January
Canmore cross-country skiers Sam Hendry, Issy Hendry and Xavier McKeever qualify for the U20 World Junior Championship in Finland.
The inaugural Qualico Mixed Doubles Classic goes down in Banff and Canmore. USA’s Sarah Anderson and Korey Dropkin take home the bonspiel's $10,000 grand prize.
Banff curler Desmond Young and Team Alberta take on the nation at the New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championships. Team Alberta finished fourth.
After missing a year, the Lake Louise to Banff Loppet returns in 2019. Registration for the loppet sold out in under an hour.
Bow Valley climbers Alexa Vanier, Oceane Gelinas, Will O’Brien, Louka Gay, Jakob Learned-Lavoie and Thomas Gosselin qualify for junior nationals. Vanier went on to win bronze in bouldering.
Canmore-native and judoka Erin Morgan retires from competition. At her peak in 2017, the three-time world cup medallist was ranked 38th in the world in women’s -48 kg.
February
Canmore Illusions gymnast Olivia Pfister cracks the top 10 in the country following an impressive performance at Elite Canada, where she won silver in vault, ninth on floor and 15th and 17th on bars and beam.
Olympic biathlete Brendan Green retires following his relay race at the BMW IBU Canmore World Cup. At the Sochi 2014 Games, Green raced to an Olympic best ninth in the men's 15-km mass start. In 2015, he had a career best fifth in sprint at the world cup. In 2016, Green was apart of Canadian history when he anchored the men's relay team that scored bronze at a world championship race.
Canmore’s Meg Ohsasa wins double gold at Special Olympics Winter Games in solo ice dance and women’s free skate level 3.
Canmore cross-country skier Shane Stewart won gold, silver and bronze at the Special Olympics British Columbia in the 7.5-km, five-km and 10-km races.
Connor Howe, a product of the Banff Canmore Speed Skating Club, finished 10th overall in the world for junior long track.
Bow Valley Jiu Jitsu earned three medals at the western Canadian Submission Ace tournament.
Canada Winter Games
Bow Valley athletes won 10 medals at February's Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, led by alpine skier Britt Richardson’s silver and two bronze medals in the super-G and ski cross races.
Alpine skier Kaitlyn Fynn won silver in ski cross and finished fourth twice in super-G and slalom.
Snowboarder Rori Wulff won bronze in snowboardcross; Alberta’s first medal ever in the sport at the games.
Biathlete Karly Coyne won bronze in the youth women’s 10-kilometre race.
In cross-country skiing, Reed Godfrey won silver in youth men’s 10-km interval; Issy Hendry won bronze in the youth women’s 7.5-km interval, and Sam Hendry won bronze in the youth men’s 15-km mass start. The three skiers, along with Calgary’s Anna Pryce, also won bronze in mixed relay.
March
Olympic biathlete and Canmore-born Rosanna Crawford retired following her relay race in Sweden. Crawford was a three-time Olympian and veteran of 200 world cup races. She won bronze in a 15-km world cup race in 2018. She also won silver in single mixed relay with Nathan Smith in 2015. Her best solo result in the Olympics was 19th in the 10-km pursuit in PyeongChang.
Canmore’s Luke Philp signs with the Calgary Flames on a two-year entry-level contract beginning in 2019-20.
The Canmore Eagles Junior A hockey club upset the Drumheller Dragons in five games and advanced to the second round of the AJHL playoffs. In the second round, the Eagles lost in five games to the league’s best team, the Brooks Bandits.
Banff Canmore Speed Skating Club’s Lili Wilz and Finn Borstmayer won six medals combined at the Canada West Short Track Championships. Wilz won silver and two bronze medals in solo events and gold in the four girl relay. Borstmayer won bronze in the 1,500-metre and gold with the boys relay team.
Bow Valley Riptides swimmer Natalie Logan won gold and silver at Alberta Provincials.
In high school basketball, the OLS JV girls won silver in A-AA zones, and the Canmore Collegiate JV boys won bronze in AAA zones.
April
Paralympian Brian McKeever continued his golden streak with a first place in Para Nordic World Cup in Japan.
Canmore Wolverines linebacker Spencer McLeod agreed to play for the Mount Allison University team. He was only the third Wolverine to go on to play university football.
Canmore alpine skiers Britt Richardson and Kaitlyn Fynn were Alberta’s top U16 skiers after they finished first and second overall in the U16 girls Provincial Race Series.
Matthias Ahrens resigned as Biathlon Canada’s head coach after 15 years with the organization. He was named Biathlon Alberta Training Centre’s head coach soon after.
Canmore’s Noah Philp was called up to the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat, the Calgary Flames’ affiliate team, to tryout with the club.
Team LDR won the inaugural Bow Valley Surf Polo Championship against the River Sharks.
Banff's Michelle Locke qualified for the 2020 Freeride World Tour.
The Bow Valley Peaks basketball tournament celebrated its 40th anniversary. In its over 35 division, Calgary’s Firewater won the men’s tournament and Calgary’s Crüe won the women’s. In U35, Snootapalooza won the men’s and the Pelicans won the women’s final.
Canmore snowboarder Mateo Massitti finishes seventh overall in Big Air at the Junior World Championship in Sweden. He also placed 13th in Slopestyle.
May
Mark Arendz won Alberta’s 2018 Male Athlete of the Year after one of the greatest performances ever at the PyeongChang Paralympic Games. He won gold, two silver and three bronze medals in the cross-country skiing and biathlon events. It was the most medals any Canadian athlete has won at a single Paralympic Games.
Canmore Wolverines head coach Wade Buckley won Football Alberta’s 2018 Coach of the Year award for Tier IV. The sideline boss lead the high school team to its first provincial championship in 2018.
Canmore Illusions gymnast Leona Gentien was crowned the all-around winner at Western Canadian Championships, a first in the club’s history. Later in the month, gymnast Olivia Pfister finished seventh overall in the country at the Artistic Gymnastics National Championships.
The OLS Avalanche Grade 9 boys were crowned provincial champs in handball after a late comeback against the Sherwood Heights Cougars.
The Bow Valley Jiu Jitsu club won eight medals at the Absolute Submission Challenge as a club record 19 members competed in the Calgary tournament.
Canmore-native McKenzie Morgan won two bronze medals at Judo Nationals in the -81 kg division.
At the 2019 CEC Lead and Speed National Championships, Canmore’s Allison Vest and Becca Frangos won first and second place in women’s open lead. In the junior division, Canmore’s Alexa Vanier defended her national crown in the speed climbing category.
The Banff Bears' girls rugby team made school history by becoming back-to-back zones champions after stomping the Springbank Phoenix, 43-15. Bears’ Krista Scurfield scored five tries in the victory. The girls went on and placed fourth at provincials.
Rocky Mountain Adaptive, a local charity that removes barriers in sport and recreation for those living with physical and cognitive disabilities, celebrated its 10-year anniversary.
Canmore’s Sam Hendry was named to the national cross-country ski team.
June
Local high schools announced their athletes of the year. OLS junior and senior: Corey Banks, Meagan Lang, Camilla Faehndrich and Isaac Wilson. CCHS: Grace Pigott and Elliot Jantz. BCHS junior and senior: Sele Odagiri, Christian Cabasang, Hannah Macnaughton and Kyle Labiano.
Canmore’s Anya Morgan won gold in the high school girls' ambulatory 100-m dash at provincials.
Banff’s Daniel Habteyes won his second straight Banff Marathon race.
Bow Valley Riptides members Carter Beamish and Kahlen Anderson win eight medals combined at the Swim Alberta 2019 Provincials. Beamish won gold, two silver and two bronze, and Anderson won two gold medals.
The Bow Valley Blues won the Calgary North Baseball League championship game after defeating the Calgary Vipers 14-4. Blues slugger Josh Ellis smashed a two-run homer to help lift the team to victory.
The Canmore Eagles officially changed its logo for the 2019-20 season.
Canmore’s Holly Phillips is selected to Rugby Canada's 2019 U20 women’s team. The team competed in England in the Tri-Nations tournament where Canada beat the United States and lost to England.
July
In the Canmore Golf and Curling Club course championships, Nicole Mendelman defended her title in the ladies open; Jamie Cartwright won men’s open; Canmore’s Shamir Patel and Calgary’s Kaitlin Troop won the mixed open; and Bryn Davies and Ben Bagley won junior titles.
Rocky Mountain Adaptive announced it will start Canada’s first full-time Para-alpine development team in Banff.
August
Canmore’s Jack Menzies ranked at 10th in North America for U21 enduro racers and 21st overall after he won the Camelbak Canadian Open Enduro race in Whistler.
The Lady Macs, the Bow Valley’s only roller derby team, played its first home game in three years. The team lost to the Rocky View Rollers.
Stoney Nakoda’s Clint Bearspaw finished 14th at the Cue Sport Live Invitational billiards tournament in Las Vegas.
Banff’s Blitzkrieg won the 2019 Bow Valley Filipino-Canadian Basketball League after crushing Voyager Inn, 81-58. MVP Kenneth Fontarum scored a team-high 32 points in the victory.
The Banff men’s rugby team missed the playoffs after it finished fifth in the Calgary Rugby Union Third Division.
Canmore’s Kelly Smith and Mary-Anne Kamenka won Alberta Golf’s Ladies Team Classic at the Canmore Golf and Curling Club course.
For the first time, a U18 girls volleyball team from Stoney Nakoda competed at the Alberta Indigenous Games.
September
Canmore Eagles forwards Alex Young and Max Giangualano won silver with Team AJHL at the Junior Club World Cup in Russia. Young was named the top forward in the tournament.
Banff's Melissa’s Road Race celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Banff Hockey Academy’s female program celebrated its 10th season.
The Bow Valley Sports Hall of Fame inducted Olympic medallists Beckie Scott, Sara Renner and Chandra Crawford; mountaineer Sharon Wood; community sport builders Glenn Nelson, Charlie Locke, Linda Dunbar, Blair Dunbar, and Jamie McCulloch; and sports pioneer Pat Costigan.
A record-breaking nine women competed in the 2019 Canmore Highland Games’ heavy sports contest. Calgary’s Jamie Clark finished first.
The undefeated Canmore United FC team won the Bow Valley Soccer League.
October
Canmore Special Olympian Meg Ohsada performed in Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s farewell tour, Rock the Rink, in Red Deer.
Justin Wadsworth was named Biathlon Canada’s new head coach.
Canmore Wolverines’ golf team Michelyn Carmody, Fenja Young, Victoria Green and Sydney Pasemko won zones and finished sixth at provincials.
Canmore Wolverine Issy Hendry won bronze at cross-country running provincials.
Canmore race walker Mathieu Bilodeau finished 14th at the 2019 International Association of Athletics Federation World Championships.
Canmore-native Matt Mahler started at quarterback for the Ottawa Gee-Gees football team during its playoff game against the Waterloo Warriors. The Gee-Gees lost 44-21 and Mahler threw for 286 yards and one touchdown.
Bow Valley Jiu Jitsu’s Adam Zekry won his amateur mixed martial arts debut by unanimous decision at Rumble in the Cage 62. BVJJ’s Travis Erlam lost his combat jiu-jitsu bout at the same event.
Canmore’s Erik Read finished a career best seventh in giant slalom at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.
November
Canmore arm wrestler Annie Beals finished ninth in the world in the women’s 60 kg for both arms at the World Armwrestling Championship in Romania.
The Canmore Wolverines football team made a quick exit from the playoffs after losing 53-0 to the Willow Creek Cobras. The Cobras would go on to win the Tier IV provincial championship.
Banff Kyokushin Karate members Daymon Miller and Francois Pace travelled to Japan to compete at the 12th World Open Kyokushin Karate Championship. They were both eliminated in the opening round of the men’s 35+ 80 kg and over category.
December
Canmore’s Jacob Bernard-Docker was selected to Hockey Canada’s Junior National Team travelling to the Czech Republic for the World Juniors tournament.
Canmore’s Kris Mahler won a career first gold medal in ski cross at a world cup in France. He followed it up a week later with a silver medal.
Banff Canmore Speed Skating Club’s Lili Wilz, Evan Beamish and Max Zoffmann qualified for the Alberta Winter Games after a successful race in Canmore.
Biathlon Canada's men's senior national relay team finished fourth at a world cup race, which tied the team's second best result ever.
