INUVIK
Skaters with the Inuvik Skating Club left for Whitehorse with a lot of hope and determination and came back with the hardware to show for it.

Maddysen Kingmiaqtuq-Devlin took home two gold medals from the Golden Nugget Championship in Whitehorse last month. - photos courtesy of Tony Devlin

"It went really well," said coach Jessica Crawford. "We ended up placing in every event."

In one event, she said, Inuvik skaters came in first, second, third and fourth, sweeping the competition from Whitehorse and Juneau, Alaska, skaters at the Gold Nugget Championship late last month.

With more than a dozen skaters in Whitehorse from Inuvik, Crawford said it was a great opportunity for the young athletes to show off their skills.

Both Kiersten Rogers and Maddysen Kingmiaqtuq-Devlin came home with two gold medals for their performances, and Kristen Harder scored her first gold medal at her first competition.

"It was a huge improvement over last year," said Crawford, saying that while the club did well their first time out at the competition, this year they dominated. "A lot of it is because of the kids' hard work, they practise really hard and have been putting a lot of time in."

The Golden Nugget was moved up a week from last year, so the club had only four weeks to practise. Crawford said only having a month to put together 19 programs was tight but that the work paid off.

"We would like to try to hit up a competition in Alberta," she said. "This one was out of our section, and it was great, but we do want to try to get down to Alberta."

While the hardware the skaters brought home is certainly nothing to sniff at, Crawford said an even greater accomplishment is how many of the skaters passed their tests.

Testing allows skaters to advance through the levels of the sport, but requires judges from Skate Canada to accomplish. Getting judges to Inuvik - particularly for the higher levels - is tricky and costly, so the club takes advantage of test days offered at competitions as often as possible.

Crawford said some of the skaters performed up to five tests in one day at the competition, dashing between ice surfaces to keep up with the hectic schedule.

"Test day is even more important than a competition," she said. "It means they can advance in the sport."

Pearl Gillis passed four of the four tests she did, Aeva Grace-Dempster passed the two that she took, and Halayna Cockney-Goose passed a whopping five out of five. In all, club members took 35 tests and passed 26 of them, something Crawford said was "absolutely incredible."

There will hopefully be a test day sometime this winter in Inuvik, but Crawford was more certain when it came to planning for the local competition and end of season carnival. She said last year the bleachers were packed for the carnival and hopes they will be again.

"It's great to get the younger ones used to that kind of event," Crawford said, adding that the in-town competition also gives a chance to the skaters who couldn't make it to Whitehorse to get a taste of the action. "It's just really fun for everyone, and it's good to start them young."

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