Record-breaking year on ice
Speed Skate P.E.I. hands out awards at annual celebration
Jenna Larter was named the top female athlete, while Peter McQuaid and Andrew Binns shared the top male honours as Speed Skate P.E.I. recently handed out its year-end awards.
Larter took home the Nancy White award as the top female athlete for a second consecutive year, after a stellar season which included the best 500-metre time ever skated by an Island female short-track skater. Larter’s record performance came at the Canada Games in Red Deer, Alta., where she grabbed 12th place in the 500metre event and 13th overall in the 46-skater field.
The Brookfield native followed that with a fifth-place finish in the 500m at the Canadian junior selections event in Sherbrooke, Que., to cap off her exceptional season, which also included a new P.E.I. record time for intermediate girls in the 1,500m. She also won the Sarah Taylor mentorship award in recognition of her contributions to coaching and mentoring of younger skaters.
McQuaid was also a second time winner of the top male athlete award, repeating from 2018, while Binns won it in 2016 and 2017.
The pair were key members of the P.E.I. boys’ relay team at the Canada Games, where P.E.I. grabbed fifth place, while skating the third fastest time among the 10 provinces and territories competing.
McQuaid, of Charlottetown, posted the top individual finishes among P.E.I. boys at the Canada Games and moved up to second spot on the all-time list of fastest times by a P.E.I. boys’ skater in both the 1,000- and 1,500metre distances. Binns re-wrote the P.E.I. record book for junior boys (14-15 years-old), with new records in the 500-, 1,000- and 1,500-metre distances. The Stratford skater finished the season as the fourth-ranked 15-year-old skater in the country.
William Lyons of Rock Barra won the rising star award, after winning a silver medal at the Canada East short track championships in Campbellton, N.B. Lyons also had a pair of top-25 finishes in the 54-skater field at the Canada Games and was the second-highest ranked boys’ skater from P.E.I. in the overall standings at the Games.
Anderson Arseneau and Jane Bruce were named top male and top female skaters, respectively, in the intermediate speed skating group, while Charles Burke was awarded the rising star honours for the same group.
In the learn to speed skate program, Rey Tao picked up top male skater honours, while Emily Shi was named top female skater. Kohl Dallaire won the rising star award, while Isabel Burns was named most improved skater.
The president’s award went to Shirliana Bruce, who was recognized for her significant contributions as Speed Skate P.E.I.’s registrar and secretary for the past several years.
Mia Stewart and Matt Kozma were named winners of the volunteer award of excellence, in recognition of their efforts with the learn to skate program.