14Spoorts

Canada Winter Games

Brady Stark
Team Member

he Winter Games are almost here, so

to get us excited here are a few lesser
known sports to look forward to in the
coming weeks.

Slopestyle Snowboarding:

Fresh off its inaugural debut at the 2014
Sochi Olympics, Slopestyle snowboarding

is rapidly becoming a popular winter

sport. Canada is at the forefront of this
growth, since Canada Winter Games Alumni
Mark McMorris captured bronze in the
Olympics, and gold at the Winter X Games.

The slopestyle competition is a series of small
jumps, big jumps, and rails that are spread
throughout the course to challenge the skill
and creativity of the competitors. Anyone
who ends up watching this nerve-racking
event will have a brand new appreciation for
those who strap themselves on a board and
attempt to fly. Now it’s up to a fresh new crop
of snowboarders to follow in the footsteps

of McMorris and carve their way to victory.

Gymnastics Trampoline:

Making its debut at this year’s Canada
Winter Games, trampoline is one of the
more exciting and popular sports to hit
Prince George this year. One of the reason
that trampoline has taken off is that it has
a strong connection to people’s childhood
of jumping on their own or someone
else’s trampoline in the backyard.

Now, take that warm fuzzy feeling and
crank it up about a thousand notches

as these athletes will attempt to do
somersaults and twist in the air that might
make to spectators eyes pop out of their
heads, all the while landing with pinpoint
accuracy. Judges will use a 10 point system
to measure skill, creativity, and landings
to see who goes home with the gold.

Archery:

Archery is a sport of extreme concentration
and pinpoint accuracy as they try to hit a
target the size of a vinyl record at a distance
of 20 yards. The competitors can use an
array of different arrows as well as have the
chance to compete in team events. Archery
has been in the Canada Games since 1978,
but has only been a part of the winter games
since 2003 as an indoor game in order to

fill out the official sports in the winter.

Those who decide they want to take in
archery will see a lot of pointy objects
flying in the blink of an eye, as Prince
George gets to see who is the best in Canada
at a sport and a way of life that has been
around even longer than our great nation.

Wheelchair Basketball:

You won’t see Lebron James-style dunks,
or Kyle Lowry draining it from beyond
the arc, but that does not mean that the
basketball that you will be witnessing at
this year’s Games is any less awesome.

A sport gaining new heights due to the
release of a documentary feature, Murderball,
the sheer intensity rivals any other in the
games. The rules, balls, and hoops are the
same as they are in regular basketball, but
the amount of skill that it takes to get points
in this game is arguably much higher.

Imagine taking a normal shot at the two-
point line while standing on two feet. That’s
no easy task. Now, imagine that you have to
sit in a chair and take the same shot. Getting
a little harder, isn’t it? Now, imagine doing
all that with another player bashing into
you with 50lbs of metal. This game is not
for the faint of heart; the concentration

and upper body strength makes wheelchair
basketball a must-see when they roll into
Duchess Park and try to capture gold.

Get excited for the Canada Winter
Games, coming right here to Prince
George starting next week!

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Mark McMorris competing in stopestyle snowboarding, Sochi 2014