INUVIK - Fifteen skaters from Inuvik flew to Fort Smith last weekend and nabbed 26 medals, making them the best of five territorial figure skating clubs at the NWT Figure Skating Championships.

The Inuvik Figure Skating Club at the NWT Figure Skating Championships Feb. 11 to 13 in Fort Smith. Front row, Willow Allen, Annika Krizan, Mikaela Cockney- MacNeil, Ally Ingram, Sydney Dunlop, Lovelle Simon, Jacinta Stringer, Kendall Allen. Back row from left, Maya Krizan, Natasha Watters, Kiersten Rogers, Katelynn Crocker, Winter Ross, Rachel Watters, Caroline Kaufman and coach Danyelle Ellis, in back. - photos courtesy of Theresa Ross

"The kids spent a lot of time building up to this and fundraising to make it happen, and also working on their routines," said Theresa Ross, Inuvik figure skating coach.

It was a long trip and a lot of effort, from the youngest Grade 2s to the Grade 11s and all the parents and coaches involved, Ross said.

"We were kind of representing all different levels that we had in our club," she said proudly. "We did super."

As the weekend went on, the Inuvik athletes were placed in every category, making them "kind of a big deal," she said.

The 15 Inuvik skaters competed against close to 80 other skaters from across the territory. Not only did they grab 26 medals, they earned two trophies as well.

For the second year in a row, Inuvik was honoured with best performance trophy due to Rachel Watters' talent on her toes.

"And that was selected by the judges," Ross said, explaining the prestige of that award, "so they really know what they're doing."

And for the fifth year in a row, the club was awarded the sportsmanship trophy. This year it was earned by Caroline Kaufman.

Inuvik dominated a series of skills tests as well.

"Out of all the tests, we had an 88 per cent success rate," Ross boasted, then added proudly, "Compared to the 32 per cent of other clubs, so you know it's pretty exciting when you see that."

Participating in the tournament were clubs from Hay River, Fort Smith, Inuvik and two from Yellowknife - the latter representing close to 100 skaters.

But there's no rest for this speedy troupe as they have more events this spring, including the figure skating carnival that Inuvik's hosting on Saturday, March 19.

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