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Mannville Skate-a-thon a Resounding Success
Mannville Skate-a-thon a Resounding Success
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
A total of 20 youth between the ages of five and 16 took to the ice at the Mannville Recreation Centre Tuesday afternoon.
The youth, all members of the Mannville Skating Club, (MSC) collectively skated a total of 1,598 laps during the annual skate-a-thon. Club President Amy Shomachuk said the skaters had 60 minutes to do as many laps as possible. “It ranged from 36 laps from the youngest member, who started in January, to 120 laps from one of the older girls. Everyone did wonderful.” Altogether, the number of total laps equated to well over 200 kilometres.
Shomachuk said the skate-a-thon is a great opportunity to raise funds for the club which helps to offset coaching and ice fees. “The MSC partners with JumpStart and KidSport to make skating affordable for all. We also keep our fees as low as possible to ensure that every child gets the opportunity to learn to skate if they want to. The MSC relies mainly on fundraising and donations to pay for coaching and ice fees.”
She went on to say, “This year the club has 21 members ranging from 5-16-years-old. There are 12 members in the CanSkate program and 9 in the StarSkate program.
Special to our club is the Bridge Program. A program designed to prepare the older CanSkate members for entry into StarSkate. They get to skate with the older skaters, learn more and get challenged. The MSC is not only figure skating. As part of the Skate Canada program, members get taught a variety of skating skills that help them excel in hockey, and other ice sports as well.
Nicole Ford is the club coach. She is a trained Skate Canada coach, and also coaches for the Wainwright Skating Club.
Shomachuk said, “MSC greatly appreciates our wonderful community. We'd like to thank them for supporting us with all our events and fundraisers.”
Of course, all of the skaters are looking forward to the year end carnival that will take place in early March. “The theme is ‘Chasing the Northern Lights’. Everyone from the community is welcome to attend. With our Northern Lights theme comes beautiful decorations and music from Canadian artists. The skaters are working hard on their performances and are excited to show everyone what they have learned this season. There will be a 50/50, a door prize, a raffle table, flowers for sale, and the concession will be open for everyone to grab a hot drink or something to eat.
We also have guest skater Colton Foreman, joining us that evening. He is from Andrew Alberta. He is 20 years old and competes at the Junior men's level. He is the 2022 Alberta Novice men's silver medalist, the 2023 Alberta Junior men's bronze medalist, and the 2024 Skate AB/NT/NU Section's Junior men's gold medalist. We are so thrilled that he is able to join us once again.”
