The Remarkable Pelkey Sisters
Bragg Creek’s Pelkey sisters made sports headlines in both winter and summer this year. Rebecca Pelkey attended the 2023 Canada Winter Games in alpine skiing, and brought home two silvers in Slalom and Super G.
Sister Megan Pelkey also qualified to compete at the world waterskiing championships in Chile in 2023, and ended up winning the Championship in the U17 category in January. And both Megan and sisters Sarah and Sofia competed at the Canadian waterskiing championships in Edmonton, bringing home nine medals between the three of them.
Clearly this family was born to ski, and the season doesn’t matter. It will be exciting to watch what 2024 has in store for them.
Cochrane Chaos Win
The 2022-23 season ended in perfect fashion for the Cochrane Chaos, as the junior women's hockey team secured their first-ever Alberta Junior Female Hockey League (AJFHL) championship on March 19.
Seven years after first forming a team to compete in Alberta's U21 women's hockey league, the Chaos players ended their campaign with gold medals around their necks, after overcoming the Sherwood Park Steele three games to one in their best-of-five AJFHL championship series.
"I couldn't be happier for the group – they worked really hard all year and I think it was a well deserved ending for their season," Derek Loomer, the Chaos' head coach, said at the time of the victory. "We have a tremendously tight group that has stuck together and supported each other all season."
Trinity Taekwon-Do National Medal Haul and Peacock Heads to World’s
Martial artists from one of Cochrane’s premier Taekwon-Do dojangs proved their skills are among the best from around the country after bringing home nine medals from the 2023 CTFI National Taekwon-do Championships, held May 6 and 7 in Vernon, B.C.
Head coach for Trinity Taekwon-Do, Cameron Macdonald, said a team consisting of six colour belts, two black belts, and two umpires (Brenda Peacock and Tim Wuthrich) took part in the national tournament, which hosted approximately 600 competitors from across Canada.
Colour belts Nate Baker, Lex Baker, Kye Bullock, Norah Macdonald, and Max Macdonald each took home a bronze in sparring, with Nate and Lex taking home another bronze in the pattern events.
Black belts Josh Wuthrich and Nathan Peacock also competed in Vernon, with Peacock winning gold in sparring.
Peacock had a standout year in other ways as well. He qualified for Canada’s national team, and ended up competing at World’s in Finland this past September.
Cochrane High’s New Turf
To celebrate a new touchdown for Cobras Athletics, Rocky View Schools (RVS) marked the grand opening of the town’s second artificial turf field with a ceremony at Cochrane High School, followed by a four-team football jamboree on June 17.
Several supporters of Cobras Athletics came out for the field's grand unveiling, as well as dignitaries like Banff-Airdrie Member of Parliament Blake Richards, Town of Cochrane Coun. Susan Flowers, Rocky View County Reeve Crystal Kissel, and Cochrane Track and Field Association president Leslie Ann Kalman.
Superintendent of RVS Greg Luterbach said he was thrilled to support physical activity and player safety, not only for Cochrane High's student-athletes but for the town's broader sporting community.
“Today’s event is a moment of celebration for all athletes, families, donors, and partners who worked hard to make this artificial turf a reality,” Luterbach said. “I’m glad RVS could play a part in this project.”
The $2.5 million amenity was co-funded by the Town of Cochrane, Rocky View County, RVS, private donors, and a federal investment through the Canadian Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF). Construction on the field upgrade started in August 2022 and was completed earlier this school year.
Redwood Meadows Marathoner Travelled Far to Pay Tribute to Lost Friend
A Cochrane woman who lost her struggle with mental health issues was honoured by her friend travelling to Iceland this past August to run a marathon in her memory.
Lindsey Sine died in May 2022 after a courageous battle with mental health issues while working to help others at a centre providing holistic care for mental, physical, and spiritual wellness. She was 38.
Sine worked at the Shifra Centre for Wellness in Cochrane as the office manager.
“She intensely poured love, dedication and generosity into clients and women of the community,” said Kailyn Metz, trained diligently for a marathon in Reykjavík, Iceland on Aug. 19 in her friend’s memory.
Metz asked for donations to the Meira Memorial Fund, a non-profit created in honour of Sine.
“She worked diligently to ensure every person that walked through the doors of Shifra was appreciated and welcomed. She believed strongly in the power of community, especially a community of women,” Metz said.
Tree Climbing Champion
A sports story a bit on the unusual side, but one which captivated in 2023 nonetheless.
Stuart Witt, who has worked in the tree care field for the past 25 years, finished in first place at the International Society of Arboriculture’s (ISA) tree climbing championship, Prairie Division.
Winning this event qualified Witt for the world championships, which will be held next year in Atlanta, Georgia.
Different skillsets were judged by a panel of experts, leading to a composite overall score, similar to what happens in some Olympic competitions.
There was a range of events, like throw lines, fastest to the top, and aerial rescue, which simulates getting a worker out who’s stuck up a tree.
“I’m a bit of a veteran,” said Witt at the time of his win. “I’ve been competing since I was 16 and I’m 41 now, so that puts me in good stead. It’s a lot of hard work.”
Silvertips Relocation
It was sad news for lacrosse fans in Cochrane when the Rockyview Silvertips announced in November that they would be relocating permanently to Airdrie at the start of the 2024 season. Historically, the Silvertips have split their time between Cochrane and Airdrie during the season, but since 2018 the team has played out of the SLS Centre facility.
According to Darren Deitz, the Silvertips president and general manager, the team had loosely talked about the options of moving the last couple years. Ultimately, the board “decided to relocate to Airdrie for the 2024 season and beyond.”
“When we draft players to our team, we are considering players from all parts of Calgary and all the areas surrounding Calgary,” said Deitz. “We felt Airdrie provided better accessibility for our players, potential draft eligible players, and their families.”
