The Eckville Figure Skating Club delivered on their Skating Showcase, which featured the talents of skaters at the earliest stages to seasoned veterans looking for some of the highest honours in the Canskate program.
The theme this year, which was smaller then previous years’ Skating Carnivals, was food meaning that each skater performed to music based on everyone’s favourite pastime.
Nikki Bystrom, Eckville Figure Skating Club coach, was excited to show off the talents of one of Alberta’s oldest skating clubs.
“In previous years, the carnival has been a bigger deal - this year it’s much more scaled back,” she said. “We’re calling it a showcase and it’s an opportunity for the kids to have a chance to be on the ice, doing something special in a costume and showing what they have learned this year.”
Many of the kids in this year’s showcase went from never having skated to completing their entire performance with very few, if any, falls or slip ups.
“It’s a culmination of what they’ve done all year,” Bystrom said. “I have such a great group of Canskaters and they all work really hard. Our Learn to Skates are all up and moving and they’re enjoying being on the ice. Our older girls and boys have learned lots of new difficult skills and are very confident out on the ice.”
Bystrom previously told the Eckville Echo that it is difficult to find Canskate qualified coaches, which was why the regular carnival was scaled back, however the showcase nearly filled the arena with family members and community members coming out to the Eckville Arena to watch these young athletes perform.
reporter@eckvilleecho.com