Christianne Sharman: Victoria trip could be a real kick

My husband – who has many wonderful qualities, including excellent vacuuming skills and a seemingly boundless willingness to wash my car – will watch absolutely any sport the television industry deems airable.

Open, albeit begrudgingly, to the possibility that I could learn something, I have on occasion probed him about this utter lack of perspective. How, for instance, can every single cotton-picking game be so important? Aren’t there any contests at all about which one could say, “Ehh. It’s no big deal”?

Apparently not.

And so we travel through life together, living in disparate worlds – one a cornucopia of mostly men doing VERY IMPORTANT THINGS under the dictates of a clock, and one that’s just normal.

We meet, however, on the soccer field, home to the rare sport I can really get behind. So I was excited to receive word that the FIFA U-20 World Cup is coming to Canada on June 30.

The world’s elite under-20 players will battle it out through July 22 in six cities: Burnaby, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and – in our neck of the woods – Victoria.

Victoria’s seven matches take place on July 1, 4, 7 and 11 at the Royal Athletic Park. The venue has boosted its capacity from 10,000 to 14,500 with temporary seats.

The Victoria Tournament teams include Uruguay, Zambia, Japan, Scotland, Nigeria and Costa Rica. Passes start at $145.50 Canadian, and you can order them at www.fifa.com or by calling (866) 662-3452.

Zip-a-dee, eh?

If you like the idea of Victoria in the summer, but chasing a ball just doesn’t do it for you, how about soaring above the trees?

In June, ZipWest Eco-Adventure Tours will set up shop in Sooke, just 45 minutes north of Victoria, where they’ll happily strap you to a cable as much as 70 feet off the floor of the Sooke Hills’ coastal temperate rainforest.

The 100-acre site’s two suspension bridges lead to your choice of eight ziplines running as far as 1,000 feet.

If you can manage to focus on them, the ZipWest guides will educate you on plants and wildlife, and there’s interpretive signage placed around the course, too.

But forget that. You’re flying, for pity’s sake! Who wants intellectual edification when you can play superhero?

The whole tour takes about an hour and half, and ZipWest will pick you up in Victoria Harbor ahead of time, then deliver you and your harness to the waiting cables.

Rates start at $55.99 Canadian for youth 12 to 15 and $69.99 for everyone older. Find out more at www.zipwest.ca or (866) 947-9145.

Time of a whale

Oh, brother. Here they come again.

You will recall that whale-watching is not very popular with me, as I’ve made several good-faith efforts, and the cetaceans stand me up every time.

But people keep trumpeting this activity nonetheless, and today’s culprit is the Rosario Resort – 30 acres of, ostensibly, prime whale-watching territory on Orcas Island in the San Juans.

It’s celebrating Orca Whale Month starting June 9 and continuing on select weekend afternoons through September. In the information Rosario sent, it claims this timing will capture “the peak of the whale-watching season in the San Juan Islands.”

I’ll believe it when I see it.

But you go ahead and take your chances. The weekends – a collaboration of the resort, Hoodsport Winery, and Orca Network, a nonprofit that works to raise awareness about healthy and safe habitats for the Pacific Northwest’s whales – include an afternoon excursion around the islands in search of the three orca pods that hang around the neighborhood.

Back on land, Orca Network will present an interactive workshop about the critters, and you’ll also learn how to protect their environment.

The package also comes with a bottle of Hoodsport’s “Orca Series” wine; a copy of “Orcas in our Midst,” by Howard Garrett, Orca Network’s director; and accommodations for two nights in a water- or mountain-view room.

The cost of the weekend starts at $280 per person based on double occupancy. Orca Network will get $10 for each package booked,

If you have questions, visit www.rosarioresort.com or call (800) 562-8820.

Regional events

“Montana Dinosaur Festival, June 2, Malta. Here’s what you’ll find: an antique and fossil road show, dig pit, fossil mold making, educational programs and more. (www.visitmt.com/406-654-1776)

“JazzFest International 2007, June 22-July 1, Victoria, B.C. Join 300-some musicians for five workshop clinics and about 100 jazz, blues and world music performances. Artists include Sonny Rollins, Blind Boys of Alabama, Holly Cole and the Oliver Jones Trio. (www.jazzvictoria.ca/250-388-4423)