Mamas for Mamas is teaming up with Kelowna’s Harvest Golf Club to host the 7th annual Ladies Amateur Two-Ball Golf Tournament.
This one day tournament helps raise money for Mamas for Mamas while also gathering 120 female enthusiasts for a day dedicated to sport, community and philanthropy.
This charitable initiative raised approximately $37,000 in 2023, and aims to go bigger and better on July 22 this year. The goal is to help as many mothers and caregivers in crisis as possible.
“Mamas for Mamas is a national charitable organization that provides ongoing assistance to individuals and families facing poverty-related challenges, and their mission is to transform the landscape of poverty through innovative approaches, addressing financial barriers and fostering systemic change,” said the charity in a release.
Over the last five years, this group has expanded from a grassroots initiative in the Okanagan to an organization with 62 chapters across the country.
“We believe in providing a hand-up, not a handout in order to combat the systemic issues contributing to poverty, mental health struggles, housing, and food insecurity. Through our community-based sharing economies and resource coordination, we ensure that no family faces these challenges alone,” said Mamas for Mamas.
The annual golf tournament is fully booked for 18 holes of golf, but there are other ways to contribute and help make a difference, including backing the Mamas for Mamas’ Invisible Homelessness Campaign, which aims to maximize its impact of the golf tournament.
This campaign will support families who are homeless but remain unseen in the community. Contributions to this event can help provide essential resources.
Click here to learn more about how to get involved.
Photo: RCMP
Missing 19 year-old Danaejah Boyd
Midway RCMP are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing teen.
Danaejah Boyd, 19, was last seen on July 14, 2024, near Beaverdell, B.C.
Police and her family are concerned for her well-being.
Boyd is described as Caucasian, five-foot-nine, 180 pounds, with shoulder-length light brown hair and brown eyes.
She was last seen wearing a black dress and grey running shoes.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Boyd is urged to contact their local police.
Photo: Apple Race Series
Calling all runners and triathletes.
The Apple Race Series will be back in Kelowna in just a few short weeks, providing residents and visitors the opportunity to participate in the Apple Triathlon and Apple Marathon.
After a multi-year hiatus, the 2024 series will feature the return of the much-loved events, set against the backdrop of Kelowna’s landscapes.
“Our focus for both the triathlon and marathon in 2024 is to provide an excellent experience for the athletes in the field and to re-engage the triathlon and running communities,” said race director Susie Ernsting.
The Apple Race Series features triathlon races on Sunday, Aug. 11, and a marathon and other running races on Sunday, Sept. 29.
The marathon and half-marathon courses are certified, meaning runners who are looking for official personal bests and qualifying times for other races will have the chance to do so in Kelowna.
The running race will also feature an 8-kilometre race for those looking for a shorter distance.
The triathlon will include two options for race length as well as kids’ events.
Kelowna RCMP were on the water this past weekend keeping an eye on lake activity.
They spotted one incident where the driver of a personal watercraft was pulling another person on an inflatable tube. RCMP tells Castanet the rider fell off the tube but the driver, who did not have a spotter, continued driving on for 500 metres before noticing the passenger was no longer on the tube.
The incident happened Thursday, July 11, 2024, when RCMP were conducting a routine patrol.
“Personal watercraft, better known as Sea-Doos or jet skis, have unique requirements including that you must be at least 16 years old to operate one,” says RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Michael Gauthier.
Officers approached the watercraft after they recovered the passenger, directed them to shore and handed them a $287.50 fine under the Small Vessel Regulations section the pair were also given a warning for failing to produce their Pleasure Craft Operator card.
“You’re really quite limited when it comes to towing someone behind a PWC as you require enough seating for everyone on the vessel including the individual being towed. This means a three-seater already carrying the driver and spotter, has one seat left for whoever they’re towing should they become injured or the tube goes flat for example,” said Cpl. Gauthier.
“We’ve directed several PWC back to shore this year after seeing operators towing multiple people on tubes, most commonly children. This particular incident was overtly unsafe and a clear reminder why a spotter is needed at all times.”
For more information on the rules on the water, or safety tips and requirements for pleasure craft and personal water click here.
Rob Gibson – Jul 15, 2024 / 11:56 am | Story: 497203
Photo: Pacific Coastal Airlines
Pacific Coastal Airlines is adding direct flights from Kelowna to Prince George this fall.
The airline is expanding flights between the North and Central Interior, starting October 28, 2024.
The new service will operate six times a week, from Sunday to Friday, using Beechcraft 1900 aircraft.
The flight schedule for the Kelowna – Prince George new route is outlined below:
8P1498 Kelowna (YLW) to Prince George (YXS) 6:20 p.m. – 7:40 p.m. October 28, 2024
8P1491 Prince George (YXS) to Kelowna (YLW) 07:45 a.m. – 09:10 a.m. October 29, 2024
“Our new route offers customers enhanced access to convenient travel between northern B.C. and the Okanagan,” said Johnathan Richardson, VP of customer & commercial at Pacific Coastal Airlines.
“We’re grateful for the strong support of our newly added flights and are eager to continue to expand our services throughout the province.”
To celebrate the launch, Pacific Coastal Airlines is offering passengers the opportunity to receive a 20% discount on bookings using the promo code: KEL2PG.
“We are excited to see the Pacific Coastal network continue to expand at YLW offering more regional connection options for Okanagan Residents,” says Geoff Ritchie, commercial & air service director at Kelowna International Airport. The increase in direct routes that Pacific Coastal offers will improve the movement of people and goods throughout our province.”
Madison Reeve
A little heat didn’t scare away the over 15,000 concertgoers who soaked up some sun and music at Kelowna’s Rock The Lake festival.
The three-day event outside Prospera Place kicked off on Friday night with artists including Theory of a Deadman and Saturday’s star-studded lineup featuring Scenic Route to Alaska, Texas King, Daughtry, and Our Lady Peace.
The festival finished with a bang when Tom Cochrane hit the stage just after 8 p.m. on Sunday night and got the crowd raging with some of his classic hits.
Madison Reeve
It’s going to be another scorching hot week across the Thompson Okanagan.
A heat warning will remain in effect across the Southern Interior all week as daytime highs are expected to be in the mid-30s and overnight lows in the high teens.
“An extended period of high temperatures will continue as a ridge of high pressure remains over the region. Little relief is expected at night with elevated overnight temperatures. Current guidance indicates high temperatures gradually moderating late this week,” Environment Canada said.
Monday will see a high of 37°C and sunshine all day. The overnight low will only dip down to 19°C.
Tuesday is expected to be the hottest day of the week. Environment Canada is forecasting a high of 38°C and sunshine.
A small break from the sun is expected on Wednesday with a mix of sun and clouds and a high of 37°C.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will all see more sun with a high of 36°C.
A reminder to send us your photos to [email protected] to be featured in our gallery.
Photo: Ed Burke
Photo: The Canadian Press
Representing your country on the biggest of stages never gets old.
Just ask Kelowna marathon runner Malindi Elmore who will jet off to Paris later this month to compete in her third Olympic games.
“It’s super exciting. I don’t think that ever wears off,” Elmore recently told Castanet News.
Elmore ran in the 1,500 metres in Athens in 2004 and the marathon at the COVID-interrupted games in Tokyo three years ago.
All provide vastly different experiences, says Elmore, especially Tokyo where the event took place in Sapporo, 800 kilometres north of Tokyo.
“We were not part of the Olympic village or the Olympic delegation. Tokyo didn’t feel like an Olympic experience.”
Not only will she be part of the Olympic experience this year, she will be able to share it with her family.
Unlike Tokyo where family and friends were unable to attend due to the effects of COVID, such restrictions are not in place for Paris.
Her husband and coach Graham Hood, himself a former Olympian, and their two children will be making the trip.
For Elmore and Hood, this will be their second time on the course she describes as “the hardest marathon course in Olympic and world championship history.”
They took a week in February to scout out and run the course.
It came as advertised.
“It’s unlike any course. Usually they are relatively flat and fast,” she said.
The course features two significant hills, a six per cent grade for about eight kilometres a third of the way into the race, then a dramatic 13 or 14 per cent grade a few kilometres later.
“It would be like running up Wilden or the steep part of Knox or Dilworth.”
While no one will be surprised by the difficulty of the course, Elmore thinks running it in advance gives her a bit of an advantage.
“Seeing it in person was so valuable for me because I can actually visualize what it looks like and where the hills start,” she said.
“But, I think the hardest part will be the back end, the last 10 to 12 kilometres, because we come off a very steep three kilometre descent which can really destroy your quads because you are braking coming down a steep hill.”
The knowledge of the course has also allowed her to alter her training routine in preparation for what’s ahead.
“I have definitely tried to run more hills. This is not a course where running fast is the goal, this is a course where being super strong is important.”
She has also been doing a lot more work in the gym, while being mindful not to train too hard.
“The goal is to show up healthy and fit.”
The Paris marathon is also culturally significant. The course is part of the route taken during the Women’s March on Versailles, a significant event during the French Revolution.
It will also be the final event of the Olympics.
“There is a huge movement at these Olympics for gender equality across the board in sports and flipping the traditional marquee men’s marathon closing out the games to the women’s race I think is quite symbolic of the Olympic movement over the last 100 years.”
Elmore is coming off a ninth place finish three years ago in Tokyo and will be Canada’s lone entrant in Paris. Canadian record holder Natasha Wodak, who broke Elmore’s record in Berlin two years ago, failed to hit the Olympic standard during the qualifying window.
As for the future, Elmore says she will compete for at least two more years through sponsorship commitments. But who knows after that.
“I don’t think I have necessarily hit my peak. In terms of the marathon, I think my best performances are still ahead of me.”
The Olympic marathon will be run at 11 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, Aug. 10.
Meaghan Hackinen, a Kelowna ultra endurance rider, is planning more big rides after conquering the Tour Divide, a 4,400-kilometre race from Banff to New Mexico.
She tells Castanet the race has over 50,000 metres of elevation gain, which is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest nearly six times.
“It is completely self supported,” Hackinen said.
“You carry everything you need to race. You need to take care of your bike if you get a flat or bring it into a shop, find accommodations or places to sleep, and importantly, you cannot receive outside support from friends or family, so you really have to take care of yourself while you are out in the wild.”
Hackinen, 39, is deeply driven by competitive adventure and is always on the lookout for something bigger, better and more challenging.
She first rode the 6,800-kilometre Tran Am Bike Race in 2017 and has been absolutely hooked on the sport ever since.
“I’ve done some bike touring, trips across Canada, down the Pacific Coast, and I still love touring, but to get out and race, whether it’s just for the weekend or a longer event like the Tour Divide, just gets my heart going.”
Hackinen firmly believes in having a relationship with her bikes, which she says gives her an extra gear when the going gets tough.
“This one here is called Amelia, and she’s named after Amelia Earhart, the famous aviation pioneer,” she said.
“And together, we are just flying. I feel like she’s a character in my story, I take care of her, I keep her clean, keep her chain lubed and she takes me places I couldn’t go otherwise. I feel like we’re a great match and we just get along really well together.”
Hackinen loves nothing more than long days in the saddle, using her long-distance rides as a way to escape from everyday life — watching the sunrise and sunset, all while riding her bike for upwards of 16-18 hours per day, burning 500 calories every hour.
“The Tour Divide definitely ranks as one of my top events,” said Hackinen.
“It’s the American Cycling Association’s longest off pavement route, so it’s kind of historic. Thousands of people have toured it and raced it. The parts that stick out are in B.C. and Montana, there’s some beautiful mountain passes, but the weather, the mud, the snow, it was pretty grizzly out there.”
Hackinen already has her eyes on some long distance races around BC this summer, but says she plans to return to the Tour Divide for another shot at a first-place finish.
