WHISTLER, B.C. – Fans of ski jumping take note: the jumps at Whistler Olympic Park are opening this month for the first time since the 2010 Olympic Games.
The Canadian national championships will be staged there on March 31, with training rounds starting March 24. Events include large hill and Nordic combined (jumping and cross-country skiing).
Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes of Calgary, Canadian record holder in ski flying (194 metres, achieved last month in Norway), is among those slated to jump, along with top athletes from Germany and the U.S.
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The site, a 1 1/2-hour drive from Vancouver, can accommodate about 1,000 spectators. Admission is free – including a free pancake breakfast on the day of the championships.
The Canadian women’s team was instrumental in getting women’s ski jumping included in the Olympics starting in 2014, so having them competing here for the nationals “is going to be a pretty big event for us,” said Breton Murphy, spokesman for Tourism Whistler.
He said the venue, “carved out of the side of the hill and surrounded by these old-growth trees . . . is just beautiful.”
And the jumpers put on quite a show. “It’s definitely awe-inspiring to watch what these folks are doing.”
On the web: http://www.whistlerolympicpark.com
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