On Jan. 13, the Elliot Lake Skating Club took part in the Algoma Invitational skating competition in Sault Ste. Marie at the John Rhodes Community Centre.
The competition, open to all eligible skaters in Northern Ontario, is hosted by Skate Canada. This year saw some personal bests and taught local skaters lessons about themselves on and off the ice as the first competition of the year is now completed.
Coach Chantal Robert said the skaters did very well overall this year and she's proud of their skills.
"The girls practise hard every time they step on the ice," she said. "There were a lot of lessons learnt throughout the competition."
Now that this competition is completed, Robert said the girls are now preparing for their next big skating competition: The Island Skate Competition. This competition will be held in March in Little Current.
The results from the Algoma Invitational are as followed:
Vanessa Bouchard:
- Silver Interpretive: fourth place
- Star 5 Free Skate: fourth place
- Star 5 Elements: fourth place
- Creative Improve 3: first place
Cierra Doussept:
- Star 3 Free Skate: bronze
- Star 3 Elements: silver
Jasemine Bouchard:
- Star 3 Free Skate: Merit
- Star 3 Elements: bronze
- Creativ Improv 1: silver
Rebecca Quenneville:
- Star 1 Free Skate: gold
Paige Lees:
- Star 1 Free Skate: silver
Cierra and Jasemine combined their efforts and entered the Star 3 team event. Because of this, they were awarded a silver medal.
According to Robert, this competition was a first for Quenneville and Lees and throughout the competition, Vanessa was also being tested and passed two tests: European Waltz and the Senior Bronze Skills.
For coach Robert, skating has been a part of her life since she was nine years old and hopes her advice for young skaters will help inspire and improve their skills.
"It's never to late to start skating," she advised. "Stepping on the ice is freedom."
Robert also runs the CanSkate program, which runs Thursdays from 5:15 p.m until 5:55 p.m.
The Elliot Lake Skating Club also skates Mondays f rom 4:35 p.m until 6:25, Wednesdays from 4:35 p.m until 5:55 p.m as well as Fridays from 4:35 p.m until 5:25 p.m.