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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - From small beginnings speed skating has grown in Fort Simpson to become one of the most popular ice sports with youth.

Last year, the Fort Simpson Speed Skating Club had 21 skaters, which was more than figure skating but fewer than minor hockey in the village, said Val Gendron, the club's coach.

Angela Lu, left, and Lia Fabre-Dimsdale practice their T-starts during the Fort Simpson Speed Skating Club's first practice session of the season. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Twenty-one is a long ways from the original eight skaters the club started with nine years ago.

In January 1999, Scott McAdam, who was then the recreation director for the village, signed an agreement with NWT Speed Skating which included skates for the community.

A coach from Edmonton also came to the village and hosted clinics in the schools.

That winter, NWT Speed Skating encouraged Fort Simpson to send skaters to the NWT Speed Skating Championships. Gendron accompanied four skaters to Yellowknife.

"That was the start of it and now I'm here every year," Gendron said.

In their first full season in 2000, the club had approximately eight members and interest has grown steadily from there.

"Over time it's a couple kids here and a couple kids there," she said.

Gendron attributes the sport's popularity to a number of factors. Speed skating is something new, she said, and kids are promoting it with their friends and dedicated parents, volunteers and coaches make sure skaters attend practices, she said.

Speed skating is also a good way to cross-train for other sports including hockey, soccer and cross-country skiing.

"The kids in speed skating also go to hockey, a lot of them do, and they're the best skaters," she said.

Speed skating is particularly good training for hockey because it teaches the mechanics of skating, said Gendron.

Anyone can join speed skating as long as they have a basic level of skating.

Balance is a key skill and one of the first lessons of the sport. Speed skaters must be fairly agile. Cornering requires balancing on one foot while on the edge of their skate blades.

The second lesson of the Fort Simpson club ishow to encourage other teammates.

"I really try to emphasize fun," said Gendron.

Having fun is why Harley Betsedea, 10, joined the club a year ago.

Betsedea had friends in the club and thought speed skating would be fun and so far it has been, she said.

"We get to go fast," she said.

With a background in figure skating, Betsedea could already skate but had to get use to the different style and the speed skates. In the beginning Betsedea said she often lost her balance and fell.

Now in her second year Betsedea has set herself a goal of learning to do crossovers.

Speed skating is all about personal bests, because you're trying to beat your own times, said Gendron.

Youth can also join speed skating at a later age and still succeed because it's a late development sport.

Speed skaters take longer to reach their peak performance. At the international level successful skaters are in their mid to late 20s, said Gendron.

Members of the Fort Simpson club have competed at the territorial level, at the Arctic Winter Games and at southern club competitions.

Gendron points to Yellowknife's Michael Gilday, who's competed at the World Cup level, as an example of how far Northern skaters can go.

"The limit's only what you put on yourself," she said.