It’s been a challenging season on many fronts for the young members of the Langley Skating Club. Regardless, several recently rocked it in a regional competition – bringing home multiple gold and silver medals.
The club saw 20 local skaters, out of 520 from throughout B.C. and the Yukon, participate in the Skate Canada’s B.C. virtual contest, explained director Rob Woodley.
“Our club was finally able to take part in a competition for the first time in over a year,” he said, noting every skate competition since COVID has been cancelled “much like the situation in all other sports,” he said.
PAST COVERAGE: It’s the Greatest Show On Ice and it’s happening in Langley Saturday
This competition was announced in early March, videotaped over two hours in mid-April, and judged on livestream between May 12 to 16.
Divided into age categories, everyone knew when their group would be shown and could watch the live feed, complete with live standings graphics and an announcer.
“This competition has been a great experience for members of the Langley Skating Club,” said Woodley.
“We’ve been training as much as we could in the past year but without competitions and even allowing parents in the stands, it’s been a challenge to keep motivation levels up. Having an outlet for all our skaters hard work was appreciated, even if it was much different than usual,” he elaborated.
“We have seen a lot of improvement in all our club skaters in the past year and it was nice to be able to let the parents see that improvement,” Woodley said, spotlighting four standout performances.
Annaliese Beckmann and Maya Towstyka finished first and second in the Star 4 girls under 13 category, both landing their recently acquired axel jumps.
In Star 5 women under 13, Irena Lin and Hannah Li both won gold.
“We were very pleased with every skaters results this year,” Woodley said.
“With this year being so up and down, I’m extremely happy with how our skaters have risen to meet the challenges of the year. It was hard to get out there and perform again after going so long without any opportunity to do so. Many of the skaters commented they were more nervous than usual, even if we were skating in an empty rink in front of a video camera. You can train as much as you can but there’s no substitute for the real thing.”
More information about the Langley Skating Club available online.
.
Langley skater results – 2021 B.C. Coast regional event:
Star 2 Girls:
• AIYANA RANDHAWA – Silver Level
.
Star 3 Girls:
•MEGAN ISAAK – Silver level
•DANA KIM – Gold level
• SOPHIE LALLI – Silver level
•EVAN LI – Gold level
•TAYLAH MERCIER – Gold level
•ROBIN TOKKO – Gold level
•SOPHIA WARREN – Silver level
.
Star 4 Girls under 13 Gp. 1 :
• SAMANTHA LAU – 7TH place
• SABRINA LAU – 9TH place
.
Star 4 Girls Under 13 Gp.4:
• ANNALIESE BECKMANN – 1ST place – Gold Medal
• MAYA TOWSTYKA – 2ND place – Silver medal
.
Star 4 Girls 13& over:
• ERICA LANGE – 5TH place
.
Star 5 Women Under 13 Gp. 1:
• IRENA LIN – 1ST place – Gold medal
.
Star 5 Women Under 13 Gp. 2:
• HANNAH LI – 1ST place – Gold medal
• ALLY COX – 8TH place
.
Star 5 Women 13 & over Gp. 2:
• BRIEANNA BRIGHT – 8th place
.
Star 6 Women Gp. 2:
• CAITY NASH – 11TH place
.
Star 7 Women:
• CLAIRESSE FRIESEN – 12TH place
.
Star 7 Artistic:
• BRIEANNA BRIGHT – 9TH place
.
Have a story tip? Email: news@langleyadvancetimes.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Annaliese Beckmann brought home a gold during the Skate Canada’s B.C. coast regional competitions held virtually earlier this month. (Langley Skating Club/Special to Langley Advance Times)
Hannah Li brought home a gold during the Skate Canada’s B.C. coast regional competitions held virtually earlier this month. (Langley Skating Club/Special to Langley Advance Times)
Irena Lin brought home a gold during the Skate Canada’s B.C. coast regional competitions held virtually earlier this month. (Langley Skating Club/Special to Langley Advance Times)
