Last weekend five Yukon skaters showed Aldergrove, BC, why Whitehorse’s Arctic Edge Skating Club is a force to be reckoned with.
Competing with 482 figure skaters from throughout BC and the territory, five Arctic Edge skaters gave their all at the 2009 BC Coast Winter Skate and Star Skate qualifying event, capturing bronze, silver and gold medals.
In addition, Bryn Hoffman’s golden performance and Rachel Pettitt’s silver have earned the two Arctic Edge skaters spots at the BC Provincial StarSkate Championships being held early March in Surrey, BC.
“It was a good showing,” said Cheryl Van Blaricom, publicity chair of the Arctic Edge.
“It was nice because we went with five skaters and came back with three medals.”
Hoffman, 11, grabbed gold skating in the senior bronze skills event to a Beach Boys medley.
“(Senior bronze) skills is an event where you do edges and turns and Mohawks and it’s a set pattern, which means there’s two different ones that you do,” said Van Blaricom. “It’s about the speed, the flow, the jumps—those are the kind of thing that they’re looking for.”
Hoffman also had strong performances in the juvenile ladies and bronze interpretive events, finishing fourth in both.
Pettitt, 9, earned her silver in the introductory interpretive event performing to Duke Ellington’s It Don’t Mean A Thing If You Ain’t Got That Swing. Hoping for a home run, Pettitt incorporated a baseball and swing music theme to her interpretive routine.
“Interpretive is not marked on technical ability, like getting points for your jumps and skills, it’s about how you interpret the music,” said Van Blaricom.
Also competing in the pre-juvenile ladies, Pettitt skated off with a sixth-place finish.
Arctic Edge’s remaining medal was won by Kelcy Armstrong, 10, in the pre-introductory interpretive event, skating to the Lion King’s I Just Can’t Wait To Be King. Armstrong also finished 10th in the preliminary ladies 10-and-under event.
Unfortunately, the StarSkate Championships do not include Armstrong’s age group.
Also representing Arctic Edge were Nikita White and Maya Austin who both competed in the junior bronze ladies 12-and-under category. White looked strong going into the finals after finishing fourth in the qualifying but finished in 12th place overall.
“She had a really good skate Saturday to qualify for the finals,” said Van Blaricom.
Austin finished the qualifying in eighth, missing a spot in the finals by two placings.
Contact Tom Patrick
at tomp@yukon-news.com