Four skaters with the Hay River Skating Club will be heading to competition in St. Albert next week as part of the Edmonton Regional StarSkate Invitational.
Jackson Fuller, Rylee Robillard, Avaia Ashton and Miah Harris will be among those competing in their FreeSkate and artistic programs.
Jaime Harris, club president said that the trip will be significant because it is the first competition in months that her athletes will be attending.
“The skaters are very excited to compete again as they have not been able to compete since February of 2020,” she said.
Harris said the event will hopefully allow her skaters to shake some of the rust from months of not competing due to Covid-19 restrictions on travel.
“I think because of the shutdown this competition will be a way for them to get a feel for what it’s like to compete again and try and achieve what they have set as a goal for this competition,” she said.
“It’s about doing the best that they can and being proud of how they skated regardless of the outcome.
“I am excited to see all of them showcase what they have been working on for the judges and audience.”
All Northwest Territories skaters fall under the Alberta section of Skate Canada, including the 55 skaters registered in the Hay River club this season.
The club was among the user groups at the community centre that were put on hiatus due to the Covid-19 outbreak in October.
Since then, skaters have been practicing at the Aurora Arena every day of the week but Sunday and Tuesday.
The club does fundraisers to support its operations. A Beef Jerky sale fundraiser was recently held and Harris said residents should watch for others to be announced after the Christmas break if they want to support.
Skaters are scheduled to compete again this year in Grande Prairie at the end of January and Yellowknife in February.
Stephane Millette, director of recreation with the Town of Hay River said during a Nov. 22 council meeting that the reopening of the community centre with proof of vaccination requirements has gone smoothly for all user groups.
“All of our regular user groups have returned to play and that includes the ice user groups, and some school and youth groups, which make use of the swimming pool at the aquatic centre on a regular basis,” he said.