The Sunshine Coast Skating Club is extremely proud to have six skaters receive invitations to attend the 2019 Provincial Development Camp in Kelowna, April 20 and 21. In 2018 our club had four invitees, so we are excited to see the growth and potential showing in our young athletes.
One of the mandates of our provincial Skate Canada organization, the BC/YK Section, is to have the Skater Development committee identify and support skaters and coaches in their drive for competitive success.
Talent identification and monitoring occurs year round. Inclusion on teams and invitations to camps are primarily based on skill acquisition relative to age criteria. Skaters must meet a minimum score during the 2018-19 competition season in order to receive the invitation to attend. The purpose of minimum scores is to encourage skaters to strive for excellence and show continuous improvement throughout the season. All regional and sectional competitions are monitored and any skater achieving a minimum score will receive an invitation from the BC/YK Section to attend the camp. Having six invitees from our small club with a limited training season shows the motivation, dedication, and desire that the skaters have.
Of these six skaters, two have also been singled out to join the BC/YK Prospects Team – John Mailey and Cooper Jones. The Skate Canada BC/YK Prospect Team is an initiative developed to track, monitor, and support skaters who demonstrate the potential to excel as competitive figure skaters capable of achieving success at provincial, national and international levels. These two skaters will have additional training camps, monitoring, and competitions throughout the coming 2019-20 season.
Congratulations to Lucy Watson, Cooper Jones, John Mailey, Isabella Jones, Tiegan Turner, and Megan Bloemhard.
– Submitted by Daryl Austman
