In 1950 an engraved gold watch was presented to Don Manning, the Club Architect for his very outstanding work on the Mt. Seymour cabin.
Steeplechase
Another long-tradition skiing race, but oriented for cross-country skiing. The annual VOC Steeplehase race first began in the early 30's near VOC's Grouse Cabin. The race started at "the end of Thunderbird Ridge, go over the peak of Dam, over the peak of Grouse, across the Plateau and down to the "Vee-O-Cee" (Grouse) Cabin"[1] and combined multiple "obstacles" on the way. So long was the race that participants had to bring a sleeping bag!
On a particular note: there's a wild speculation that the origin of the name Thunderbird for the UBC teams came during the 1933 race after some skiers suggested the name[2].
Men's Cup
Past Winners
1965 Blair Smith
1966 Peter Lattey
1967 Ron Kot
1969 Greg Brown (Snowshoe race instead !)
Pletch & Dorka's Steeple Chase VOC Girls Cup
Pletch & Dorka's Steeple Chase VOC Girls Cup
Past Winners
1957 Lynn Webster
1958 Sheila Fenton
1959 Nadene Gwyer
1960 Ginny Willis
1961 Ginny Willis
1963 Barb Whitaker
1965 Nina Locke
1966 Claire Fraser
1967 Diddi Young
1968 Julie Kiraly
VOC Dam(n) Downhill Competition
Dam Downhill AwardVOC Ski Championship Downhill Men's Cup
In the spring of 1932, the first annual Dam(n) Downhill alpine classic began on Dam Mountain (beside Grouse). It quickly became the skiing event of the year for the VOC. The race was then held on Mt. Seymour's Unicorn Run, usually in late February, once the club moved to their new cabin on Seymour in the late 40's.
The following winners were obtained from the VOC Journals and/or directly from the trophy.