Joey Payeur
There will be transitions aplenty when it comes to the Border Skating Club this season for its younger skaters.
Longtime coach with the local club Penny McComb said the changes will involve the newest bladers of the bunch in the CanSkate division.
“With me going south in the winter now, Jenna Cousineau will be the new head coach of CanSkate,” announced McComb.
“Jenna will bring new, fresh ideas while still following the CanSkate program,” she added.
“With all of the success of the past, it will carry on fine with new ideas.
“There’s a new CanSkate program that’s been in the process the past three years and it’s been refined and improved in that time,” stated McComb.
Lexi Caul, the only senior skater to graduate from the club ranks last year, has received her coaching certification and will help Cousineau coach the CanSkate group.
“We’re delighted to have Lexi,” praised McComb.
“She has been with us for years and years and she will do a wonderful job.”
A pre-CanSkate program will also be incorporated which will replace the former Parent-Tot program.
“No longer will parents have to be on the ice,” revealed McComb.
“For the young skaters who are not comfortable with the busy atmosphere on the ice, they will be able to stay in one part of the ice and just work on the basic ideas of moving forwards and backwards,” she detailed.
“When they’re ready to join the larger group, they can just move right in.”
While the group CanSkate takes place at the Ice for Kids Arena on Tuesdays and Thursdays, skaters will also have the option of coming in on Mondays to Couchiching First Nation Arena (“The Duke”) to work on their own things they learned during the week on their own.
“So there will be one-day, two-days and three-days per week memberships available to CanSkaters,” informed McComb.
There will also be an hour per week on Sundays saved for the newly-named Star 1 (formerly senior CanSkate) participants at “The Duke.”
McComb said the club is proud and excited to host this year’s regional figure skating championships from Jan. 29-31.
Teams from Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Ear Falls and elsewhere will descend upon the IFK Arena to take on skaters from the Fort in the highlight competition of the northwestern Ontario figure skating season.
“It’s so fun to host it,” said McComb.
“Since ours is such a nice arena, other clubs tell us they wish we could host it more often than just once every five or six years.”
The next registration session for the Border Skating Club will take place on Sept. 10 from 6-8 p.m. in the IFK Arena conference room.
