It was the first test of the year for the Whitehorse Rapids Speed Skating Club at the first club races of the season Sunday evening.

More than 35 athletes took to the ice competing in several short track distances.

The event was the first chance to compete in a racing environment for the club and a pre-cursor for nine team members who will be competing in Edmonton this upcoming weekend.

Divided into heats based on previous times and age, the skaters competed in 1500, 500, 300 and 200 metre distances on the 100-metre track on the Canada Games Centre ice.

Personal best times from last season were posted on the walls as well so competitors could see how they compare to their finishing times last season.

Rapids skater Micah Taggart-Cox, who has been skating since he was six, said the meet is a fun event for the club to see how they are progressing heading into the more competitive events of the season.

“It’s a lot of fun this meet just going to see what my time is for the beginning of this year compared to last year and work towards improving,” he said.

Taggart-Cox along with about 11 other teammates will be working towards the 2018 Arctic Winter Games in Northwest Territories.

Speedskating will be back in the Games for those between the ages of 11 and 20 after not being included in the 2016 Games.

“It was a little disappointing when it didn’t happen for Greenland, but I’m really excited to be racing as a junior for Arctic’s,” Taggart-Cox said.

He competed as a juvenile at the Games in 2014 winning a silver medal with the relay team and also winning an individual bronze.

This time, he could very well be joined by his two younger siblings, Caius, 13, and Lucas, 11, both who competed in the club races.

Micah said it is nice to be able to train with his younger brothers and it’s not super competitive as they are in different age groups.

He also noted they are starting to catch up to him, while letting out a smile.

And based on times at Sunday’s meet, he is not wrong.

Caius set personal bests in both the 200 metre and 400 metre races and Lucas raced in the same heat as Micah in the 200-metre race finishing less than three seconds back.

Micah broke a personal best of his own in the 200, breaking the 21 second barrier in a time of 20.81.

The club will host two more races throughout the season.