974, when Steeves was named all-star skip.
• Retired pro golfer Alvie Thompson passed away Oct. 26 at the age of 81. The Wilson Creek resident was known for his contributions to golf locally and was inducted into the BC Golf Hall of Fame in 2015 and the PGA of Canada Hall of Fame earlier this year.
• Sechelt ice users were relieved there was ice at the Sunshine Coast Arena as of Oct. 28 and their schedule is getting back on track. This year the Sunshine Coast Regional District delayed ice installation at the Sechelt rink due to Stage 4 water restrictions.
NOVEMBER
• Sunshine Coast Equestrian Club hosted the Fraser Valley Hunt Club for the 18th annual Opening Fox Hunt on Nov. 4 with 34 riders astride.
• Sunshine Coast Minor Hockey hosted a successful Atom C tournament Nov. 3 to 5 with 10 teams participating including two local teams.
• Halfmoon Bay resident Ron Roberts and his crew, the Canadian National Senior C team, won at the International Dragon Boat Federation’s 2017 World Dragon Boat Championships held in Kunming, China.
• Sechelt’s Marcus Davies won the vacant B.C. middleweight title over Maple Ridge boxer Tyson Gemby on Nov. 16 at the Italian Cultural Centre’s annual fundraising amateur boxing event in Vancouver. Davies was awarded the championship belt, after which got down on one knee to offer his girlfriend Kristina Rampuri an engagement ring and marriage proposal, which she tearfully accepted.
• The Sunshine Coast Peewee C1 were selected from more than 350 teams to play an exhibition game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver against Abbotsford C2. On Sunday, Nov. 26, 13 very excited young men arrived at Rogers Arena, dressed like their NHL idols, ready to play.
DECEMBER
• The over 30s World Rugby Classic tournament took place at Bermuda’s National Sports Centre from Nov. 4 to 11 and brought together elite rugby players from around the world, including John Allen and his cousin Tyrel Brackett, both originally from Sechelt.
• Julia Budd successfully defended her Bellator MMA featherweight title. Budd defeated Arlene Blencowe in a split decision at a Bellator event in Oklahoma Dec. 1. She became the first women’s Bellator featherweight champion in March in a title match against Marloes Coenen.
• Tessa May won the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-West Region Honourable Mention. May plays for the Simon Fraser University Clan, which is the only Canadian women’s volleyball team to participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
• The Cedar Grove Elementary School volleyball team won the School District No. 46 Annual Elementary School Volleyball Championships by defeating Roberts Creek in the final on Dec. 1 at Elphinstone Secondary School.
• The BC Sports Hall of Fame named Gibsons’ Ryan Dempster to its 2018 class. Dempster pitched 16 years in the Major Leagues, winning a World Series with Boston in 2013 and posting a career record of 132-133 with 87 saves and more than 2,000 of strikeouts. He was among five athletes named to the Hall Dec. 12.
• The second annual charity hockey match between Chatelech/Pender Harbour (North) and Elphinstone/SBO/SCAS (South) secondary schools was held Dec. 19 at Gibsons arena. Teams were made up of teachers and students from across the District.
• The Elphinstone Cougars were victorious in the Cougar Classic, defeating the Richmond Colts and winning the basketball championship 101 to 88. Gus Goerzen was voted the game star for his amazing 45-point outburst. He also received a first team all-star award.
