Skaters put on a show
Figure skating club celebrates another successful year
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Thursday, March 17, 2016
INUVIK
The Inuvik skating season went out with a bang last weekend with three days of both on-ice and off-ice events during the annual Carnival.
Every skater performed in at least four numbers on the afternoon of March 13 in the end-of-season Carnival show for the Inuvik Figure Skating Club. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo
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"The Carnival show was fantastic," said Inuvik Figure Skating Club coach Jessica Crawford, noting that every skater got to perform in at least four numbers. "Some of the highlights were when the skaters performed some of our off-ice dance lifts, backflips and airplanes on the ice this year. Everyone skated so well and I am proud of them all."
Of particular note this year, some grown-ups took to the ice for the first time. Parents of some figure skaters did a number with a Broadway feel set to Frank Sinatra's New York, New York, and Crawford herself surprised the club with a number of her own.
"They have been asking me to skate a number for the last two years and I surprised them this year with one," she said.
The weekend was the close of the season and for many, it meant some bittersweet feelings.
"I'm happy and sad," said Halayna Cockney-Goose. "I'm happy I got to perform in the Carnival but sad because it's the end of the Carnival."
Crawford said that the season had been a busy one. All skaters were given the chance to take part in a competition and a test day, as well as partake in the Carnival. All at least met requirements for their levels, with some exceeding them.
"Maddysen Kingmiaqtuq-Devlin was able to obtain three double jumps in a short period of time as our club only runs six months of the year," said Crawford. "Also we had five CanSkaters that started in our Pre-CanSkate program and moved to our junior program this year. They passed six stages in a six-month period."
While having only just finished this one, Crawford and the skaters are already looking forward to the next season.
As she was leaving the rink on March 13, one small child asked her mother when the next Carnival was going to be.
Some skaters are already looking forward to next season.
"I'm looking forward to landing the jumps I couldn't this year," said Cockney-Goose.
2016-17 will see trials for the 2018 Arctic Winter Games, another club competition, territorials, test day, and - of course - a Carnival show.
"We have a lot of skaters that graduated our CanSkate program this year moving into our junior program as well as moving from junior to intermediate and three kids moving from intermediate to seniors starting next year," said Crawford, adding that numbers will be up by 10 skaters.
"We will now have 32 children in our junior/intermediate and senior programs."
