There’s a Blizzard speed skating front moving into Fort St. John this weekend that’s aiming to put the chill on the competition at the Youth Long Track National Championships.
Eleven-year-old Anna Bluemink and Caleb McIntosh and 13-year-old Emily Walsh – all members of the Prince George Blizzard Speed Skating Club – will be heating up the track in the two-day competition Saturday and Sunday on the indoor 400m oval at the Pomeroy Centre.
The meet is a gathering of the fastest 11-13-year-old long track skaters in Canada as an introduction to competing in a national competition.
“It should be a blast,” said Blizzard club president James McIntosh. “For all three of them it’s their first national-level competition. All the kids are a little bit nervous, don’t quite know what to expect, and they’re excited all at the same time.
“There’s some impressive qualifying times for some of the kids coming out of Alberta and Quebec especially. The more events they can skate the better. It’s nice to have these facilities around.”
Sponsored by Speed Skating Canada and Intact Insurance, Friday’s camp day schedule includes on-ice training, a game session and a strategy session with video analysis, followed by a coaching clinic.
Saturday’s race schedule includes a 500-metre race, seven-lap mass start event, and 1,000m race. Sunday starts with 300m races followed by a 1,500 event and a four-lap team pursuit.
The skaters will compete for individual event medals and the overall aggregate championship.
“I want to finish in the top half,” said Caleb McIntosh, who was an automatic qualifier when he won the provincial title two weeks ago in Fort St. John.
He will be competing against 20 skaters in his 11-year-old boys class.
Bluemink and Walsh each met the time standard needed to qualify for the event.
The Blizzard club will host the BC Short Track Provincial Championships March 8-9 at Kin 1.
