Lethbridge Skating Club makes home ice return

By Dale Woodard - Lethbridge Herald on March 11, 2022.

Herald photo Dale Woodard Shanelle Mann of the Lethbridge Skating Club performs her routine at the South Region Invitational Figuring Skating Competition Saturday afternoon at the ATB Centre.

After two years away, members of the Lethbridge Skating Club made their home ice return.
Figure skaters from across Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan laced up their blades and danced to the music – both individually and in teams – at the 2022 South Region Invitational Figure Skating Competition at the ATB Centre.
“We have skaters ranging in age from five to adult skaters,” said Nina Evans, professional figure skating coach with the Lethbridge Skating Club. “We’ve got singles events, team synchronized skating events, adult events and special Olympics.”
The LSC had their 2020 competition the last weekend before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down.
“So we didn’t have a 2021 (event),” said Evans. “But we’re thrilled to be back. It’s amazing just to get to see them perform and doing something they love after having such a long break from performance and skating itself. It’s so nice to see them back. Everybody is smiling and happy and so excited to be out there.”
Roughly 20 LSC members took part in last weekend’s event, some doing multiple events in addition to the local club’s synchronized skating team of 10 skaters.
The LSC was at one other competition in Calgary in November.
But prior to that, the pandemic forced the LSC to put on a few creative moves off the ice to keep their skaters sharp as the pandemic shut down competition for the next nearly two years.
“We had to be creative in how we kept the skaters active,” said Evans. “They were allowed to skate at times. We had to limit how many skaters were on the ice and what kind of interactions skaters and coaches could have.
“When we weren’t allowed to be on the ice, we had some outdoor fitness classes. We did some Zoom sessions and what we could to keep the kids engaged.”
With the 2022 South Region Invitational Figure Skating Competition in the books, the LSC won’t have to wait long for their next competition as the StarSkate Championships takes place March 18 in Calgary.
“We’ll have most of the same skaters who attended this competition,” said Evans. “We’ve had some strong skaters. So we’re looking forward to some exciting and great performances.”

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