The 100 Mile and District Figure Skating Club got off to a great start in September 2019. There were a few setbacks with lower registration and the shortfall of a coach due to a job relocation. In total, 40 skaters registered in the club for the fall session and are continuing through to the winter session. The club also received seven new applications as of January 2020. The CanSkate, learn to skate program, is going great and runs on Mondays and Wednesdays with the help of Program Assistants, the club’s senior figure skaters.
Congratulations go out to the following CanSkate skaters for passing their tests and moving up a level:
Pre-Can Skate:
– Ryker Rislund
– Chase Thibeault
– Charlotte Geddert
– Edward Yang
– Cash Szatmari
– Hazel Lutz
– Cali Bishop
– Reid Seller
– Alexandra Wetzig
Stage 1:
– Addison Upson
– Selene Ball
– Hazel Lutz
– Livia Szatmari
– Mackenzie Thibeault
– Cali Bishop
Stage 3:
– Aliyah Ladd
– Autumn Vallee
– Serenity Granger
Hockey Learn
Hockey Learn to skate is a beginner program geared for the hockey player. Skaters are working on their skills such as balance, forward and backward skating, stopping, turning, and agility. All of the skaters continue to make progress.
CanPower
The CanPower program is a high energy instructional power skating program geared for hockey and ringette players. The club had 14 CanPower skaters registered for the Fall and Winter session (Sept. – March) and have accepted three more registrations for the Winter CanPower session (Jan.- March). Level 3 and up is on Mondays, Level 1 is on Tuesdays, and Level 2 is on Thursdays, all are from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Congratulations to the following CanPower skaters for passing their tests and moving up a level:
Level 1:
– Kaylee Pylarinos – Gold
– Maielle Briggs – Gold
Level 2:
– Maielle Briggs – Gold
Fundraising
During the month of September, the figure skating club did a Fraser Valley Meats fundraiser and it was once again a huge success. The total sales were $6,821 which is a record for the club. October saw the club fundraising again with the November “Cash for Christmas” Lottery Calendars. Each calendar was assigned a unique number and every day during the month of November a number was pulled to win the amount of cash for that day. Cash prizes ranged from $25 to $500. Congratulations to all the winners! All of the fundraising dollars were put towards ice rental fees for the 2019-2020 season. The club is thankful for all of the skaters helping with the fundraising efforts and thank the community for all of their support.
Training seminar
November was an exciting month for our Star Skaters. On Nov. 16, four of our skaters (Alexa Pylarinos, Tayler Kelsey, Katharina Wetzig and Vanessa Shearer) travelled to Kamloops to an On Ice training seminar with Zdenek Pazdirek. Zdenek is a Senior Coach with the Coquitlam Skating Club and previous two-time Czechoslovakian Senior Men’s Champion, World and Olympic competitor.
It was a wonderful learning experience for our senior figure skaters. Zdenek worked on the skaters’ inside and outside edges through a 45-minute stroking exercise. He broke down jumps into easier to understand steps (execution, take-off and landing) and he taught them how to properly use a skating spinner. The Spinner is a training device Zdenek developed that mimics a skate and teaches skaters balance and control when performing different spins. The final part of the seminar included yoga to help improve core strength, balance, control and muscle strengthening. It was a great day and the club sincerely thanks the Kamloops Skating Club, for hosting this very informative seminar.
Skate Canada
On Nov. 24, three of the club’s Star Skaters attended the Skate Canada Okanagan Inter-Club Competition, hosted in Summerland. All three skaters came home with ribbons. Lauren Aikenhead received a Gold Ribbon for her Star 1 Elements which included stroking, waltz jump, single salchow, single toe-loop, forward and backward upright spins, forward spiral sequence, and a 30-second creative expression routine. This was her first competition. Tayler Kelsey received a Bronze Ribbon for her Star 2 Elements which included the loop jump, waltz/toe-loop jump combination, backward upright spin and forward spiral sequence. Vanessa Shearer received a Silver Ribbon for her Star 3 Elements which included a flip jump, loop/loop jump combination, forward spiral sequence and combination spin. All three girls enjoyed watching some of the other events, such as the Women’s Gold Solo performance and Star 5 and 6 solo performances. Way to go girls! The club commends you for your accomplishments and representing the 100 Mile Figure Skating Club.
Congratulations to the following StarSkaters for moving up a level and passing their tests:
Star 1 Freeskate
– Lauren Aikenhead – with honours
Star 4a Dance – Swing Dance
– Vanessa Shearer – with honours
Star 4b Dance – Fiesta Tango
– Vanessa Shearer – with honours
Support
The club is very proud of all skaters, but especially senior skaters who not only attend their own lessons two to four hours a week but they also give up their time to volunteer and help the coach with up and coming skaters in the CanSkate program. And with the help of the Junior Academy skaters they fly the flags at Wrangler Home games. These girls are super supportive of one another giving high fives and cheering for perfecting skills and landing jumps. They offer one another advice to help succeed and they are a shoulder when things are not going as they should. The club had a busy few months and the skaters looked forward to a quiet December to perfect their elements and solos for Competitions in Prince George, Salmon Arm and Langley in the upcoming months.
The club hosted a Public Free Skate on Dec. 22. The club had laser lights on ice with festive music and Santa came to visit too! It was a huge success with over 150 people in attendance.
The 100 Mile and District Figure Skating Club would like to thank everyone for their support.
Registration is still open for the club’s programs. If you have any questions you can reach them at the 100 Mile Figure Skating club office at the South Cariboo Rec Centre, by phone: 250-395-1842, email: 100milefigureskatingclub@gmail.com or check out their Facebook page!
