Speed skaters ready to race the clock at the Alberta Winter Games

Even before taking up the sport, Mikka Eaves already had the need for speed.

So it was only a matter of time before the speedskating afficionado swapped sports.

Now, the 12-year-old athlete with the Lethbridge Speed Skating Association is headed to her first Alberta Winter Games — beginning today and running until Monday in Fort McMurray — along with a team of other Zone 1 skaters.

Still, Eaves’ first step onto the ice as a young athlete didn’t start with racing the clock.

“I used to figure skate for five years,” said Eaves, who will compete in the T2T 11-12 girls division. “We would always do fast laps at the end of our skating and I always enjoyed the fast laps more than the actual figure skating. My mom found it (speedskating) one year after I did a terrible routine and she said ‘Let’s try this and figure skating for a year.’ Eventually I quit figure skating when I knew I could full-time speedskate. It’s my passion now.”

That passion has landed Eaves her first Alberta Winter Games.

“Really excited, because I’ve been wanting to go,” she said. “It’ll be a good experience. I’d like to get at least one medal and if not, personal bests.”

Adding to the excitement is after the Alberta Winter Games there is potentially another high-profile event on Eaves’ schedule next month.

“After the Alberta Winter Games, things kind of slow down for a little bit and then hopefully I’ll qualify for the Canadian Western Championships (March 17-18 in Abbotsford for female skaters 11-14 and for males 1215),” she said. “I’ll keep running, because I normally do that a lot, to keep up my endurance, and then go to practice regularily.”

Also among the local contingent heading north this weekend are LSAA members Preslee Muller and Abigail Reimer.

“It’s really exciting. Not everyone gets to go, so it’s really good,” said Muller, 13, who will skate in the T2T 13-14 girls category.

For Muller — who comes from a long line of speedskaters in her family — this is her second Alberta Winter Games.

“It was Medicine Hat and it wasn’t as exciting to go to that one because it was closer. But I’m still going to try and do the same thing, work hard and do my best. Last time I got sixth overall and second in the relay, so I’m hoping to do a bit better than that.”

Like Eaves, this year’s Alberta Winter Games will be the first laps around the track at the event for Reimer.

“It’s a little unbelieveable that I’m going, almost like a dream,” said Reimer, 12. “But I’m fairly excited.”

The goals for her first Alberta Winter Games are simple.

“Mostly personal bests and just trying to do better,” said Reimer.

This is Reimer’s second year in speedskating.

“One of my friends tried speedskating and she invited me,” she said. “We started doing crossovers and I just wanted to continue.

The following are the other Zone 1 skaters headed to Fort McMurray this weekend.

T2T 11-12 girls

Jasmine Sinclair

T2T 11-12 boys

Carson Love Jonnathan MacIntosh