Morning Star Staff
The Vernon Vortex Speed Skating club was in Kamloops Saturday, hoping to fulfil their year-long goal of taking the Coyote Cup away from the Kamloops Long Blades Club.
The Vortex skaters performed admirably, recording 34 personal best times out of a total of 56 races. Brooke Meeks, Daniel Hall, Laine Koroll, Mattias Isobe, and Andrew Smit each had four races with times faster than they had ever recorded before.
Declan Fitzpatrick, Jared Eddy and Tadhg Boyle added three personal best times. Lauryn Eddy and Sam Eddy were able to achieve two personal best time and Nate Benn added one personal best time in support of his team.
The competition for the overall team trophy, the Coyote Cup. was much deeper than in past years. There were 15 teams vying for the cup.
“The majority of the teams, such as the perennial nemesis Kamloops Long Blades, and the teams from Port Coquitlam, Kelowna, Ridge Meadows, Langley, and Prince George have access to twice the ice time for practice as the Vortex team,” said Vortex head coach Michael Hall.
“Despite this apparent handicap, the Vernon team was able to finish a close second to the Long Blades. While the goal was to take the trophy home, the team camaraderie and sportsmanship exhibited by the Vernon Club while mounting a great effort and narrowly missing the Cup was enough to make everyone involved proud of the accomplishment of the skaters.
“The Vortex team has lost its ability to sneak up on anyone. Their performance throughout this year makes them a viable competitor in any competition they enter. The hard work and dedication shown by the Vortex skaters is paying dividends. Anyone interested in joining a vibrant team can check out their webpage at www.vernonspeedskatingclub.com.”
