Prairie regionals return to Killarney
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/02/2020 (2270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
KILLARNEY— With the Manitoba Scotties happening in Rivers and the Dakota Nation Winterfest taking place in Brandon at the same time, this year’s Prairie Regional Synchronized Skating Championships risked being overlooked in Westman during the weekend of Feb. 1-2.
However, Killarney residents still packed into the Shamrock Centre throughout those two days to watch 29 figure skating teams from both Manitoba and Saskatchewan compete for bragging rights and (for some) the chance to attend this year’s national championships.
When all was said and done on Sunday, teams from Saskatchewan picked up the most first-place finishes, including in the Elementary (Regina Harmony), Adult II (Regina Virtuoso), Adult III (Regina Edge), Pre-Novice (Saskatoon Slick Ice) and Pre-Juvenile (Saskatoon Silver Frost) categories.
However, Manitoba skating squads like Brandon’s Wheat City ConnXion, Morden’s Pembina Pizazz and the Hazelridge Ice Intrepid managed to capture gold in the Adult I, Juvenile and Open sections, respectively.
See ‘Skating’ — Page 4
Event chairperson Kim Webb said this year’s event concluded on an exciting note, with the Ice Intrepid earning a score of 115.72 in the Open final, besting the rival Saskatoon Silver Edges by 31.02 points.
“They really put on a show to end the whole competition,” she said.
The Hazelridge team also qualified for the national championship with this performance, meaning they will be joining roughly 40 other Canadian synchronized skating teams in Calgary later this month.
However, Webb’s biggest take away from this year’s regional competition wasn’t the athletic prowess on display, although that element was impressive.
Instead, she was amazed by the sheer effort that her volunteers put into organizing this event, especially since Killarney hasn’t hosted the Prairie Regionals in four years.
“We’ve had people reach out who know nothing about synchronized skating and they volunteered, they did baking, they did everything for us,” Webb said. “It’s easier to hold (this competition) in a small town because we’re proud of it … everybody pitches in because they know this is our time to shine.”
Webb hopes that future regional competitions can be live-streamed, so that more people who don’t live in the host community get the chance to watch these athletes perform.
The 2020 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships is taking place in Calgary from Feb. 21-23 and will feature more than 800 skaters from across the country, including the 14 athletes hailing from Hazelridge.
» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @KyleDarbyson
