Author: Marty Hastings
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The Westsyde Whundas after winning the AA Boys Okanagan Valley Championship. Photo by Westsyde SecondaryPop music provides soundtrack for Westsyde Whundas
Teenage Dream, a 2010 dance-pop number by Katy Perry, was the anthem last season. This year, the provincials-bound Westsyde Whundas’ senior boys basketball team jams to a 2012 Carly Rae Jepsen joint. “Every time we win, we play Call Me Maybe and sing along to it,” Whundas’ shooting guard Jaren Porter said. Those tracks are…
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Photo by Amanda WongRemembering Team Brown on the ice
Recently disbanded Team Brown will be remembered among the greatest Kamloops curling rinks. With a history of covering skip Corryn Brown, third Erin Pincott, and lead Samantha Fisher that dates back to the early 2010s (when they were Justin Bieber-loving teenagers), I’ve been looking forward to sharing a few words on my professional relationship with…
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Kamloops Storm forward Luca D’Amore. Photo by Alex Beckett/Kamloops StormKamloops Storm eyeing league title
The Kamloops Storm have never won the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League title. They are positioned well to change that dubious fact this season, sitting atop league standings as of the Chronicle’s publication deadline and running away with the Doug Birks Division. The Storm — who have been to the final four times since the…
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Photo by Ottawa ChargeWoodland scores hockey contract with PWHL
Kendra Woodland walked into a meeting with Ottawa Charge general manager Mike Hirshfeld and head coach Carla MacLeod fearing her Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) dreams were about to be crushed. The 25-year-old goaltender from Kamloops was summoned for the gathering with team brass on Nov. 18, one day after allowing two goals on 12 shots in her only pre-season appearance, the 3-0 loss to the visiting Toronto Sceptres marking the end of a two-week tryout with the club. …
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New Thompson Rivers University president Dr. Airini. Photo provided by Thompson Rivers UniversityNew TRU president meets struggles head-on
Thompson Rivers University president Dr. Airini is a whitewater kayaker who finds tranquility in eddies and chutes. “You’ve got to commit to the rapid, though if you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it well,” said Airini, noting Clearwater is among her favourite places to paddle. “For me, in those sorts of times,…
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The Brown rink, featuring, from left, Corryn Brown, Erin Pincott, Sarah Koltun, Samantha Fisher and Jim Cotter. Photo by Curling CanadaLocals to compete for Olympic curling spot
The Brown rink will become the first team from Kamloops to compete in the Canadian Olympic curling trials later this month in Halifax. “It’s once every four years,” said Brown third Erin Pincott, whose team earned its berth at trials on the merit of its position in 2024–2025 Canadian Team Ranking System standings. “You never…
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Casey Rodgers, left, of Team Canada and doubles partner Tatiana Ruhl celebrate winning gold at the 2024 Pickleball World Cup in Lima, Peru. Photo provided by Pickleball World CupKamloops represents in world pickleball
Casey Rodgers of Kamloops is a professional pickleball coach at a colossal club in the Caribbean and will represent Canada this fall at the sport’s World Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “I could not have imagined when I picked up the paddle like seven or eight years ago that I would ever be here —…
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TRU Wolfpack gearing up for next season
Hailey Ward switched course in the spring of her graduating year at NorKam secondary, ditching plans to pursue a college education and volleyball career in the U.S.“I decided I wasn’t ready to move that far away and spend that kind of money, and my little sister was 13 at the time,” said Ward, a lifelong Kamloopsian who…
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Photo by NBA
Kelly Olynyk hoping to find stability in Texas
Kelly Olynyk and wife Jackie are expecting an addition to their roster, with a baby girl due to arrive in September. Preparation for parenthood was complexified this summer when the seven-foot NBA star was traded — twice — and landed with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. The South Kamloops secondary graduate Olynyk made…
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Logan Stankoven enjoyed a well-earned vacation in Aruba following an impressive season of hockey. Logan Stankoven photoStankoven’s eyes are on the future
Logan Stankoven appeared to be at ease in his parents’ backyard, his Carolina Hurricanes’ hockey gear seen hanging through an upstairs window while he stood in for a table-tennis tilt and poolside interview. The 5-foot-8, 165-pound forward from Kamloops — at home for an off-season break — has every reason to be relaxed, including a…