The Kelowna Skating Club has re-affirmed its position as a top producing training centre in B.C.
In all, 23 local skaters took to the ice at the BC and Yukon Sectionals last week in Prince George.
The Kelowna team showed its strength at all levels of competition, winning five gold medals, the most by any club in the province.
Kelowna skaters finished 1-2 in the Senior Women’s division, as Julianne Delaurier captured the title with a 127.51 points finish, as well as the Artistic Award. Jayda Jurome finished with the silver medal thanks to her score of 125.22 points.
At the Junior level, 17-year-old Cailey England took the silver medal with a personal best score of 122.23 points. Cailey also won the Artistic Award for her event. Meanwhile, Kelly Basisty finished third on the men’s side.
In the Novice Women’s event, Kelowna skaters took 3 of a possible 4 qualifying berths to Skate Canada Challenge. Thirteen-year-old Mckenna Colthorp struck gold, while Rachel Pettitt and Ajsha Gorman finished second and fourth, respectively.
At the Pre-Novice level, 11-year-old Olivia Gran had dominating performances in both segments to finish with a personal best 105.88 points, which was a Canadian high for Sectional events, and the BC and Yukon title. Her training mate, Rochelle Reeve, also captured a qualifying spot to the Challenge event, thanks to a silver medal finish in the field of 47 skaters.
Kelowna also showed promise at the developmental levels.
Eight-year-old Carson Consiglio skated a clean and entertaining performance in the Pre-Juvenile Men’s division, en route to a 27.93 points finish and the gold medal.
Kelowna also claimed gold on the girls side, as Alexis Garost won with a score of 30.34 points. Her club mates Summer Peitsch and Vienna Harwood finished just off the podium in 4th and 5th, respectively.
In the highly competitive Juvenile Women under 11, Kelowna’s Ashley Sales won the bronze medal, while Alyssa Dobbs finished 5th in the Juvenile Women under 14 division.
“It was great to see so many strong performances, as there is so much pressure at Sectionals every year,” said Kelowna Director Jason Mongrain. “It’s tricky because B.C. skaters have to skate well enough to qualify through a very tough Section, yet they need to have some room to improve for and peak at the National events.”
Next for the Kelowna team is the Skate Canada Challenge event, held at Pierrefonds, Quebec next month. This event will serve as the National Championships for Pre-Novice skaters, as well as a qualifier for the Canadian Tire Nationals for Novice, Junior, and Senior skaters.
