July
Increase in attendance at Bridge Lake Rodeo
July 4 - While rain and mud set the overall tone for the 70th Annual Bridge Lake Stampede, spectators didn’t hesitate to fill the stands for the amateur rodeo. The annual rodeo was hosted by the Bridge Lake Community Club, a not-for-profit that gives back to the community year after year. “The weather was a bit concerning but it turned out to be a pretty nice day for us,” said Jamie Law, the club’s president. “It was a good day all around.”
Pickleball gaining popularity
July 11 - Thanks to a dedicated group of seniors, the fastest growing sport in North America was already being played in the South Cariboo. Pickleball participant and former Lac la Hache Deputy Fire Chief Larry Pawloski had been playing with the club for five years. “This sport is three sports,” he explained. “Ping pong, tennis, and badminton.”
Site manager reflects on summer camp
July 18 - As the 50th anniversary of Educo’s operations drew near, site manager Dean Oshanek was looking forward to another 50 years of adventure at the South Cariboo’s arguably, most unique summer camp. “You’ve got climbing, you’ve got first aid, you’ve got outdoor survival, Kate’s got her lifeguard, we need a lifeguard down at the water for kids to go swimming. These are all things that have sort of come along over the last few years,” said Oshanek, explaining just some of the features of the camp and the various ways in which they’ve progressed in the past five decades.
Archery club holds annual traditional shoot
July 25 - The Bighorn Archery club wrapped up their final outdoor shoot for the season at the 99 Mile Snowmobile Club site. The traditional shoot had archers from all over the province participate with more than 85 in attendance over the course of the weekend. “The weekend went very well and the weather was a big part of it,” said Allen Pickering, the president of Bighorn Archery.
August
Local bull rider making a name
Aug. 1 - A local bull rider was making himself known around the region. The 19-year-old rider, Logan Parent, had been competing in the British Columbia Rodeo Association for the last two years and in rodeos since 2017. “I have been competing almost every weekend this summer,” said Parent.
Packed weekend for Interlakes rodeo
Aug. 8 - The 29th Annual Interlakes Rodeo drew in over a thousand spectators throughout the weekend. “It was an excellent weekend,” said Interlakes Rodeo chairman, Gary Cleveland. “It was a packed weekend of events.” Cleveland said the rodeo had all of its regular events - steer wrestling, saddle bronc, bareback, calf roping and team roping and two new events were added to the list. The new events included the wild horse race and the wild pony race.
Developments underway at 99 trails
Aug. 15 - New developments were underway for the South Cariboo’s mountain bike trails at 99 Mile Hill. The Hun City Mountain Bike Club and the Cariboo Mountain Bike Consortium had secured enough funding to complete the development of two new trails. “Mountain biking is a very strong economic driver in many towns and cities across British Columbia and continues to grow in importance particularly considering the decline of the resource sector,” said Steve Law, president of Hun City Mountain Bike Club.
Success for motocross track at 99 Mile Hill
Aug. 22 - Dirt was flying ever since the grand opening of the South Cariboo’s motocross track at the 99 Mile hill. It didn’t take long for the track to gain province-wide attention, according to Brandon Plewes, president of the association and the man who started the motion for the track in 100 Mile House. “We have had great success so far,” said Plewes.
Wranglers start training
Aug. 29 - The 100 Mile House Wranglers of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League were preparing for their main training camp. “Camp will be very small in numbers, in that many of our own veteran players will still be away at Jr. A main camps. Also, some of the players we have identified to play on our club will also be away at Jr. A main camps and into the exhibition games,” said Dale Hladun, general manager and head coach of the team.
September
Harry Bishop rides for a cure
Sept. 5 - Harry Bishop did it again. It was the fourth time Bishop rode in Vancouver’s Ride to Conquer Cancer and the 82-year-old cyclist had his best year yet. “It went well. It was beautiful weather. The first day I did 82 kilometres and the second day I did 52 kilometres and rode through the finish line in Hope,” he said. “That was the most I’ve ever ridden in the four years. The bike made all the difference.”
Figure skating season is back
Sept. 12 - Young children were lacing up their skates for a new season of hockey and figure skating. “I am looking forward to seeing the skaters advance in their skills, have fun and grow in confidence throughout the year,” said Danyelle Howard, president of the 100 Mile House Figure Skating Club. They also added Junior Academy. “Junior Academy is a new program, which started last season and it is for CanSkater’s who want to continue into StarSkate (figure skating).”
Wranglers open season with a win
Sept. 19 - The 100 Mile Wranglers made a good account during their home opener against the Golden Rockets. “I was really happy with the first game of the season by the boys. We wanted to - because we’re a bigger club - set the tone as being a tough team to play against,” said head coach and general manager, Dale Hladun. “They [Golden Rockets] had a relatively big team, but I felt we controlled them through the game.”
PSO boys snag silver
Sept. 26 - The Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (PSO) boys’ soccer team captured the silver medal at the Pemberton Secondary School Red Devils Invitational Tournament. The PSO Eagles advanced to their first tournament final in several years and came very close to winning it all. “Pemberton has a stacked team this year and soundly beat everyone in their four round-robin games. I think they expected to hammer us in the final but we executed our game plan perfectly and a tiny bit of bad luck prevented us from likely winning the game,” said Eagles coach Sean Glanville.
October
Wranglers coach unhappy with goaltending
Oct. 3 - The Wranglers had another weekend of mixed results after beating the Chase Heat 6-5 and losing 7-3 to the Creston Valley Thunder Cats. “We certainly can score. We can fly, and it was quite an interesting game because we’d score and then Chase would, we’d score they’d pull their goalie, they scored, we pulled our goalie. It was a very back and forth game,” said head coach and general manager Dale Hladun on the Chase game. Hladun said he needed more from the team’s goaltenders.
Hladun blasts sub-standard play
Oct. 10 - The 100 Mile House Wranglers had a tough time over the weekend, losing both games and only scoring one goal in their 6-0 and 4-1 outings against the Kamloops Storm and the Fernie Ghostriders. “We got one goal and it was almost unearned. It is concerning… I find that our play away from the puck is horrible, I find that our play as a team system in the defensive zone and forechecking together is very sub-standard. I find that they pick and choose when they pick their role,” said Dale Hladun, the general manager and head coach of the Wranglers.
“Our offence wasn’t on fire but our bus was”
Oct. 17 - The Wranglers were in for a bit of a shock in the middle of their two-game series against the Sicamous Eagles after losing the first game. “After the game, our offence wasn’t on fire but our bus was,” said head coach Dale Hladun. “As we loaded the bus, we got about a block from the rink, some belts caught fire so we had to get an emergency bus.”
Mt. Timothy preparing for reopening
Oct. 24 - With the first, light dusting of snow gracing the hill last week, Mt. Timothy Recreation Resort’s (MTRR) new ownership group is chomping at the bit to open as soon as possible. Walter Bramsleven, general manager of MTRR, said since the beloved ski area was purchased by KevLar Development Group in March of 2019 work has been moving steadily along in preparation for the 2019/20 winter season.
Huncity Mountain Bike Club complete trails
Oct. 31 - A six-month-long project was finally realized after the Huncity Mountain Bike Club completed a trail system at the 99 Mile Hill Forest, located on the south side of 100 Mile House, according to a news release. “I marked those trails with tape over five years ago. The club has always visualized this area as being suitable for expansion. These types of projects that require multiple levels of support and approvals, take time. But I have to say it’s an incredible feeling to ride down these trails knowing that this is only the beginning,” said club president Steve Law.
November
Rugby tackles its way back into PSO
Nov. 7 - After a two and half years absence, rugby tackled its way back into the Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (PSO) sports scene. “My love for sports and my love for rugby at this school,” Kameron Taylor, the school’s First Nations Support and PE teacher and the head coach of all four teams at explained on why rugby is back on the scene. “I want to see PSO sports and athletics improve even more.”
South Cariboo teams win Old Stars tournament
Nov. 14 - Two local teams won their respective divisions in this year’s edition of the Old Stars Hockey Tournament, which was held at the South Cariboo Rec Centre and the Rolf Zeis Memorial Arena. “The tournament went really well and on time,” said Greg Aiken, the organizer of the event.
Junior team wins mixed bonspiel
Nov. 21 - The 100 Mile House’s curling club’s annual mixed bonspiel was won by a team entire under 18. “It was amazing and so much fun,” said Maria Hamilton, the club’s treasurer. Hamilton said 14 teams participated this year, which was the same as last year. Hamilton went on to say that the junior team winning the ‘A’ event showed that the junior program was ‘awesome.’ “As the kids get older, many of them start curling as spares in leagues, then join leagues. It is always a challenge when you come up to a junior team.”
Full house at bowling tournament
Nov. 28 - The Big Country Lanes Bowling Alley’s Second Annual Grey Cup Tournament went off without a hitch. “It went very well. It was a full tournament. We were hoping for 32 and there were 32 people here,” said owner and organizer Sherree Richet. She said it was a very good turnout compared to last year, where they had 29 people come out.
December
Tough week for Wranglers
Dec. 5 - It wasn’t a good weekend for the 100 Mile House Wranglers, losing 4-3 to the Chase Heat and to the Kamloops Storm. The weekend’s efforts had head coach and general manager, Dale Hladun, a little fired up. “The weekend overall was a little disappointing,” he said.
Students test volleyball skills
Dec. 12 - A pair of volleyball tournaments at Horse Lake Elementary and Mile 108 Elementary went pretty well, according to principals Ty Lytton and Ken Lucks. Both were won by 100 Mile Elementary. “It went excellent,” says Lucks. “Each school had three teams from that grade level.”
Wranglers continue Jekyll and Hyde performance
Dec. 19 - The 100 Mile House Wranglers had another Jekyll and Hyde performance this weekend, beating the Sicamous Eagles 6-2, then going on to losing 9-0 against rivals, Revelstoke Grizzlies. “The weekend was unique, I guess. There were a lot of good things during the weekend and there were a lot of upsetting things,” said Dale Hladun, general manager and head coach.
Nordics kick off season with Solstice celebration
Dec. 26 - It was foggy and grey in town, but up at the 100 Mile Nordics’ ski trails, it was clear and cheerful. Which made a good atmosphere for the club’s Solstice Celebration of Light. “It went really well. We had a great turnout, saw lots of faces up there we haven’t seen before,” said Kristi Iverson, president of the Nordics. She estimated that more than 200 people showed up, but the club was not keeping any sort of tally.