Local Speed Skating Club winds up season with appearance by Olympian
The Moose Jaw Speed Skating Club is winding up a successful season with a couple of special events and some great performances by local skaters. Among the outstanding performances by Moose Jaw club members, Graeme Fish who now skates as a senior made world cup appearances for Team Canada at long track in the 5,000m. Graeme and Gabrielle Sanson from Moose Jaw both train at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.
At the Saskatchewan Winter Games recently held in North Battleford, 11 local area skaters attended including Tye Nicolson, Jesse Cline, Kaeleb Tabin on the boys side and Ashley Hennenfent, Isabella Korthuis, Mickayla Carle and Kiara Benson on the girls team. The girls team also included the relay team of Gracie Reynoldson of Holdfast, Morgan Capili, Avery Seman and Molly Morris of Moose Jaw who took silver in a close contest over Saskatoon at the games. Morris also took gold in the 200m sprint. According to assistant coach Jane Morris, “The silver medal team did a great job on their exchanges and we saw repeated personal bests from every skater.” Other season highlight performances included gold and silver performances by Kayden and Kharma Cletheroe at the Manitoba open, a 5th place performance by Gavin Hutton and a gold medal by Seth Allen at the Melville meet in February. Olivia Moyse set a Saskatchewan junior record in the 1000 m short track and Marc André Doyon and Moyse both represented the club at several Canada Cup long track competitions this year. The club will wrap its season up with some special events including a sprint mini meet at the Kinsmen that was held on March 11th.
Coach John Morris said there will also be free Try speed skating sessions on Thursday March 15, 6-7 and Sundays March 18 and 25th from 2:30 to 4pm all at the Kinsmen. “It is a fun fast sport and we will fit anyone wanting to give it a try with skates,” he said.
The club will finish its season Tuesday March 27th with a special appearance by Regina’s Kali Christ, who competed at the 2018 and 2014 Olympic Games. She will be joined by brother Keegan Christ, a member of Canada’s National Development Short track team. The pair will coach local skaters and share some of their knowledge. ‘It’s a wonderful opportunity for young skaters to see how fast you can go and what you can accomplish with dedication and work’ said coach John Morris. For more information about try speed skating please contact John at jhmorris@ sasktel.net or call 306 694-4192