CANORA - “This was our best season yet.”
Under the guidance of Coach Rebecca Trost, the Canora Skating Club’s Disney-themed “Small Town, Big Dreams” carnival on March 16 capped off a season to remember.
Trost said it was a successful carnival, “thanks to all of the skating parents who volunteered their time, and the members of the Canora Skating Club board of directors who, as always, went above and beyond to make this event happen.”
Opening the program, skating to Find Your Way Back from the Lion King soundtrack were: Keira Owchar, Olivia Owchar, Ashton Lamb, Georgia van Nieuwenhuyze, Harper Chernoff, Mahra Collingridge, Talia Collingridge, Emily Mentanko and Rachel Mentanko.
Also from The Lion King, Hakuna Matata provided the music for a performance by: Brooks Nykolaishen, Samantha MacPherson, Grace Giesbrecht, Piper Sleeva, Bennett Anderson and Natalie Sorestad.
In their Zootopia costumes, Lena Scheltgen, Jessica Petrychyn, Ava Stuart, Emma Ostafie, Hailee Minky, Kylee Minky, Rayna Edison, Antonia Gallego, Ellie Sorestad, Daiana Blauva and Scarlet Jones skated to Try Everything.
Emily Mentanko performed a solo skate to the music of Woody’s Roundup from Toy Story 2.
Tara Collingridge and Georgia van Niewenhuyze followed with a duet performance to You’ve Got a Friend in Me from the original Toy Story movie.
In the second solo skate of the program, Ashton Lamb performed to Un Poco Loco, a song from the move Coco.
Just before the intermission, the audience was treated to the first of two solo performances each from two talented guest skaters. “Jersey Bilokreli and Addison Tribe from Skate Yorkton dazzled the crowd,” said Trost.
The following guest skater information was provided in the program.
Jersey Bilokreli has been skating with Skate Yorkton for the past eight years under the guidance of her coach, Susan Nagy. Bilokreli is a member of the Skate Saskatchewan High Performance Team. This past season, she achieved a fourth-place finish at the Sectionals Provincial Championships in Pre-Novice. One of the highlights of her season was the opportunity to travel and compete with Team Sask in Barrie, Ont. Looking ahead, Jersey's goals for the upcoming season include landing a triple jump in competition and achieving her qualifying score in Novice for the Skate Canada Trophy.
Addison Tribe is a member of Team Saskatchewan’s High Performance team, and has been skating since she was four years old. Tribe competes at the Novice Ladies level. Past accomplishments include Pre-Juvenile Provincial Champion, Sask Winter Games medalist and Skate Canada National Competitor. Addison also really enjoys being a CanSkate program assistant.
Following the intermission, dressed as racers from the movie Cars 2; Henry Tomcala, Brayden MacPherson, Westyn Parsons and Finn Vaughters skated to You Might Think.
Rachel Mentanko skated to the music of Married Life from the movie Up.
Mahra Collingridge followed with a performance to Once Upon a Dream from Maleficent.
Skating to Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride, music from Lilo & Stitch, was solo performer Harper Chernoff.
In their costumes from the movie Little Mermaid; Ella Nykolaishen, Aria Jones, Melina Kontis, Olivia Sorestad, Zoey Daku and Zoey Shingoose skated to Under the Sea.
A duet skate followed by Olivia Owchar and Keira Owchar, performing to You’ll Be in My Heart from Tarzan.
The final solo performance of the program came courtesy of Chloee Abbott, skating to The Princess Diaries Waltz from the movie Princess Diaries.
Tarzan provided the song Strangers Like Me, skated to by Sullivan Stuart, Andersen Coleman, Riley Bobyk and Emmett Bobyk.
From the movie Elemental, the song Steal the Show served as an appropriate soundtrack for the finale skate by all skaters involved in the program.
Competing her fourth season as Canora Skating Club coach, Trost said it has been a busy and rewarding season filled with “so many opportunities. We hosted and performed at the Battle of the Blades Hockey Day in Saskatchewan fundraiser, which raised over $15,000 for our future new community rink.
“We had two of our StarSkaters, Ashton Lamb and Rachel Mentanko, attend their first competition at the Region 1 & 6 Invitational Competition in Whitewood. We have 13 skaters set to attend a seminar in Yorkton at the end of March with the one and only, Elvis Stojko (three-time world champion), as well as performing a group number at the Skate Yorkton ice show.”
Mentanko said working with this year’s Canora Skating Club members has been a treat.
“We have three of our CanSkate members moving up into StarSkate, and an impressive eight CanSkate members moving into the “bridging” program. The bridging program is designed to help skaters develop figure skating skills and prepare for competitive skating. In StarSkate, nine members passed multiple assessments into higher levels of dance, freeskate, and skills.”
In a season filled with highlights, the favourite memory for Trost was attending her first competition as a coach.
“It was a long-term goal I set for myself, and I am so grateful for my skaters and their families for their trust in me to do so,” she said. “Both Rachel and Ashton received marks of gold for their performances and I could not be more proud.”
During the past season, Canora Skating Club program assistants were: Danielle Burym, Olivia Owchar, Mahra Collingridge, Rachel Mentanko, Ashton Lamb, Harper Chernoff, Keira Owchar and Talia Collingridge.
Joining Trost (head coach and director-at-large) on the Canora Skating Club executive were:
Cecilia Keinick – president
Cassie Abbott – vice-president
Jenna Owchar – secretary
Heather Chabun – treasurer
Kylee Toffan – carnival co-ordinator and director at large
Shyla Sleeva and Chelsey Giesbrecht – carnival committee
Trish Chernoff and Mackenzie Anderson – directors at large
Keinick echoed the thoughts of Coach Trost regarding the success of the just-completed season.
“As the first-time president of the club, I was amazed at how the community of parents, skaters, coach and execute came together to create what will be an unforgettable season.
“We had an increase in participants by almost 50 per cent this year and we expect the club to keep growing, both in numbers and in opportunities to be involved in competitions, seminars, skill-building, and other events.
“We are looking forward to next season already!”
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