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Cheer for the Okanagan athletes competing at the PyeongChang Olympics

A guide to what athletes from the Okanagan are competing in the Olympics and how to watch
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Kelowna’s Kelsey Serwa will compete in her third consecutive Olympic Games this month in South Korea. -Image: GEPA

Team Canada has nominated 225 athletes, and 63 of those athletes, a remarkable 28 per cent, have a connection to B.C.

The number of B.C. athletes representing Canada in PyeongChang is significantly higher than in Sochi four years ago, where only 19 per cent of Team Canada had a connection to B.C. The province’s contingent at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games is even more noteworthy considering that B.C. only accounts for 13 per cent of the country’s population.

Here is a list of Okanagan athletes and coaches to watch for (all game times are according to the schedule on CBC and are in PST)

Penticton:

Andi Naude - Freestyle Skiing, moguls

Moguls qualifications take place on Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. and Feb. 11 at 2:30 a.m. with the final that same day at 4 a.m.

Related: One more hill to conquer for Penticton’s Naude at Olympics

Related: Naude close to realizing Olympic dream

Emily Clark (Okanagan Hockey Academy alum) - Women’s ice hockey

Canada’s first preliminary competition takes place on Feb. 11 at 4:10 a.m. against the Olympic Athletes from Russia.They will then face Finland on Feb. 13 at 11:40 a.m. and finish out preliminary play against the U.S. on Feb. 14 at 7:10 p.m. Quarter-finals start on Feb. 16.

Related: Okanagan Hockey Academy helped Clark pursue Olympic dream

Rob Kober - Men’s freestyle, moguls coach

Men’s qualifications are on Feb. 8 at 6:45 p.m. with medals at 4 a.m. on Feb. 12.

Related: Penticton coach prepping Freestyle Canada athletes for Olympics at Apex

Summerland:

Justin Kripps - Bobsleigh

The two-man bobsleigh event starts at 3:05 a.m. on Feb. 18 and 3:15 a.m. on Feb. 19. The medal runs will take place on Feb. 19. The four-man event starts Feb. 23 at 4:30 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 4:30 p.m. and ends that day with the medals.

Kelowna:

Julia Ransom - Biathlon

Related: Kelowna’s Ransom to compete at Olympics

Kelsey Serwa - Freestyle skiing, ski cross

Everything for the women’s ski cross takes place on Feb. 22. Seeding is at 6:30 p.m., the 1/8 finals are at 8:15 p.m., quarterfinals at 8:50 p.m., semifinals at 9:14 p.m. and the finals are at 9:30 p.m.

Related: Kelowna’s Serwa named to Olympic team

Tess Critchlow - Snowboard, women’s snowboard cross

Another event that takes place all in one day is the women’s snowboard cross. Qualification takes place on Feb. 15 at 5 p.m., quarterfinals at 7:15 p.m., semifinals at 7:36 p.m. and the finals at 7:52 p.m.

Related: Kelowna’s Tess Critchlow named to Canadian Olympic team

Bob Ursel - Men’s curling, coach of South Korea

Related: Kelowna’s Ursel to coach at Olympics

Lake Country:

Ian Deans — alternate for freestyle skiing, ski cross

Related: Lake Country skier named to Olympic team

Vernon:

Andrew Ebbett — Men’s ice hockey

Related: Ebbett stoked for Olympic hockey

Chay Genoway (former Vernon Viper) — Men’s ice hockey

Canada kicks off the men’s hockey tournament on Feb. 15 at 4:10 a.m. against Switzerland. On Feb. 16, the Canadians will face the Czech Republic at 7:10 p.m. and then play South Korea on Feb. 18 at 4:10 a.m. The quarter-finals will begin on Feb. 20.

Emma Lunder — Biathlon

Related: Lunder named to Olympic biathlon squad

Kevin Hill - Snowboard, snowboard cross

Feb. 14 will be a full day of snowboard cross as seeding takes place at 6 p.m., 1/8 finals at 8:30 p.m., quarterfinals at 9:04 p.m., semifinals at 9:25 p.m. and finals at 9:41 p.m.

Related: Hill headed to Olympics

Jim Cotter - Mixed curling, coaching South Korea

South Korea plays their first game in mixed doubles curling on Feb. 7 at 4:05 p.m. against Finland. They are on the ice again on Feb. 8 at 3:05 a.m. against China, play the U.S. on Feb. 8 at 8:35 p.m., Olympic Athletes from Russia at 4:05 p.m. and go head-to-head with Switzerland on Feb. 10 at 3:05 p.m. On Feb. 10 at 4:05 p.m. they face Canada to finish off the round-robin play.

Related: Cotter to coach in Korea

Salmon Arm:

Natalie Wilkie - Paralympic nordic skiing

Related: Wilkie committed to Paralympic dreams



kristi.patton@pentictonwesternnews.com
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