Some of the best skaters from across the province descended on Humboldt for the Provincial Championships Nov 11-13.
Approximately 100 skaters from at least 20 different clubs from across the province competed in a number of competitions.
The provincial championship featured skaters who made themselves eligible for the competition by completing the necessary tests for their age group.
The competition was the provincial championship with the winners earning spots at the 2017 Skate Canada Challenge held in Pierrefonds, Que. Nov. 30- Dec. 4.
David Schultz, High Performance Director for Skate Canada Saskatchewan, was really pleased with the level of talent demonstrated at the competition, noting that they saw a number of very difficult skills being performed.
“We see depth in levels that we didn’t really see in years past. Our standard has been raised even over the last year… it’s taking big tricks, national level tricks to win our provincial events and that’s what we want.”
The level of talent that the province is demonstrating is a credit to the skaters, and their parents, as well as their coaches, says Schultz.
“We have a wealth of information among our coaches in our province and we are spread out among the whole province… they’re doing obviously great work.”
Skate Humboldt did not enter into this year’s competition, but Skate Humboldt President, Amanda Schlachter, says hosting the event is a great way to showcase the competition to them.
“For our girls to see that level of skating and how intense and precise the coaching and skills have to be is good for them to see.”
A great deal of effort goes in to having skaters compete at such a high level, says Schultz, who notes that to be competitive skaters they must be willing to skate all year round.
“Our sport is unforgiving for those who are unprepared so it’s constant but it’s awesome.”
Carla Laevens, Skater Development Chair for Skate Canada Saskatchewan, says it was important to bring a competition of this magnitude to Humboldt to help grow the sport outside of the large city centres, saying a large part of their focus has been on taking the competitions to places outside of Saskatoon and Regina.
Overall Laevens was very pleased with how the competition went.
“We saw lots of personal best scores and that’s what we always aim for. For a lot of the skaters this might be their last competitive competition but for some of them this is just a stepping stone… so it’s building those scores and continuing to move up wards.”
Schlachter noted a big part of making the competition a success was the work of the volunteers who put in a lot of hard work.
“It makes us welcoming as a community and it just shows that we have good spirit and volunteerism and Skate Humboldt always has great volunteers.”
Shultz would like to thank the City of Humboldt for being great hosts of the competition and the volunteer base for their hard work.
“I look forward to returning.”
