The Bulkley Valley Nordic club held the third leg of the B.C. Cup biathlon circuit this past weekend on Hudson Bay mountain, and by all accounts, the event was a smashing success.
Seventy biathletes from all over the province and as far as Washington state made the trip to Smithers for two days of races.
“It went really well,” organizer Peter Tweedie said. “We had a lot of positive responses from the people that attended. People were hunting me down to tell me how impressed they were.
“All of our organizing committee, our volunteers and everyone involved did an excellent job.”
Visitors were also impressed with the club itself.
“A lot of people were surprised at the size and quality of our nordic facility and our trailers. It was a good way to showcase our club to other places in the province.”
As for the races themselves, the biathletes from Smithers had a strong showing.
Senior racer Angus Tweedie placed first in the 12.5 km youth men’s individual.
His times over the weekend were good enough qualify for the Canadian Nationals, which take place in New Brunswick this weekend.
“That was my goal going into this year,” Angus, who also competed in nationals last year, said. “I’m going to go there and race to the best of my ability and hopefully I can make it into the top-10.”
Tweedie will compete in the individual, sprint, relay and pursuit over the competition.
Joining Tweedie on the podium were junior Seton Kriese, who won two silver medals in the individual and the sprint and Amanda Wilson, who placed third in the six km individual.
The younger biathletes also performed well. Fiona O’Donoghue hit all her targets on both days and finished first in the 2.4 km individual.
“For kids just getting into the sport it’s pretty powerful to be able to get to the podium at a B.C. Cup race in their hometown. That’s pretty fantastic.”
The event finished with a dessert reception at the curling club and the official naming of the provincial team that will represent B.C. at the national games.
The raced marked the end of the competitive season for the Smithers Biathletes.
Towards the beginning of Spring, they’ll host an introductory day for kids who are new to the sport.