Sports

BCHL PLAYOFFS: Vernon Vipers face Vees in Penticton

VERNON – The Vernon Vipers are looking to break the trend of losing at the South Okanagan Events Centre in the BCHL Interior Division final series against the Penticton Vees. The Snakes are in Penticton tonight, March 20, for Game 5 of the best-of-seven, with the series tied at two-games each. The final turned into...

BCHL PLAYOFFS: Penticton Vees host Vipers in Game 5

PENTICTON – The Penticton Vees are looking to extend this year's B.C. Hockey League Interior Division final tradition of winning on home ice. With the best-of-seven series tied at two wins each, the Vees will play host to the Vernon Vipers tonight, March 20, at the South Okanagan Events Centre.  The Vipers got past the...

BCHL PLAYOFFS: West Kelowna Warriors fall to Vees in marathon thriller

WEST KELOWNA - It was the longest game in West Kelowna Warriors history Friday night, March 6, at Royal LePage Place, as the Penticton Vees scored 9:37 into the third overtime period to win 4-3 and take a 2-1 lead in the first round of the BCHL playoffs. The Vees were hot out of the gate...

BCHL PLAYOFFS: Penticton Vees outlast Warriors for triple OT win

WEST KELOWNA - In a game that seemed it would never end, Mitch Newsome scored midway through the third overtime period, as the Penticton Vees outlasted the West Kelowna Warriors 4-3 in game three of their Interior Division Semi-Final on Friday night, March 6, at Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna. Newsome roofed a pass...

Ringette players from around B.C. converge in Vernon

VERNON - Thirty seven ringette teams from around the province will gather in Vernon this weekend. The occasion is the provincial A and B Championships featuring divisions from under 14 to under 18. Games began at 7:15 a.m. Friday and continue all weekend with the gold medal games set for Sunday afternoon. An opening ceremony...

Surprise construction costs blow new Vernon sports track budget

VERNON - Unexpected costs mean Vernon’s new sports track is more than three quarters of a million dollars over budget. But taxpayers shouldn’t worry about the $790,000 overrun, says Greater Vernon director Mike Macnabb. The extra funding is expected to be recovered through reserves and donations. “We have a very aggressive plan to get some...

Summerland woman putting the pedal to the metal at ARCA racing event

SUMMERLAND - A Summerland woman is getting ready for the ride of her life as she prepares for an Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) race at Daytona. Sarah Cornett-Ching has been driving for half her life — and she’s only 24. She began her racing career at Penticton Speedway, where she first got behind the...

Vernon’s Kevin Hill takes home gold

VERNON - Vernon is applauding the success of one of its own today with the news of local snowboarder Kevin Hill winning gold at the Winter X games in Aspen, Colorado. Hill earned the medal Friday, Jan. 23 in the snowboarder X competition. The community couldn’t be happier for him. Silver Star Mountain Resort issued...

Kelowna skier in Austria for ski cross world championship

KELOWNA – Having recovered from an injury, Kelowna’s Ian Deans finds himself with a chance to get back on the World Cup ski cross circuit. Deans is representing Canada as an alternate on Canada’s ski cross team at the 2015 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championship getting underway today, Jan. 15, in Kreischberg, Austria,...

A second chance for Thistletown Boxing Club

KELOWNA – One of B.C.’s last remaining boxing clubs is getting a fresh start thanks to some help from a local business owner. Kelowna’s Thistletown Boxing Club first opened in 2007. For seven years it was managed by former National champion Graham McIntosh before financial troubles forced him to close the doors in July. A...

Two Kelowna Rockets selected for Team Canada camp

KELOWNA – A pair of Kelowna Rockets will be fighting for a chance to play on Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. Captain Madison Bowey and Rourke Chartier will be traveling to the Team Canada selection camp at the Centre for Hockey Excellence in Toronto. Camp starts on Dec. 11. “Both...

Kamloops native invited to National Junior selection camp

KAMLOOPS – Hockey Canada has released the list of 29 players invited to the National Junior Team selection camp and Kamloops native Joe Hicketts is on that list. Hicketts, 18, plays for the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League and is the first Royal to be selected for the junior camp. He currently leads...

Vernon paralympian Josh Dueck announces retirement

VERNON - Beloved Vernon athlete and three-time Paralympic medallist Josh Dueck is moving on to a new chapter in his life. After winning gold and silver medals at the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games, the sit-skier has decided to retire. “So, the time has come to retire from competition and redirect my energy on family, community...

Centre of Gravity welcome back but only in July

KELOWNA – Centre of Gravity is welcome to return to Kelowna for its eighth year, but only if it’s not during the August long weekend. Council received a report from the Outdoor Events Committee Monday, which looked at how the three-day festival impacted residents, the RCMP and local infrastructure. Wet Ape Productions agreed to move the...

“Heavy Hands” from the West to fight stranger from the East

KAMLOOPS - Ken Huber spends the majority of his days preparing to fight someone he doesn't know. He eats, trains, eats again then trains some more. He practices fighting someone with a right-hand dominance, then a left-hand dominance. Huber doesn't even know the man's name. On the opposite side of the country, a stranger is...

Bid on Blazer jerseys to raise funds for cancer foundation

KAMLOOPS - The Kamloops Blazers, along with the support of Safeway and CIBC's Run for the Cure will put on the Safeway Breast Cancer Night, in an effort to raise donations for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The Breast Cancer Night game will take place Oct. 24. Each Blazer on the roster will wear a...

Cycling: the Penticton tourism industry’s next target

PENTICTON - Cycling is a popular hobby and sport in the South Okanagan but it could soon be a major tourism driver. City representatives introduced the idea of Penticton as a province-wide cycling destination to provincial ministers at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Whistler last week. But Tourism Penticton, an entity of the city, already...

Young Stars may be back to Okanagan again next year

PENTICTON - The stands were full with fans ready for a good ol' hockey game at the South Okanagan Events Centre this past weekend, when the Vancouver Canucks hosted the Young Stars Classic. Young prospects from the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Winnipeg Jets played a series of games in the tournament, and...

Sharpen your skates for the Young Stars Classic this weekend

PENTICTON - Playing in the NHL is a dream for many young hockey players, and a bunch of young stars will get closer to making that dream a reality at the Young Stars Classic this weekend in Penticton. Prospects of the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets will be playing at the...

Community Centre offers free classes next week

PENTICTON - It’s time for a new season to start, and with that comes a new recreation guide, therefore the Community Centre is offering free classes and programs next week. Try It For Free Week is scheduled for Sept. 8 to 14. People can try different recreation and aqua fitness programs, including Zumba, yoga and...

Teacher strike throws off extra-curricular programs in the North Okanagan

VERNON - The B.C. teacher strike has thrown off many school sports and other non-curricular programs, though some activities remain on course thanks to parents and outside maintenance workers. Superintendent of the Vernon School District Joe Rogers says some fields aren’t being maintained due to picket lines, while others run in conjunction with Greater Vernon...

City hands Challenge reins over to new stewardship

PENTICTON - Challenge Penticton is officially under the new leadership of triathlon experts Kevin Cutjar and Michael Brown. Cutjar and Brown won the city’s bid this spring to take the Challenge reins and steer the competition in the right direction. The team will invest $300,000 over five years—the length of the new contract with the...

There’s a first Challenge for everyone

PENTICTON - Tara Ivanitz sits at the back of the room with a smile on her face as she watches her boyfriend, Nathan Champness sit on a panel at the front of the room filled with professional triathletes who will be participating in Challenge Penticton this weekend. While her beau is a seasoned athlete, finishing...

Your weather forecast for Challenge weekend

PENTICTON - The weather will cool off this weekend — a lucky break for triathletes competing in the second Challenge Penticton race on Sunday.  There is a chance of rain Thursday through Saturday, with Sunday being the only day not calling for showers. There is a chance of thunderstorms Thursday, with a high of 25...