SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Nine members of the Fort Simpson Speed Skating Club returned from Yellowknife with medals around their necks earlier this month.

Mikayla Lafferty competes in the NWT Speed Skating Championship in Yellowknife on March 8. Lafferty won a silver medal in the Learn to Train division one, group A. - James McCarthy/NNSL photo

The skaters competed in the NWT Speed Skating Championships March 8 to 9.

"They all did so well," said coach Val Gendron.

All of the athletes achieved personal bests and every skater who fell down got back up and finished their race, she said.

Both Patrick and Lucas Tate, 10, fell during a least one their races. It's not something you want to do, the brothers said, because the ice can be wet and slippery when you're trying to regain your footing.

Lucas won a gold medal and Patrick got a bronze in the FUNdamentals division 1, group A. They both competed in the 100, 200, 400 and 500 metre races.

"I think I did well in all of them," Lucas said.

The 200 metre is Lucas' preferred distance.

"Because it's a fairly short race. Even if I don't take the lead from the start there's still some time to pass," he said.

This was Lucas' third year at the championships.

He said he liked finding out that he did great in the standings and that everyone else in the Fort Simpson Speed Skating Club did well too.

For Patrick, cheering on his teammates and skating were the best parts of the weekend. Patrick said he was pleased with all of his races. He prefers the 100 metre because it is a short distance, but also the 500 metre.

The brothers agree that getting a good start so you are in the lead and having great crossovers in the corners are essential if you want to win races.

It was easy to distinguish the Fort Simpson speed skaters from the 82 competitors because they were wearing matching outfits that Gendron's mother sewed for them.

"A lot of people liked the Fort Simpson speed suits," said Patrick.

The brothers thanked Gendron and Alex Roche for being great coaches.

The team also included Cassidy Barry, who got silver in division one, group B of FUNdamentals and Lydia Nelner and Patrick Barry, who got gold and silver respectively, in group D. In division two of FUNdamentals, Ava Erasmus got silver in the D group.

In Learn to Train, Mikayla Lafferty earned silver in the division one, group A while Tamara Deneyoua-Nahanni got silver and Jamie Deneyoua-Nahanni got gold in group B.