Local Sports

The Greater Vernon Ringette Association is one of six Vernon sports groups benefitting from B.C.’s Local Sport Relief Fund. (Morning Star file photo)

Relief funds keep Okanagan in the game

Clubs at risk of closure due to inability to offer programs and fundraise

Penticton Minor Hockey Association has been navigating the coronavirus pandemic throughout the 2021-21 season. (File photo)

Penticton Minor Hockey presses on amid pandemic

Despite a challenging year, the PMHA has been able to offer kids some respite on the ice

Abigail McCluskey is in the Netherlands training to compete in the World Cup next month. She joins 12 Canadian speedskaters for the international competition later this month. (Dave Holland CSI Calgary)

Penticton speed skater in Netherlands for World Cup

Abigail McCluskey will be skating the long track in the international competition

Brett Forsythe battles it out in a game of singles pickleball on ice at Okanagan Training Rink Thursday, Jan. 7 in support of the Vernon Food Bank. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)

Pickleball play hits the ice in Okanagan

Rivals battle it out in support of the food bank

Brett Forsythe battles it out in a game of singles pickleball on ice at Okanagan Training Rink Thursday, Jan. 7 in support of the Vernon Food Bank. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)
BCHL

BCHL delays start of the season as provincial health orders remain in place

The junior A league has been forced to abandon a plan to start in mid-January

BCHL
Chicago Black Hawks Duncan Keith of Penticton will be at Sunday’s Wildstone Colour4Kids Run at LocoLanding in support of the OSNS Child and Youth Development Centre. Western News file photo

A dozen Vees alumni in NHL training camps this week

Duncan Keith, Troy Stecher, Brad Thiessen and Dante Fabbro among NHLers

  • Jan 4, 2021
Chicago Black Hawks Duncan Keith of Penticton will be at Sunday’s Wildstone Colour4Kids Run at LocoLanding in support of the OSNS Child and Youth Development Centre. Western News file photo
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Stefano Bottini was named to Team Switzerland in the IIHF 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)

Penticton Vees forward makes World Junior team roster

Vees fans will have a player to cheer on at this years’ tournament

Stefano Bottini was named to Team Switzerland in the IIHF 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)
Penticton local and Freestyle Canada skier Jordan Kober (top) secured his first World Cup podium finish, placing third Sunday in the dual moguls event Idre Fjall, Sweden. (Contributed)

Penticton skier lands on the World Cup podium in Sweden

Jordan Kober, who trains at Apex, secured his first World Cup podium finish, placing third on Sunday

Penticton local and Freestyle Canada skier Jordan Kober (top) secured his first World Cup podium finish, placing third Sunday in the dual moguls event Idre Fjall, Sweden. (Contributed)
Left to right: Members of Freestyle Apex, Quinn Patton, Grady Farcau, Patrick Parsons and Charlie Roberts with coach Kristi Richards at the top of Apex’s mogul course Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. (Jesse Day - Western News)

Former Olympian Kristi Richards looks to take Apex’s freestyle ski team to new heights

The freestyle team hopes to get an Olympic landing bag to help take their skills to the next level

Left to right: Members of Freestyle Apex, Quinn Patton, Grady Farcau, Patrick Parsons and Charlie Roberts with coach Kristi Richards at the top of Apex’s mogul course Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. (Jesse Day - Western News)
The Penticton Vees Junior ‘A’ Hockey Club, in participation with the BC Hockey Hall of Fame, teamed up with OSNS Youth and Child Development Centre for a 50/50 draw that sees 50 per cent of all the proceeds benefiting OSNS. The winner will be drawn Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 (Mark Brett - Western News file)

Penticton Vees holding 50/50 draw to support Okanagan kids

There’s two days left to buy tickets with the jackpot already over $2,000

The Penticton Vees Junior ‘A’ Hockey Club, in participation with the BC Hockey Hall of Fame, teamed up with OSNS Youth and Child Development Centre for a 50/50 draw that sees 50 per cent of all the proceeds benefiting OSNS. The winner will be drawn Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 (Mark Brett - Western News file)
A prospective mountain bike park on Campbell Mountain would be free to use and open to riders of all abilities. (Clint Trahan photo)

Penticton could be getting a new mountain bike park in the future

City council expressed support for the proposal Dec. 8

A prospective mountain bike park on Campbell Mountain would be free to use and open to riders of all abilities. (Clint Trahan photo)
The Penticton Vees this time last year. Fans’ teddy bear donations flew onto the ice in just under one minute into the first period. (Phil McLachlan - Western News)

Penticton Vees season now delayed until January

Extended restrictions means 19-year-olds and up can’t play

The Penticton Vees this time last year. Fans’ teddy bear donations flew onto the ice in just under one minute into the first period. (Phil McLachlan - Western News)
The Pat Quinn Classic has been a popular tournament for top bantam and peewee teams in recent years, but COVID-19 means there will be no physical event this season. The scholarships established by the tournament are carrying on. (Pat Quinn Classic photo)

Pat Quinn Classic scholarships continue even as COVID cancels tournament

Female and male bantam players province wide are encouraged to apply for $1,000 scholarships

The Pat Quinn Classic has been a popular tournament for top bantam and peewee teams in recent years, but COVID-19 means there will be no physical event this season. The scholarships established by the tournament are carrying on. (Pat Quinn Classic photo)
Lake City Basketball’s inaugural female scholarship winner Megan Freeman with Lake City Director Chris Terris (Contributed).

Lake City Basketball’s top student-athletes awarded scholarships

Megan Freeman from Keremeos, Penticton’s Richter Heintz, and Summerland’s Jacob Mullin recognized

Lake City Basketball’s inaugural female scholarship winner Megan Freeman with Lake City Director Chris Terris (Contributed).
Penticton Vees celebrate after winning the Okanagan Cup on home turf recently. The regular season has been pushed forward to Dec. 8. (Vees photo)

Penticton Vees season start delayed to Dec. 8

COVID-19 restrictions have also cancelled all exhibition games

Penticton Vees celebrate after winning the Okanagan Cup on home turf recently. The regular season has been pushed forward to Dec. 8. (Vees photo)
BCHL

BCHL pushes back season start due to provincial health orders

The delay is minimal, just six days, for now. But the league is open to starting up after Christmas

BCHL
The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League is mouring the death of former president Len Dergousoff of Salmon Arm. The longtime Revelstoke Grizziies board member, who was president from 1999-2002, lost a year-long battle with cancer at age 80. (Dergousoff family photo)

Former KIJHL president dies after cancer battle

Len Dergousoff, 80, of Salmon Arm, was longtime Revelstoke Grizzlies exec, president 1999-2002

The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League is mouring the death of former president Len Dergousoff of Salmon Arm. The longtime Revelstoke Grizziies board member, who was president from 1999-2002, lost a year-long battle with cancer at age 80. (Dergousoff family photo)
The Penticton Vees are hoping to fill the stands at the South Okanagan Events Centre with cut-outs of fan portraits for the 2020-21 season as fans likely won’t be allowed to attend games due to the pandemic. (Contributed)

Get your face in the stands at an upcoming Penticton Vees game

Support the team and be seen on HockeyTV.com

The Penticton Vees are hoping to fill the stands at the South Okanagan Events Centre with cut-outs of fan portraits for the 2020-21 season as fans likely won’t be allowed to attend games due to the pandemic. (Contributed)
With no fans in the stands, it has been hard on local junior hockey teams. (Western File photo)

Pandemic presents unknowns for junior hockey teams like the Osoyoos Coyotes

With no fans and a shortened season, owners suffer financially

With no fans in the stands, it has been hard on local junior hockey teams. (Western File photo)
The ‘new normal’ for hockey parents in Chilliwack and elsewhere in B.C., watching their kids from outside of the arena due to COVID-19 protocols. (Submitted photo)

Chilliwack hockey parents petition to be let back in the arena

Refused access due to pandemic protocols, parents are now applying pressure to loosen the rules

The ‘new normal’ for hockey parents in Chilliwack and elsewhere in B.C., watching their kids from outside of the arena due to COVID-19 protocols. (Submitted photo)