Seven members of the Barrhead Figure Skating Club had a successful trip to Grande Prairie for a skating competition March 22-24.
Competing skaters were Amanda Horner, Deanna Klein, Emma Albers, Katie Magill, Shaylynn Sanderson, Lauren Bernes and Carmen Strydhorst.
Amanda Horner, 14, has been skating for almost 11 years. She received first place in her interpretive and fifth for her solo at the competition in Grande Prairie.
Horner said placing first felt really good. This is her second year in a row earning gold for her interpretive skate, and her season overall has also been going well.
“I’ve been landing a lot of jumps that I couldn’t land last year,” she said.
Deanna Klein, 13, has been skating for eight years. She placed third in team, third in elements, and fourth in her solo at the competition.
“It felt really good because I’ve only been on the ice for two weeks because I sprained my ankle,” she said. I got third and I was pretty happy.”
Klein said her season has also been going well.
“It’s going really good,” she said. “I landed a really hard jump called an axel.”
Eleven-year-old Emma Albers has been skating for six years. In her first time heading to the competition she was able to place first in team and fourth in her elements skate.
Albers said the trip and experience was fun and her results felt good, though her nerves were high as she headed into her skates.
“I was quite nervous,” she said. “I just had to calm down in the end.”
Fourteen-year-old Katie Magill has been skating for eight years, and this was her second time going to the competition in Grande Prairie.
Though her first competition of the year didn’t go as well as she had hoped, her second was filled with success.
“I got first for my free skate, first for a team, third for another team, and fourth for my elements,” she said. “It was good.”
Shaylynn Sanderson, 16, has been skating nine years. She placed first in her junior bronze solo.
“I’ve been injured for three years in a row,” she said. “So this is the first time I’ve actually been able to compete.”
Sanderson’s season has been “amazing” too, learning and landing a jump in one month.
“I’m almost landing all my doubles, and am close to working on triples,” she added.
Bernes and Strydhorst were unavailable for a photo and interview.
Bernes placed third in her team skate, seventh in elements, and eighth in free skate. Strydhorst came third in team, fifth in sr. bronze solo dance, and eighth in free skate and elements.
Skating coach Jessica Lovich, who has been coaching 11 years and skating for 15, said the competition in Grande Prairie is always a good one for the skaters.
“The girls always have a lot of fun up there” she said. “It’s a good way to end the year.”
What was exciting about this year, said Lovich, was each of the girls who went were able to bring home a medal in at least one of their events.
“I think they were very happy with that. They all got a medal in something,” she said. “I think almost everybody had really good performances and personal bests.”
With the competition behind them, there was only one thing left for the girls to do their final night in Grande Prairie: celebrate their success with a pizza and pool party.
Lovich said there is one more competition in Edmonton coming up, but only four of the girls will be attending.
With the season coming to a close, Lovich said this year has been great.
“It’s had it’s challenges like any season will,” she laughed. “The skaters have passed lots of tests, went to lots of competitions, and they’re improving. What more can you ask for?”
As a coach, Lovich said it is a fabulous experience watching the skaters make progress throughout the year.
“I love coming to the rink on those days when all of a sudden a skater lands that one jump they’ve been working six months on,” said Lovich. “It finally clicks in their mind and in their body. That’s the best.”
