West Seattle’s Colton Fukano has been riding BMX since he was 3; we first featured him when mom Shawnda Fukano sent word of his championship at age 4, and he’s still succeeding in a big way three years later. Her latest update:

Colton Fukano earned second place overall in the Washington State BMX Championship for the 2019 season in the 8 expert category. We are so proud of all of his hard work this season as he moved up to racing in the much more difficult expert category.

Racing is still happening at the North SeaTac BMX track on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons if anyone wants to try it out. The Halloween costume race is especially fun!

Here is a link to one of Colton’s favorite races this season. He is in navy blue with a white helmet.

(Find out more about the BMX park here.)

This time it semi-paled in comparison to last night’s lightning storm, but still loud, so in case you weren’t sure, yes, that was a Seahawks-bound flyover heard a bit ago over West Seattle. Via Twitter, found some background info here – F-16s from Holloman AFB.

We’ve told you before about Queen City Futsal, which plays in South Delridge. Now with fall registration concluding, they’re sending out a last call for women – with the last call to register today:

Soccer women of West Seattle! We need you! We’re so close to making this epic dream of having the first ALL WOMEN’S FUTSAL LEAGUE in Seattle a reality, but we still need a few more players!

If you want to register an entire team, we’d LOVE THAT. If not, then we’ll happily place you on a team. For more information and to register, go HERE! We also still have some room for more women in the coed division as well.

If you have any questions at all, we’re just a quick email away at queencityfutsalsea@gmail.com.

We’re also looking to partner/include other West Seattle businesses in our growing community, so if you’re a business owner in West Seattle, or know a business that might be interested, hit us up!

Queen City Futsal plays at the Salvation Army gym (9050 16th SW).

Just under way – the first-ever Alki Beach Sunset Run, starting in six waves on the promenade and continuing up to Alki Avenue. (video added)

Traffic in the area will be restricted until about 7:30 pm. The run is using the westbound traffic lanes; side streets are blocked off. The post-race party will continue west of the Bathhouse until 8:30 pm.

Thanks to David Hutchinson for the photos! He was at Alki Point this afternoon as Amanda Winans became the seventh person to complete the Amy Hiland Swim, between Bremerton and Alki, since Hiland herself in 1959.

As noted on the Northwest Open Water Swimming Association website, Winans’ time was the fastest recorded yet, just under 4 hours. She is the second and final swimmer to complete this cross-Sound marathon swim this year, after Stephanie Zimmerman on August 3rd; NOWSA president Andrew Malinak says they’ve had “lots of interest for next year.”

This Sunday (September 1st), Amanda Winans will be the next open-water swimmer to attempt the Amy Hiland Swim, named for the woman who in 1959 became the first person on record to accomplish the swim between Bremerton and Alki Point. Six have done it since – from Erika Norris in September 2016 to Stephanie Zimmerman earlier this month. Northwest Open Water Swimming Association president Andrew Malinak announced the Sunday plan and tells WSB, “Amanda is yet another swimmer who has been training at Alki for the past several years, and has been a regular training partner of Stephanie Zimmerman since she began training at Alki. This will be Amanda’s first marathon swim. Amanda is a research engineer at the UW School of Oceanography, and regularly entertains us on swims by pointing out which marine invertebrates we’re swimming through.” Both Stephanie and Erika will be among the crew supporting/officiating during Amanda’s swim; Andrew will pilot the support boat.

(WSB file photo)

The sun is due back just in time for this year’s Great Cross-Sound Race, expected to bring dozens of rowers and paddlers to Alki on Saturday (August 24), along with their cheering sections. The Sound Rowers and Paddlers club organizes the race, starting at 9 am off the boardwalk, heading west to Blakely Rock off Bainbridge, and back. The top finishers are usually back within an hour (here are last year’s results).

Tomorrow morning, a swimmer who trains off Alki will be the next to tackle the Amy Hiland Swim – swimming from Bremerton to Alki Point, something seven others have done, from Hiland herself in 1959 to Stephanie Zimmerman two weeks ago. Tomorrow, Tricia Elmer plans to start at 7:30 am, according to Northwest Open Water Swimming Association president Andrew Malinak, and will likely finish about five hours later. As usual, the swim will be tracked by an escort boat and you can see the progress here. Big weekend for NOWSA – they’re celebrating a cross-Strait of Juan de Fuca swim that happened today, completed by Kim Rutherford in 10 hours, 22 minutes.

(Photo courtesy West Seattle YMCA)

The approach of fall not only means back to school, it’s back to sports for many local kids. The West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) has opened soccer signups – here’s the announcement:

Get in the game this fall with Y soccer for ages 3 to 8. Kids learn the rules of the game, sharpen skills like dribbling, passing, defense and offense while learning teamwork and sportsmanship.

YMCA youth sports encourage and promote healthy kids, families, and communities by placing a priority on family involvement, healthy competition rather than rivalry, the value of participation over winning, team-building as well as individual development, a positive self-image and a sense of fair play and mutual respect for others. Parents are encouraged to be more than mere spectators, by contributing their time as volunteer coaches—as well as being their kid’s greatest fan.

For more information and/or registration, go here.

From Queen City Futsal, which launched in West Seattle a year ago:

West Seattle-ites! Queen City Futsal is gearing up for fall season and we’d love to have more players from our community!

After taking the summer off to let our players enjoy the short-lived Seattle sun, we will be returning this fall for our 4th season! In addition to the coed divisions that we’ve been offering thus far, this season we will be offering the VERY. FIRST. EVER adult women’s futsal division here in Seattle and can we just say, we cannot wait!

Games will be played Sundays at the Salvation Army gym in West Seattle.

For a little glimpse into what Queen City is all about, you can check out THIS VIDEO from one of our past seasons. We’re all about having a good time, inclusivity, and of course, playing the beautiful game. We’re focused on creating a space to help build community and to combat that infamous Seattle Freeze.

For more information and/or to register your team or as an individual, go HERE!

If you have any questions at all, we’re just a quick email away at queencityfutsalsea@gmail.com.

We’re also looking to partner/include other West Seattle businesses in our growing community, so if you’re a business owner in West Seattle, or know a business that might be interested, hit us up!

(Photo by David Hutchinson, as swimmer and escort boat approached Alki Point)

Arms raised in victory, Stephanie Zimmerman emerged from Puget Sound at Alki Point early this afternoon, a little more than four and a half hours after she went in at Bremerton, to tackle what’s known as the Amy Hiland Swim.

(This photo and next by WSB’s Patrick Sand)

Supporters crowded around with congratulations:

Then – it was time to rest. She has been training off Alki for two years, according to Northwest Open Water Swimming Association president Andrew Malinak. NOWSA’s records show that Stephanie is the sixth person to complete the swim since Amy Hiland herself in 1959 – the route went untried for decades until Erika Norris swam it in 2016; Melissa Blaustein, Lauren Boilini, and Jerome Leslie in 2017; and Rose Filer in 2018. (Stephanie and Rose were among the panelists talking about open-water swimming at an event we covered in March.)

For years, there’s been a late-summer run on Alki. Two years ago, after Northwest Hope and Healing stopped presenting the Alki Beach 5K, the Cosmo 7K moved to West Seattle. This year, the late-summer run has another big change: It’s become the Alki Beach Sunset Run, and it’ll happen five weeks from tonight, on Friday evening, September 6. That means an evening road closure on the usual 5K route from Alki Bathhouse to Anchor Park and back; we’re still waiting for the full plan, but the race FAQ says the city is requiring organizers to reopen the road by 7:30 pm, a little over an hour after the 6:20 pm start. As with the past two years’ Cosmo 7Ks, an afterparty with DJ and drinks is planned for racers. Registration is open here.

As noted here last month, Stephanie Zimmerman was set to make the Amy Hiland Swim (Bremerton to Alki Point) on July 20th, after 2 years of training, but a last-minute problem with the escort boat forced a postponement. Northwest Open Water Swimming Association president Andrew Malinak tells us the boat’s been repaired and the swim is rescheduled for this Saturday, August 3rd. With a local support crew on board – including Rose Filer, who made the swim last year – Stephanie’s scheduled to start from Bremerton at 8:30 am Saturday, and is anticipated to reach Alki Point around 2 pm. You’ll be able to check the tracking page here.

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)

Leaping, diving, running, and throwing, the Seattle Cascades professional ultimate team was victorious in its first-ever West Seattle Stadium match tonight, 15-14 over the Melbourne (Australia) Ellipsis:

The Cascades are in blue. The mixed-roster match drew a lively crowd to the stadium:

Casey the Sasquatch, at lower left above, is the team’s mascot, whose appearances in the stands inspired one young fan (not pictured) to holler, “BIGFOOT LIVES!”

Back to the field. It was intense play. (Here are the rules, in short, as followed by the AUDL, the Cascades’ league.) We caught a bit of video:

Toward the end of the first quarter, Cascades player Peter Geertz-Larson was hurt.

He left the stadium in an ambulance after what was described as a compound shin-bone fracture. The game then resumed and the Cascades were up 9-8 at the half.

Featured at halftime, youth players from the DiscNW Tier 206 youth tour (beneficiary of tonight’s proceeds):

The second half was cut a bit short because the stadium lights weren’t coming on, and even on a clear summer night, by 9 pm, visibility wanes. Right before the game was called, we discovered a familiar face serving as the Cascades’ voice:

That’s David Bestock, known best around here as executive director of the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. Not only is he the Cascades’ announcer, he also is an accomplished ultimate athlete – his team won the Masters Nationals two weeks ago!

P.S. The Cascades’ regular home venue is Memorial Stadium downtown; their next match is at 6 pm August 17th.