Like any good competitor, Kaylyn Mack clearly knows how to come through in the clutch.
The former Estevan resident, who now calls Regina home, captured the gold medal in post-secondary hairstyling at the Skills Canada competition, which was held May 21 and 22 in Waterloo, Ontario. A former silver medalist at the event, Mack was in her final year of eligibility for Skills Canada. She made the most of her last chance, not only winning the event but also clinching a spot on the Canadian team which will compete at the world championships next year in London, England.
Although she was obviously thrilled to place first, Mack said medal or not, she was proud of her performance in Waterloo.
"I was happy with myself even before the (medal) ceremony started," said Mack. "Even if I didn't place, I was very happy with the way I competed this year because it was a definitely a step up from last year. I felt I learned a lot since my last competition."
Mack felt her consistency over the two-day event was the key to her gold medal. As a veteran of hairstyling competitions at both the high school and post-secondary level, she went in knowing what to expect and was able to perform well in all portions of the event.
"I was not confident, I was comfortable. I could just relax and stick to the hair and not worry about anything else and just keep focused."
The competition consisted of four different tests that each had a fixed time period. The first test, which was three and a half hours long, focused on men's hair.
"It was a men's progressive, avant garde," Mack said. "It was basically just anything goes. There were rules but this competition was more about creative ability. In the afternoon test, it was more classic, more about strength and technical ability. If you make any mistakes, they show up because they have to be very uniform. It's a very clean cut and precise competition, it wasn't really a creative one."
The second day's tests centred on women's hair. In the first, they had to cut, colour and style their mannequin's hair. They also had to cut, colour and sew hair extensions for use in the fourth and final test which had the competitors create a more formal, "evening" hairstyle, complete with ornaments and earrings.
With her Skills Canada career now behind her, Mack has turned her focus to the WorldSkills International competition, which is scheduled for October 2011 in London.
Although the event is well over a year away, Mack is already looking forward to making the trip overseas to take on the world's best.
"It was the accomplishment of a lifetime, that's for sure," she said. "This was my last year that I could have competed so it was kind of all or nothing. I am really, really excited and now I have to plan for the next one."
Along with planning, the recent graduate of Richard's Beauty College in Regina, will be busy with a number of events and training in the lead up to London.
"I find out at the end of June who my Canadian trainer will be and she could be anywhere over the country and I have to do at least three weeks of training with her. On top of that, the main headquarters of planning for WorldSkills is in Quebec and I have three team meetings there. During those sessions, there is representative and appearance classes and public speaking classes. We have to learn about dealing with the public and representing the country well. I also have to do five media presentations, whether they be talking to the public or teaching a class. Everybody says, 'next October, what are you going to do until then?'"
There was a strong Estevan flavour at the Skills Canada event. Along with Mack, Estevan Comprehensive School students Ashlie Challmer and Cody Cairns also went to Waterloo.
Cairns competed in precision machining while Challmer was in the secondary hairstyling competition.
