Sioux Lookout Skating Club preparing for a busy 2019

Jesse Bonello - Staff Writer

Skating season has been well under way since September but, for skaters at the Sioux Lookout Skating Club, it’s about to get even more busy.

Due to some programming changes, Sioux Lookout Skating Club coach Lynn Traviss-Thompson shared that skaters in the STARSkate program are going to be heading to three competitions in the New Year, which will begin as early as January.

“We didn’t have any competitions before Christmas. Skate Canada has developed a program where we do a lot more training between September and December, and then we have three competitions. We’ll have one in January, February, and March. The one in January is in Fort Frances, then Kenora, and then Thunder Bay. Next year we’re hoping to get one of them here in Sioux Lookout,” she explained.

“Almost everyone will be entering in to competition. It’s right from STAR one up to STAR ten. We also have Luke Bates, who is trying out for Provincial Championships again. He probably has a really good shot because he’s doing some really good double-jumps and everything right now,” she continued.

Skate Canada’s website reads, “STARSkate offers opportunities for skaters of all ages to develop fundamental figure skating skills in the areas of ice dance, skating skills, free skate and interpretive skating. Unique in Canada, this program teaches figure skating skills in a group and/or private lesson format in a progressive and sequential manner and includes specifically designed awards and incentives. Skaters have the opportunity to take Skate Canada Tests through a nationally standardized testing system.”

Along with the STARSkate program, the Sioux Lookout Skating club offers CanSkate programs. The club just finished ten weeks of their CanSkate program, and they’ll be taking registrations to fit more participants in for the New Year. Traviss-Thompson emphasized that the program isn’t figure skating specific and the course is available for all age groups.

“The CanSkate program is a generic learn-to-skate program. There are a lot of people in Sioux Lookout who think we’re teaching them figure skating. CanSkate is one of the best learn-to-skate programs in the world. It’s been developed by a core group of people to develop edge control, agility, balance, how to stop properly. It’s really set for if you want to continue in figure skating, speed skating, hockey, or just being a recreational skater. It’s teaching you all the basics,” she said.

“Our CanSkate program runs a total of 20 weeks. I know in southern Ontario and other communities, they won’t put you in hockey until you have a certain level in the CanSkate program...Like I said, we’re not teaching them figure skating. It’s a learn-to-skate program and we have it for adults, teens, and 3 years old and up. We currently have six adults in our program, which is awesome,” she concluded.

As always, the Sioux Looking Skating Club will also be hosting their year-end show, which utilizes all skaters while incorporating a theme for the show.

For more information on the skating club, see their Facebook page at Sioux Lookout Skating Club.