ESTEVAN - Figure skaters from throughout the province were in Estevan on the weekend for the Winter Classic – the largest event of the year hosted by Skate Canada Saskatchewan.
Kathryn Gilliss, who was the technical director for the event, said there was lots of activity in both Affinity Place and the Power Dodge Arena, with skating at Affinity from Friday to Sunday, and competition in the Power Dodge Arena on Friday and Saturday.
About 450 entries were received from about 200 skaters. Most of the skaters competed in more than one event.
Twenty-two of the skaters were from Estevan.
Gilliss said there was some concern with the roads and weather conditions prior to the weekend, but it only caused a few skaters to withdraw. She noted any competition will have a few drop out prior to the competition due to injury, illness and weather conditions.
Gilliss, who is also a certified judge, marvelled at the talent she saw competing in Estevan.
“I get the pleasure of seeing many of them all year long, some of them as early as October at Sask. Skate as an official,” Gilliss told the Mercury. “Between that and the various regionals we officiate at, Winter Classic is always nice for us to see the progression of skating and the hard work that the skaters put in over the year.”
Those who come and watch don’t get to see the progression over the course of the season, but they would be pleasantly surprised once they knew how far the skaters have come.
Some of the competitive skaters are testing out a new routine that will be ready for the start of next season.
The Winter Classic offers a number of different disciplines. Competitive skating includes juvenile, pre-novice, novice and junior skaters. In the StarSkate program, there were skaters of varying abilities. Pattern and artistic skating were at varying levels.
There were also adult skaters and a Special Olympic entry.
Estevan Figure Skating Club coach Janice Grochalski said members thrived at the event. Rachel Duncan won both the Star 6 and 7 provincial gold medal and championship plaques. Ashley Piper won the Star 8 provincial gold medal and a championship plaque as well.
Events beginning at Star 4 start to receive medals instead of performance ribbons based on their achievement.
Grolchinski said Estevan skaters captured medals in all their events with many skaters receiving two medals.
The figure skating club and the local committee were responsible for scheduling volunteers, handling most of the registrations, finding a photographer and vendors, and medal presentations, which were held at the Affinity Place lobby. Gilliss said the committee that she was able to work with was outstanding, especially since many of the committee members were young, but they put in a lot of effort.
There’s a lot work associated with the event, with everything from gathering entries and skater information, selection of music, scheduling of rinks, selecting qualified officials and ensuring skaters have enough of a break between events.
Gilliss hopes the skaters were able to enjoy the area. Affinity Place is a wonderful facility, she said, and it helps having the Power Dodge Arena in close proximity. The feedback she has received from section representatives, officials and the local skating club has been very positive.
“It’s been quite some time since Estevan as a club has hosted this event,” said Gilliss.
The event also was good news for the local economy.
“We certainly were able to see an increase in restaurant use and an increase in hotel stays over the weekend,” said Gilliss.
