Quesnel figure skater Mitchell Dunn is headed to the 2020 B.C. Winter Games later this month.
The event will see up to 1,200 athletes between the ages of nine and 18 compete across various sports Feb. 20-24 in Fort St. John.
Dunn, who is 14, has been figure skating since he was six years old.
He will be competing in the Pre-Novice Competitive category at the Games, which is the category which advances to national level skaters.
The talented young athlete got started in sports, as many in our country do, playing hockey before realizing his skill in figure skating.
“I went into hockey first and I didn’t really get into it, but then my sister was doing figure skating at the time, and I was like ‘oh my sister’s cool; I wanna do that’ and that’s really how I got started,” he said.
Dunn says the sport seems to run in his family.
“Quite a few people have done figure skating in my family, and I think my uncle even skated at a national level,” he said.
While Dunn may have a family history of skill in the sport, he isn’t one to rest on his natural ability, and he works hard to push himself and his skills to the next level. Dunn spends at least 10 hours a week practising on the ice, which, along with his off-ice training, has had a big impact not only on his abilities, but also on the local figure skating community, says Quesnel Figure Skating Club head coach Carly Dinicol.
“Mitchell is an exceptional athlete, and he has completely changed and elevated the level of skating in Quesnel,” she said. “We just love having him here.”
Dunn is coming off a brilliant performance at the CNCR Regional Championships in which he won gold for both his “Short” and “Free” programs.
Dunn says he has no plans to slow down his training in the sport any time soon, and although he says he doesn’t know what the future holds for him in the sport, he has dreams of competing at the national level.
“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to take it to a national level or anything because that’s still so far away, but I’ll keep skating and see how far I can go, and if I can get it there, it would be amazing,” he said.
The B.C. Winter Games will be the last big event for Dunn this season. He will be staying in the Pre-Novice division next season and hopes to continue to build on his success.
READ MORE: Quesnel figure skater improving in leaps and spins
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