Expect big things from Whitehorse’s Rachel Pettitt this season.
The Arctic Edge figure skater won her second gold medal in as many competitions at the 2012 B.C. SummerSkate Competition in Burnaby last week and weekend.
Pettitt, who started the season with a gold at the Super Series Victoria Day Competition in May, placed first in the short program and in the long program en route to gold in the pre-novice U14 women division at SummerSkate. She beat out 17 other skaters to take the top spot.
“My short was clean; it was a good short for me,” said the 13-year-old. “For my long I did both double axels, something I don’t think I’ve ever done in competition before - like both clean double axels.
“I also tried my triple toe in my program for the first time. It was really good in the warm-up. It wasn’t terrible in the program, but I could have done better. It was good for my first try.”
Pettitt was one of three Arctic Edge skaters at SummerSkate.
Whitehorse’s Mikayla Kramer skated her way to sixth out of 10 skaters in Star 4 for U10 girls.
Kramer landed two axels, including one in combination, to boost her placement.
“Mikayla is a wonderful little skater,” said Arctic Edge coach Michelle Gorczyca. “She’s a very hard worker. She loves skating to death.
“She’s new to the competitive world - or fairly new. She’s gone out to VISI (Vancouver Island Skate International) and has competed here, but this was her first SummerSkate that she’s attended and she did very well.”
Bryn Hoffman was in the largest division of the three Whitehorse skaters: novice ladies. Despite skating with an injury, Hoffman clinched ninth overall out of 28 competitors.
“Bryn has been injured this summer, so she’s been competing the majority of the summer with an injury to her hip flexor,” said Gorczyca. “So we weren’t sure if she was going to compete in the long, if she was going to do her short, or if she was going to compete at all.”
Though her injury prevented Hoffman from attempting her big jumps, she finished in the top third of the field with some Level 3 and 4 spins and Level 3 footwork, said Gorczyca.
“For being injured, she did really well,” added Gorczyca.
At last season’s Skate Canada’s BC/YT Sectional Championships - Arctic Edge’s biggest competition of the season - Pettitt finished seventh and Hoffman ninth in pre-novice.
At the Arctic Winter Games in March, it was Hoffman who was on top, winning gold in front of Pettitt with silver, in Ladies 4.
“I am hoping to put triples in my program,” said Pettitt. “Maybe two triples in my long and add another double axel and a triple in my short. That would be nice.”
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com