Figure skaters in sync with winning

The Border Edges synchronized figure skating team with the Lloydminster Skating Club is resting on its laurels with the wrapup of a stellar season. The club booked its final ice time for a “come and try synchro” event for kids and adults at Servus Sports Centre earlier this week to interest first-timers to hop on its winning bandwagon next season.

The Border Edges’ junior Star 4 team and Adult 3 team are still buzzing from their first-place finishes at the Ice Fest Synchronized Skating Invitational in Carstairs Alberta on March 11.

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“It was pretty exciting considering we’re competing against Calgary and Edmonton and big city clubs,” said skating club president and synchro skater, Hilary Sehn. Border Edges rose to the top of the 25 teams taking part with Sehn, revealing some secret sauce ingredients being coach Rebecca Zajic and assistant junior coach, Wendy Macnab.

“I think just having a really good coach and developing a really strong bond between each of the teams,” explained Sehn.

“Everybody had fun and everybody just relaxed. I think that’s what helped us win.”

The Star 4 team won a gold medal at Skate Alberta Central Region

Competition in early February as well.

The Border Edges’ Star 4 team and the Adult 3 team got to show off their champion ways during a season wrap-up carnival for the entire figuring skating club at the Civic Centre on Sunday.

The synchro skaters demonstrated some of the competitive elements of the sport, including circles, lines, pivoting blocks, a wheel and an intersection.

“Our coach choreographs a routine with specific elements that have to be included,” explained Sehn. She notes from experience, it’s not easy to do with so many skaters on the ice.

“You do have to have a background in figure skating because you’re hanging on to the person next to you, you need to be pretty confident on your feet,” said Sehn.

The Border Edges compete in the Adult 3 division for teams with 50 per cent of skaters over the age of 35.

The Lloyd team includes two 20-yearold college students and three skaters over 40 including Sehn who admits she is pushing 44 and loving it.

“I like the team camaraderie, getting out and moving and using the skills I learned as a kid figure skating and still be able to be on the ice and be active,” she said.

The other adult members including coach Zajic are Shirley Harewood, Teresa Miskie, Lorie Bowman, Heather Mielke, Sarah Rorquist, Lisa Marie Kreese, Allecia MacDonald and Tegan Scott.

The Star 4 skaters are Sadie Rorquist, Fiala Ostropolski, Kenzie Laing, Kaebri Macnab, Avery Epp, Brynlee Eidsvik, Mia North, Jaylyn Elford and Claire Lucas.

When the Border Edges are on the ice, it’s go, go, go to make the most of their limited one-hour practice time a week.

“It’s hard to get ice time competing against hockey,” said Sehn with the knowledge top-level teams usually practice between four and eight hours a week.

The Border Edges also send videos to judges in advance to ensure they meet the boundaries of required elements prior to competition.

Sehn says Skate Alberta is really pushing it as a discipline although the sport has been around since the 70s.

“Normally, our national teams come out of the east, but we have some new junior teams in Alberta that are now competing,” she said.

Sehn is also stoked to have about 160 members in the overall skating club this year with a lot of young newbies.

“Our CanSkate numbers are way up this year. It’s fantastic,” she said.

“We’ve got close to 50 per cent boys in our CanSkate program just because from CanSkate you can go anywhere to hockey or speedskating or ringette.”