Skaters showcase talents in Year End Ice Show, capping off a year of growth for the club

Tim Brody - Editor

Skaters in the Sioux Lookout Skating Club showcased their talents to their families and the community with skill and enthusiasm on April 7 at the Sioux Lookout Memorial Arena in their 2024 Year End Ice Show, “Our Skating Mixtape”.
Skaters in the club confidently and gracefully executed performances they had been working on for the past three weeks, putting on display techniques they have been developing throughout the season.
Lead Coach (PRE STAR/STAR Junior) Aubrey Bates shared after the show, “In my opinion, it went really, really well. Both the dress rehearsal and the show went really smoothly, and all the kids had fun and I think the audience had fun as well.”
“They all have progressed so well since the beginning of the year,” she added.
Skaters said they had a great time participating in the Year End Ice Show.
Brynn Baas, 11, said it was, “amazing.”
She said she put a lot of work into her performances, adding that she enjoys how the sport allows her to express herself.
Savannah Otto, 14, shared, “It was amazing. At first, I was really scared but when I was out on the ice, it was like, be yourself… I was just hyped up.”
She said of being a member of the club this season, “It was a great community. Everyone really encouraged each other, and just great memories.”
Julie Cole, 11, said, “It was fun, and it was nerve-racking.”
She too said she put a lot of work into her performance for the show and said her favourite part about the sport is jumping and spinning.
Club President Kim Savoie shared, “It was a wonderful opportunity for families to get together and celebrate our skaters, also for the community to come in and see what the skating club has been working on this year because there has been so much growth with our skaters. There’s also been so much growth with our coaches.”
Six skaters in the club stepped up this season, with the help of Skate Ontario, to become coaches in the club.
Lead Coach (CanSkate/STAR Senior) Kayleigh Bates said, “I’ve really appreciated the mentorship aspect of it. It’s really nice, they (coaches and representatives from Skate Ontario) helped us get through our coaching courses, helped us get coaching courses in our community so they were more accessible, which was amazing. They’ve really done a great job with the mentorship aspect after those courses because coaching figure skating is more of a long term thing, you’re always learning.”
Joining Bates sisters Kayleigh and Aubrey as coaches this season were sister Emma Bates, as well as Ruth Broderick, Adelaide Meekis, and Geneva Otto
Savoie said of the six coaches, “They know the community, they know the skaters they’re working with, they know the family that we have built at this club, and it means a lot to them and we see that in the passion and dedication that they have working with our skaters. It is remarkable and phenomenal. As a parent, I am blessed that my skater has this team of coaches using their strengths to meet my skater’s needs.”
Savoie explained, “All of our coaches have been working closely, especially our lead coaches Aubrey and Kaleigh, have been working closely with Skate Ontario and working with them on the programming that they’re doing. It has been a phenomenal opportunity for our club working with Skate Ontario and having Skate Ontario representatives, coaches, coming up to our community roughly every six weeks to work with our coaches and mentor them and help with the programming.
“The official pilot starts this fall, this is the pilot of the pilot we call it  because Skate Ontario wanted to initially put it out into six communities and when I was in contact with Skate Ontario last year at this time, I heard about it and then I heard they wanted to launch it in fall of 2024, I suggested, well maybe we can do 2023, if you can make it work here in Sioux Lookout, you can make it work in any community across Ontario… this was an opportunity for Skate Ontario to try it out and see what kind of bumps in the road they might have doing it, so that it can be a little bit smoother sailing when they bring it into their next club’s they are looking at in the fall. Skate Ontario is also working with us next year, continuing support. Our lead coaches are also doing some travelling this spring to visit other clubs to learn and grow and bring to here, but also to bring some of what they’re learning there.”
Looking back on the season and all that the club’s skaters have learned and accomplished, Savoie said, “I don’t think it could have worked without the group of coaches that we have, because having that team of six, they know this club in and out, they know these skaters, their dedication cannot be outmatched and their passion for the sport, a caring heart for each individual that’s out there.”
“For me it was really nice to have someone show me… what things should look like, what they shouldn’t look like and just overall how to run the program because this is my first year as a coach,” Aubrey Bates said.
Asked about stepping up to be a coach this season, she shared, “It was really scary. At first I did not want to do it, but I decided that I love this club and I wanted the kids to have more opportunities than I was given, and I knew that becoming a coach, I would be able to give them more opportunities and be able to give them the best coaching that is out there at the time.”
She said it was gratifying to hear from Skate Ontario representatives that, “Every time they would come back to visit, they would always say they could see a clear difference in the skater’s progress.”
Savoie noted, “Not only has Skate Ontario been coming up regularly, they started our season with us, they were here for a full week working with our coaches and starting our season and constant communication with our lead coaches.”
Approximately 80 skaters were members of the club over the course of the season.
Kayleigh Bates said the aim of the club is to make skating accessible for the community, noting that the club will be conducting some fundraising initiatives this summer.
People can find out more about the club and stay up to date on club happenings by visiting their Facebook page.