A number of skaters from the Moose Jaw Skating Club competed this past weekend in the first-ever 2021 Saskatchewan Virtual Cup, a competitive event organized by Skate Canada Saskatchewan that took place almost entirely virtually.
Moose Jaw skaters joined clubs from around the province to compete in the virtual competition, including skaters from Caronport, Regina, Saskatoon, Yorkton, Prince Albert, Maple Creek and Shellbrook.
Each performance was pre-recorded and submitted ahead of the competition, and then shown live online for a panel of judges to evaluate in real-time on Feb. 27 and 28.
A dozen of the Moose Jaw club’s skaters took the ice in Mosaic Place earlier in February to perform their programs, which were filmed in one take and allowed for only one or two skaters on the ice at a time.
Results were shared live during the event, allowing competitors to evaluate their scores throughout the weekend. All performances are still available to view through the SCS website.
From Moose Jaw, Justene Aitken took bronze in both the novice women’s free program and the short program, while Eric Swalm placed first in the juvenile men (U14) free program.
In the pre-juvenile women (U13) free program, Moose Jaw skaters Dylan Payne and Rachel Ward took first and second place, respectively, followed by Kcena-rae Osiowy of Caronport Skate Club.
Seann Terry placed third in the pre-juvenile men (U13) free program, and Brecon Swalm also placed third in the pre-juvenile women (U11) free program.
Lindsay Allen finished the weekend with eighth place in the pre-novice women’s short program and sixth in the free program, alongside Mitike Cridland who took sixth (short) and eighth (free), and Camryn Ferguson who placed 13th (short) and 14th (free).
Duo Raeann Lobb from Caronport and Shimone McClanahan from Moose Jaw were the only pair to compete in the juvenile dance program, taking first. Tyrae Wiebe and Shamus McClanahan, both from Moose Jaw, were also the only pair in the pre-novice dance program, also taking first.
Although the virtual competition doesn’t count for any total scores for this season, MJSC publicity chair Carime Molde said that skaters were very excited to take part as it's the first competitive opportunity they’ve had in over a year.
“It just gave them something to work toward every time they stepped on the ice,” said Molde. “They knew they were going to perform in front of a panel of judges, and so I think it helped give them a purpose for their skating this winter and spring.”
“There wasn’t a huge turnout across the province from skaters so [the Virtual Cup] wasn’t a huge competition, but lots of our skaters did really well,” she continued.
The Star Skate program has seen little interruption from the pandemic restrictions this season, said Molde, with the biggest adjustment being the reduction to only eight skaters allowed on the ice at a time.
“All of our Star skaters continued skating in their cohorts of eight, which ended up being a really great way to run it. We really enjoyed it,” said Molde.
While the cohorts do put some minimal strains on the club, Molde felt that skater and coaches alike were actually benefiting from the restriction.
“The coaches really enjoyed just having eight skaters to work with [at a time], because sometimes our groups were [big enough] that they were spread pretty thin,” said Molde.
Moving forward, skaters are finishing up their Star Skate test days before the club begins preparing to host its usual spring camp sessions. With both Mosaic Place and the Kinsmen Centre already in the process of removing their ice, this year’s camps will likely be held in rinks just outside of Moose Jaw this year.
For more details on the 2021 Saskatchewan Virtual Cup scores from the weekend, visit Skate Canada Saskatchewan's website.
