Opening lines of communication between the Arctic Edge Skating Club and our Alaskan neighbours is beginning to pay off.
For the first time in memory – likely the first time ever – the Yukon Gold Nugget Championships was technically an international event, with a member of the Juneau Skating Club participating.
“We made contact with the club in Juneau, and we’ve been e-mailing back and forth, and it worked for one skater right now,” said Arctic Edge president Cheryl Van Blaricom. “We’re hoping to get together. They have a competition in February and maybe some skaters will go there and get some camaraderie going.”
“We encourage her to come back next year and to bring, hopefully, some of her friends with her, so the girls can get used to competing against somebody else,” said Arctic Edge coach Michelle Gorczyca. “And it’s a good way to promote our club.”
With two judges and one referee up from Vancouver for the championships, in a two-bird-one-stone situation, it was an opportunity for skaters to do some skill testing, allowing the them to move up into new categories. Over the week, 37 tests were conducted with 29 passes, including three freeskate tests, 24 dance and two interpretive.
Among those passing tests was Carrie McClelland, an adult skater with Arctic Edge, passing her fourth and final gold level dance test.
“The girls had a great weekend, everyone skated really well,” said Gorczyca. “It’s a chance for everyone to put on their dress, their make-up and to perform – we don’t get the chance to do that very often. This is sometimes the only time for some of our skaters to perform in front of judges.”
RESULTS
Junior bronze ladies
1st Kelcy Armstrong
2nd Vina Nelson
3rd Ariel House
Silver interpretive
1st Rachel Pettitt
2nd Bryn Hoffman
3rd Ariel House
Competitive creative
1st Rachel Pettitt
2nd Bryn Hoffman
Intermediate/teen spins
1st Taylor Schneider
2nd Laurie Balstad (Juneau)
3rd Morgan Madden
4th Rasheeda Slater
5th Jenelle Clethero
6th Maria Peters
7th Zoey Krause
8th Kayla Armstrong
9th Abigail Cuenza
Pre-novice ladies
1st Bryn Hoffman
2nd Rachel Pettitt
Intermediate teen creative
1st Kayla Armstrong
2nd Zoey Krause
3rd Kristen LeGrow
4th Laurie Balstad (Juneau)
5th Taylor Schneider
6th Abigail Cuenza
Senior spins
1st Kelcy Armstrong
2nd Vina Nelson
Competitive spins
1st Bryn Hoffman
2nd Rachel Pettitt
Junior jumps
1st Marika Kitchen
2nd Alyssa Cuenza
3rd Emily Perrault
4th Kaitlyn LeGrow
5th Landyn Blisner
6th Tessa Moore
7th Michaela DeCook
Junior spins
1st Marika Kitchen
2nd Tessa moore
3rd Landyn Blisner
4th Kaitlyn LeGrow
5th Alyssa Cuenza
6th Emily Perrault
Junior creative
1st Tessa Moore
2nd Landyn Blisner
3rd Kristen LeGrow
4th Alyssa Cuenza
5th Amily Perrault
6th Michaela DeCook
7th Sarah Aspinall
Preliminary ladies
1st Laurie Balstad (Juneau)
2nd Jenelle Clethero
3rd Taylor Schneider
4th Maria Peters
5th Kristen LeGrow
6th Rasheeda Slater
7th Abigail Cuenza
8th Marika Kitchen
Senior creative
1st Jessica Diakow
2nd Kelcy Armstrong
Senior jumps
1st Kelcy Armstrong
2nd Vina Nelson
Introductory interpretive
1st Kelcy Armstrong
2nd Jessica Diakow
Pre-introductory interpretive
1st Laurie Balstad (Juneau)
2nd Morgan Madden
3rd Jenelle Clethero
4th Kristen LeGrow
Competitive jumps
1st Rachel Pettitt
2nd Bryn Hoffman
Intermediate/teen jumps
1st Taylor Schneider
2nd Laurie Balstad (Juneau)
3rd Marie Peters
4th Rasheeda Slater
5th Morgan Madden
6th Jenelle Clethero
7th Kayla Armstrong
8th Abigail Cuenza
9th Zoey Krause
10th Kristen LeGrow
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com