The Arctic Edge Skating Club has had a great start to the 2009 fall/winter season.

Junior, intermediate and senior skaters have been on the ice since September working diligently on their skating skills.

One skater, Rachel Pettitt was invited to represent B.C./Yukon at the Saskatchewan First Skate in Saskatoon on Thanksgiving Weekend.

This event highlights the top four competitors in each of the western provinces British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. She did exceptionally well and came home with a bronze medal in the Pre-Juvenile Women's event.

Senior club members are also working towards competing in other out of-territory competitions.

Millie Austin will be attending the Autumn Leaves event in Kamloops, B.C. this weekend.

Kevin Caron and Bryn Hoffman will be going to the B.C. Coast Regionals in Chilliwack from Oct. 22nd - 25th.

Furthermore, Millie Austin, Teneil Caron, Kevin Caron and Rachel Pettitt will be going to Sectionals in Richmond, B.C. in November.

Upcoming local events being held at Takhini Arena on Dec. 5th and 6th include the Yukon Gold Nugget Interclub Competition and the Arctic Winter Games Trials.

These events will offer an opportunity for young skaters to gain experience in performing in front of judges in a competitive environment as well as give the more experienced skaters opportunities to test their programs before major competitions scheduled in the new year.

Another exciting change to the club was the hiring of a CanSkate Coordinator.

This has met with resounding success as the beginner CanSkate program for the September – December session has sold out. The club has reached its maximum of 60 registrants in each of the three program days and are nearing last years CanSkate registration totals for the year.

This year, coaches brought back exciting program ideas from the National Coaching conference held in June.

These include a Fun Zone and a Fast Track which are designed to keep skaters in continuous movement. 

Submitted by Christine Benedek