Perhaps more than any other sport, figure skating is a game of incremental improvements.
You aren’t going to go from your first glide to provincial champion in a couple of months, it’s all about trying, learning and dedication as you pick up skills bit by bit and gradually become more and more advanced.
Performers with the Moose Jaw Skating Club are no exception, and local skating fans will have a chance to see just how much skaters both young and old have improved during their annual Ice Show next Sunday.
To that end, skaters have been on the ice over the last week preparing to show off their skills, much as they have throughout the winter and especially during the Mar. 1 weekend at the massive Winter Classic in Kindersley.
“Everybody had a really great showing,” lauded MJSC coach Bree Campbell. “We had some skaters who moved up levels and lots of new personal bests, then our ice dance teams competed and showed really well. It was a really good competition.”
Two of the club’s youngsters -- Sophia Ferland and Avery Durrant -- performed so well in the STAR 5 division that they’ll be regular fixtures on the higher-level competitive scene in the near future.
“They definitely showed vast improvement and they both did really well competing at a higher level in the Winter Classic,” Campbell said.
Those are just two competitors who have shown impressive progression throughout the winter, with all that hard work simply moving into the next season as skaters aim to continue to improve and advance in the sport.
“It’s a good starting point to work off from next year, too,” Campbell said. “Some of these skaters will start skating again in September, so it’s a good way to wrap up this part of the year as we move out of winter skating into spring and summer skating.”
Before all that, though, there’s the always popular Moose Jaw Skating Club Ice Show, which features the entire roster of performers going through musical numbers and showing the audience how much they’ve learned in a few short months.
The theme this year is The Places You’ll Go, a bit of a departure from the usual cartoony fare one sees at ice shows.
“It’s all about when you grow up, what are you going to do, the paths you can go down, the choices you can make,” Campbell said. “It’s been a hard theme to encapsulate and bring to life, but now that we’ve been practicing, we’re seeing how it’s going to shake out. So it’ll be fun, it’ll be a different format and a different idea and it’s coming together.”
The performance is Sunday, Mar. 17 at 1 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, with tickets currently on sale through www.sasktix.ca.
Folks can also check out www.moosejawskatingclub.ca for a look at all they have to offer, including a schedule for the Ice Show and the numbers they will be performing.
Also, be sure to keep an eye on social media for regular updates from the club.
