We CAN be STARS event "exceeded expectations"
The Westlock Skating Club held its first annual skating competition, We CAN be STARS on Friday, Feb. 7, bringing together skaters of all ages and skill levels. The event took place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre drawing a large crowd of supporters, family members, and community members from all over the region.
Chelsea Forsythe has been the president for the Westlock Skating Club for the past five years and says this event is a first of its kind for the community.
“We're trying to grow our club, which is always a struggle. There's not a ton of nearby CanSkate opportunities and when you're in the younger levels, it's good to kind of see what you can do with it,” says Forsythe.
Skaters ranged in age and ability, showcasing their skills in front of four judges, including David Chief, official evaluator with Skate Canada and board member with Alberta Figure Skating Foundation (AFSF).
“We had several different events for each level of skating in the competition. We had CanSkate stages 4 to 6, which all did a creative, which is kind of like an interpretive dance, and then also an elements and team category,” said Forsythe.
STARSkate stages1 to 3 is the more advanced category. Each stage and category had different event requirements for the judges to score.
Skating clubs flocked to the Spirit Centre from all over, including Barrhead, Boyle, Athabasca, Slave Lake, and Morinville. The turnout was better than expected, with 48 skaters participating in multiple events, totalling over 100 different skates during the competition.
Nichole Miller has two daughters that skate with the Westlock Skating Club and said the atmosphere was “pure joy.”
“It was a great experience to see all the girls walking around with smiles on their faces proud of their home club. You could see all the girls from near and far who came to join us were thrilled to be there,” said Miller. “As a parent I couldn’t be more proud of these girls and how hard they have all worked this year. They all skated with their hearts and truly put on a spectacular show for everyone.”
Miller said the work from everyone on the board was apparent overall, but also in the little details. “They made the whole day a breeze. It was nice to not have any large wait times between different elements of the competition, but it wasn’t rushed either.”
“It was such a great success, and we had such a good turnout, especially for being rookies at competition hosting,” said Forsythe. “It was just so well received by all of the visiting coaches and parents and skaters that we're hoping to host one in the fall and one in the spring next year.”
Should all go to plan, Forsythe hopes for these to be held in November and February.
Local businesses and community organizations made the event a positive and memorable experience for the skaters. Organizations such as the Indianhead Fishing Lodge supported the event through raffle donations, Rotary staff and community volunteers helped ensure smooth operations throughout the day, and the town of Westlock provided a grant and gift donations that the club added to skater’s swag bags.
“It did exceed our expectations being our first competition that any of us board members have ever done. We got a lot of positive feedback from all of the visiting coaches and skaters and families as well as the judges who said that it was well organized and attended,” said Forsythe. “It was really nice to hear the board was happy with all of the work.”
The competition was met with positive feedback from both participants and attendees, with many expressing hopes that next year’s event will continue to grow and offer even more opportunities for local skating enthusiasts.
For more information about the Westlock Skating Club and upcoming events, visit westlockskate.ca.
