The Nicola Valley Skate Club (NVSC) went to Kelowna on the weekend of November 25 to compete at the Okanagan Interclub Competition. For some of the skaters, this competition served as their first one of the season, while it serves as the first competition overall for others. 

 From November 25 to 27, eight NVSC skaters participated in 10 events at the Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna. 

 “Our club is very proud of all our skaters,” said Coach Diana Lorenz. “Some personal bests, some first competitions and a great learning experience for them all.”

 Understandably, skaters have pre performance jitters that they try to overcome. Lorenz said that she helps them through this phase by doing, what she calls, ‘visioning’, where skaters map out what their steps are going to be on the ice for their routine. 

 “A lot of them were nervous for sure,” she said. “I get them to go through a checklist of each element of their performance, this helps them back to focusing. I get them to mentally prepare prior to their skate. I think that helps pull a bit of the jitters away.”

 With a focused approach, the skaters were able to showcase their skills, with some recording their personal bests.

 Here are the results from the Interclub Competition:

  • Avery Starrs – STAR 2 FreeSkate SoloSilver
  • Meera Dutt – STAR 2 FreeSkate Solo Silver
  • Aziza Earle – STAR 2 FreeSkate Solo Bronze 
  • Everley Russell – STAR 2 FreeSkate Solo Silver
  • Brooke Gustafson – STAR 2 Freeskate Solo Bronze 
  • Meera-Bella Lalli – STAR 1 Elements Event Bronze 
  • Everley Russell – STAR 2 Elements Silver
  • Meera Dutt – STAR 2 Elements Silver
  • Abby Thoms – STAR 5 FreeSkate solo 9th place
  • Jayda Starrs – STAR 4 Solo 13 & O 6th place

Okanagan Interclub Competition. Photo/NVSC

“Moving forward, now we know what we need to work on, what we need to build on, and what we need to put our focus towards,” said Lorenz.

NVSC now looks ahead to their next competition at Kal Tire Place in Vernon on January 27-29. In the meantime, the club will also get ready for a CanSkate, Jr. Academy, and Jr. STAR elements competition next Wednesday at Nicola Valley Memorial Arena, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Lorenz said that a panel of judges consisting of herself, the adult program assistant and a junior assistant will be set to judge the event.

“This is a early opportunity to expose skaters to a competition style event,” said Lorenz.

“Skaters are assessed to Skate Canada Standards and will receive a gold, silver or bronze ribbon for their overall performance and skills.”

Registration for the club’s winter season is currently open. For more information, please visit,  https://nicolavalleysc.uplifterinc.com/.