One of the most promising young biathletes in the country is making the most of what Squamish has to offer.
Squamish’s Hunter Sones has been turning heads on the ski trails and at the shooting range, and the 2014 season has been one of his best.
Back in February, the Grade 10 Howe Sound Secondary School (HSSS) student took home gold and bronze medals in the eight-kilometre and six km biathlon races, respectively, at the B.C. Winter Games at Whistler Olympic Park.
He followed that with a nationals appearance in New Brunswick last month and also picked up a bronze medal at the North American Cup in Canmore earlier this year.
“It’s definitely been one of my best years,” he said, noting that the Winter Games and North American Cup performances are early career highlights.
It’s the 10th year that Sones has been involved in the sport and he said there’s a lot that he loves about biathlon.
“I really like the competitive aspect of it — it’s really two sports,” he said. “It can also change in the smallest amount of time. You can be in the lead but if someone hits one more target than you, it can totally change the race and you can go from first to 20th in a matter of seconds. It’s also an endurance sport and I love endurance sports.”
Sones admitted he’s slightly stronger at the shooting aspect of the sport and that might be a result of the hours of work put in at the Squamish Valley Rod and Gun Club (SVRGC). He said he puts in roughly six or seven hours a week at the range and that it’s been a valuable tool in his development.
“There are so many other teams or athletes that don’t have access to a facility so close,” he said. “It’s so helpful to be able to just come here whenever I can.”
His coach and mother, Rosanne Sones, said working with the SVRGC has been a big help to her son.
“The club has been so supportive and it’s great that he can just come here right after school,” she said. “Some of the guys here have been amazing in helping us, even helping us put together one of Hunter’s guns.”
Mike Wallace, the president of the SVRGC, said it’s been a beneficial partnership for both groups.
“With the Legacy Park being proposed, it gave us a chance to partner with them because we’re all going to be in this together and we’re neighbours,” he said. “We’re in the process of building a new biathlon range that should be ready by June and we’re now sponsoring Hunter.”
Wallace said he also approached the company Canadian Ammunition, which is now providing Sones with all of his ammunition for training — a total that reaches about 20,000 rounds a year.
“This affiliation is very important for us because we’re trying to utilize the facility as much as possible,” Wallace said. “We have a good opportunity to provide people a chance to get involved with Nordic sports.”
The Olympics are always on Sones’s mind and he said that he watched the Sochi Games this past winter with a lot of interest. But before he can fulfill his Olympic dreams, he will have a chance to qualify for the Canada Winter Games in 2015 in Prince George.
“It would be the greatest thing ever to be on that team,” he said, noting that four men and four women represent B.C., with one alternate. “But it’s such a hard thing to qualify for and the competition is going to be insane.”
Sones said the races in Prince George will be double the length of what he does now but he said he wants to get that experience so he can eventually make it to the next Canada Winter Games in 2019.
In the meantime, Sones will continue training with Whistler Nordics, the Callaghan Winter Sports Club and the newly formed Race Pace Athletics team. This summer Sones will stay busy with the CWSC biathlon series, the North American Summer Biathlon Championships in Canmore, the Whistler Half Marathon and the Squamish 50 trail race.
