Short track mountain biking on Dollar Mountain Aug. 12 and 19
Sun Valley Resort and Road & Dirt are teaming up to present two Wednesday evenings of short track mountain bike racing on a new Dollar Mountain course Aug. 12 and 19.
Everyone from kids to pros is welcome to join the fun. Spectators will have a good view of races from the lawn at Carol's Dollar Mountain Lodge. The Men's B races start at 5:30 p.m. followed by the women's races at 6:15 p.m., two free kids' races and the 7:45 p.m. men's race. Adult races will be about 35 minutes a lap.
Entry fee of $25 for adults includes one raffle ticket. There will be a raffle each week, with great prizes to benefit the Wood River Bike Coalition. Food and drink will be available on the lodge deck.
Fly fishing in Sun Valley
August is a great time for fishing in the Wood River Valley, and several Ketchum-based sports shops are offering fly casting clinics and classes.
Silver Creek Outfitters has a free fly casting clinic Monday, Aug. 10 from 6-7 p.m. or by appointment (726-5282 or visit silver-creek.com).
Sturtevants in Ketchum (726-4501) is planning a kids' fly fishing class for three straight Thursdays, Aug. 6, 13 and 20, and a women's fly fishing class on Aug. 7-8, 14-15 and 21-22.
State coaches honor Fairfield's Candice Smith
Candice Smith so enjoyed the challenges of track and field as a high school athlete that she told her coach she, too, would coach one day.
Such dedication along with her dynamic coaching philosophy and the success of her athletes at Fairfield's Camas County High School has earned Smith the 2009 Coach of the Year Award for 1A Girls' Track by the Idaho State Coaches Association.
The award, along with three Northside Conference "Coach of the Year" awards and two District "Coach of the Year" honors, fits what Smith's girls from the tiny school have done in track and field contests.
For three years straight, the Lady Mushers have conference championship titles and achieved third place overall at May's State 1A track meet. Her athletes have set over 200 personal records in the last five years.
Smith likes to keep conditioning training intense, but interesting. Her athletes run up at the slopes at the Soldier Mountain Ski Area. They also run two miles while carrying a tire with another teammate and do 20-minute minute relays with all teammates running about eight 200s. Uniquely, Candice will frequently join the girls in these rigorous drills.
Hole-in-one at Sun Valley
Jay Harvey scored his first-ever hole-in-one at Sun Valley Resort's White Cloud seventh hole, on Wednesday, July 22. He used a 6-iron on the par-3, 187-yard hole.
Soccer referee clinic coming Aug. 11
Due to a shortage of qualified, local soccer referees, Sawtooth United F.C. is offering a 16-hour U.S.S.F. New Referee Clinic on three dates next week. The dates are Tuesday and Thursday, Aug. 11 and 13 from 6-10 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 16 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sawtooth United is paying for the fees for the entry-level clinic—a cost of $25 for the classes and $40 for certification. You must be 12-and-older and complete the 16 hours of training for certification. Youth referees are paid according to age group, length of games and type of competition. An additional and shorter high school-specific clinic is required to officiate high school games. Call Lynn Chaldu at 726-1160 for more information.
Sign-ups underway for Labor Day tennis at Sun Valley
Registration has started for the Lyle Pearson Labor Day Tennis Championships presented by Sun Valley Resort Saturday through Monday, Sept. 5-7.
Entry deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 1. Players may enter up to three events, and all Open events are sanctioned. Prize money is offered in Open divisions based on draws of at least 16 players. Only U.S.T.A. members may register online at http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=78531. You can also email tournament director David Perry at info@desertrenter.com or call him at 877-799-4377 to enter.
August is here, prep sports poised to begin
Labor Day is late this year, on Monday, Sept. 7, and Blaine County school classes don't begin until Monday, Aug. 31—but fall athletic teams will be in full swing long before that.
Here is a list of parent player meetings and practice start times for Wood River High School and some middle school athletic teams.
Meanwhile, Carey High School football players have completed a summer camp and are looking forward to the first official day of practices Monday, Aug. 10 from 7-9:30 p.m. Cheerleader practices then begin Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Carey's first football game is Friday, Aug. 28 at home with Hagerman, the day after the school's first home volleyball matches against Dietrich and Mackay Aug. 27.
WRHS meetings and dates:
Girls' and boys' soccer: Parent Player meetings Thursday, Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. in the commons area. First practices Monday, Aug. 1`0 at 9 a.m. on the upper practice field across from Phil Homer Field. First games on Friday, Aug. 21.
Football: Success sessions (conditioning) from Aug. 10-12 at 6 p.m. on the lower practice field. Parent Player meeting Monday, Aug. 10 at 7:15 p.m. in Hailey's Community Campus auditorium. Whitewater rafting football retreat Friday, Aug. 14. First game on Friday, Sept. 4.
Volleyball: Parent Player meeting Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. in the commons area. First tryouts Friday, Aug. 14 from 1:30-3 p.m. in the gym, and they continue Monday through Friday, Aug. 17-21 from 9:30 a.m.-12 noon. First matches Aug. 29.
Volleyball clinic: Hosted by the WRHS team for girls in grades 6-9, on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 13-14 from 9:30-12 in the gym. Register ($25) at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 13. Call Ellen Johnson 309-1804, Monica Garceau 481-0786 or Tim Richards 578-7847.
Cross country: Parent Player meeting Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school's Distance Learning Center. First practice Friday, Aug. 14 at 3:30 p.m. on the field south of The Community Campus. First meet Friday, Aug. 28.
Middle School eighth-grade football: Begins Sunday, Aug. 23 at 6 p.m. for pad checkout and registration at the north entrance of the middle school. Practices begin Monday, Aug. 24 at 3:30 p.m.
Middle School volleyball: Begins Monday, Aug. 17 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the middle school gym for seventh- and eighth-grade girls. Tryout sessions are Aug. 17-28 on weekdays. Non-returning players will need a physical to participate. Call Kristi Vandenberg 720-0473.
Middle school soccer: Begins Monday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. for grades 7-8. Bring required paperwork (available at the school office) plus shin guards, water and soccer shoes. More details, Adam Porth 450-9048.
