Prince George will be well-represented on the Fort St. John slopes next month during the 2020 B.C. Winter Games.
The Caledonia Nordic Ski Club (CNSC) played host to the Zone Eight northern regional biathlon trials on Saturday (Jan. 4) and, despite only six competitors at the starting line, five girls and one boy, everyone qualified for the three-day event to the delight of friends and family.
Five of those six qualifiers are from Prince George, all members of the CNSC, with the one exception from Quesnel and the Cariboo Ski Touring Club.
In the girls’ division, Aliah Turner got off to a hot start and never wavered, ultimately winning the race by over three minutes ahead of second place.
She hit 13 of 15 targets in the range and crossed the finish line with a time of 25:10, 3:04.05 ahead of Cariboo’s Laura Balkwill.
The rest of the field, all with CNSC, finished as follows:
- Artemis Douglas = 29:14.4, 10/15 targets
- Payton Sinclair = 29:30.7, 9/15 targets
- Iona Cadell = 30:47.4, 7/15 targets
Liam Sinclair was the only biathlete in the boys’ division this weekend at Otway.
He qualified for the B.C. Winter Games with a time of 26:04.1 and hit 13 of 15 targets.
The Games take place Feb. 20-23, 2020; dates and times for biathlon are still being determined by the host committee.
Meanwhile, Prince George will continue with its hosting duties as the second leg of the five-stage Biathlon BC Cup gets underway this weekend.
According to CNSC, approximately 75 competitors are set to take on the Otway trails with hopes of earning a higher ranking in the season-long race for the trophy.
More information on the event is available on the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club’s website.
