Lucas Punkari
With snow pelting the area last Friday, those involved with the 2011 Sunset Country regional figure skating competition were a bit worried the inclement conditions would lead to some issues for the weekend’s events.
But as the competition wrapped up Sunday, the general consensus was that things went off without a hitch.
“We were worried when we starting looking at the forecasts for Fridays, and we weren’t even sure that the evaluators from Dryden, Thunder Bay, and Winnipeg would even make it,” admitted Lorena Jenks, the competition chair of the event.
“But things ended up going really smoothly, and most of the competitors were able to make it through the storm to skate, so everyone had a really good time,” she added.
Some 183 skaters, representing 10 clubs, were entered for the weekend meet, with many of them singing the praises of the Ice For Kids Arena.
“We had lots of good feedback from the competitors and their families, along with the evaluators,” Jenks noted.
“Everyone appreciates the facility that we have here, which is the nicest one in this part of Ontario.”
The host Border Skating Club was on its game on the ice during the weekend, taking home the Don Wilton Memorial Trophy for the team with the most points accumulated during the event and also winning both high school trophies.
“We had some very strong skaters, but two of my favourite performances were the interpretatives done by Sophie Potvin-Begin and Jillian Bobczynski,” said Jenks, who also is club president.
Leading the way for the local club was Alina Eldridge, who skated her way to four first-place finishes.
Bobczynski and Emma Keeler both picked up three first places over the weekend.
Jenna Wilson, Joleigh Hayes, and Jayde Wright each had two first-place results.
Meanwhile, 15 other Border skaters took the top spot in their respective events, including Sophie Potvin-Begin (Gold Interpretive ‘A’), Ashley Croswell (Bronze Interpretive), Avery Wilson-Hands (Introductory Interpretive ‘A’), Lexi Caul (Pre-introductory Interpretive ‘B’) and Sierra Cousineau (Junior Bronze Spins ‘A’).
Also finishing first were Mackenzie Armstrong (Introductory Elements ‘B’), Kelli Cole (Preliminary Spins ‘C’), Alexa Kadikoff (Senior Bronze/Junior Silver Elements), Chole Hudson (Senior Bronze Freeskate), Jenna Bailey (Canskate 2), Brooklin Hayes (Canskate 3/A), Angie Redford (Canskate 3/B), Adyson Wilson-Hands (Canskate 3/C), Kaylyn Levesque (Canskate 4/A) and Greta Fedoruk (Canskate 4/B).
Some of the skaters who took part in the Sunset Country regionals now will be headed to Sault Ste. Marie this weekend for the annual “Festival of Stars” competition, with Potvin-Begin representing the Border club there.
Skaters who qualify from that event then will advance to the Trillium Star Skate in Mississauga in March.
As for the Border Skating Club, it will take part in the Thunder Bay Open on Feb. 26-27 before hosting its annual ice show April 2-3.
