Vanderhoof Clippers speed skater Alison Desmerais has been named to the Canada National Development team. She will likely get a Canadian skin suit to wear in competitions and a Sport Canada card which is a monthly stipend to help with training and competing expenses. Alison trained in Prince George for one year and has been at the National Training Centre in Calgary for two years now.
Fort St. James skater Jamie Macdonald has been named to the National Team for 2017 – 2018. And for the first time Jamie will have an “A” card from Sport Canada. The “A” means Jamie receives an increased level of funding from what she has been receiving for a couple of years. Jamie has skated internationally for the last two seasons and has won individual and relay medals on the World Cup circuit. She spent several years in Calgary before relocating to the National Training Centre in Montreal for the last year or more.
It’s quite an extraordinary thing for 2 such talented short track speed skaters to come from 2 tiny communities 60 km apart and 3500 kms from Quebec where most of Canada’s elite short trackers come from. Only 7 of the 25 skaters recognised on National and Development Teams are from out side of Quebec. It’s a testament (partially) to the strong local clubs that helped get them started but mostly just an amazing coincidence that 2 such driven and enormously talented skaters would come from almost the same part of the country.
– files submitted by Keith Gordon. Keith coached Jamie here in Fort before she moved to Calgary to skate.
