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! Ae TICKETS ON LES BILLETS SONT EN VENTE MAINTENANT! SALE NOW! Don’t get left out in the cold - get your tickets today! Ne manquez pas votre chance — procurez-vous vos billets qujourd’hui! AVAILABLE AT / EN VENTE SUR TICKETMASTER.CA + PRINCE GEORGE \Y Zw —evxvv— JN] a ee ae Canada if 2015 PN FUNDING PARTIES / BAILLEURS DE FONDS canada.com ¥ Mark McMorris competing in stopestyle snowboarding, Sochi 2014