This past weekend, Whitehorse Rapids speed skaters were given the opportunity to train with one of the best in the game: former world speed skating champion, Mengyao "Maggie” Qi.

Her third session in Whitehorse this season, Qi focused on technique and performance.

"We look to Maggie for the technical aspects, taking the skaters through the motions, getting some of the technical work down,” Phil Hoffman, head coach of the Whitehorse Rapids Speed Skating Club told the Star this morning.

The technical camp was broken down to two groups — one for beginners and novices and the other for advanced speed skaters.

The novice group of about 15 skaters focused on basic foundations and skill development.

The upper group of about 19, featured several members of the 2012 Arctic Winter Games speed skating team, including Donald Fortune, Shea Hoffman, Hanna Wirth and Daryn Lovell. The group also featured nine of this year's team Alaska competitors, in town for the weekend workshop to train alongside their rivals.

Qi guided the advanced group through professional level skill development, focusing on form, stance and speed training.

"Maggie highlighted some of the technical aspects of the sport,” said Hoffman. "She taught them some new track patterns and things to try to pass or hold back other skaters.”

Even with their combined experienced, the youth skaters still had a lot to learn from the former champion.

"A lot of people, even speed skaters, are surprised by just how technical the sport is,” said Hoffman. "To get the most power as possible your body has to be perfectly aligned, you have to keep shoulders and hips in position, you have to keep pressure on the ice for maximum speed.”

The group were given a Friday session, two on-ice sessions on Saturday and Sunday as well as a Sunday morning dry-land session.

They were in good hands.

Qi, is a former member of China's National Speed Skating Team and gold medalist at the 2006 World Junior Championships.

She coaches some of Canada's premier speed skaters at the National Speed Skating Training Centre in Calgary, including Yukoner Heather Clarke, who was accepted into both the high-performance Oval Program and the National Sport School this year.

She hosted two similar training sessions in Whitehorse this season, the most recent being held in November.

"Maggie is a great trainer. I think it has to do with the different way she presents the lessons,” said Hoffman.

"She has a great way of communicating and demonstrating the lessons because has has done it herself, she's competed at the highest levels.”

Dedication and skills training is paying off for the Yukon team, said Qi.

"It's gone really well,” she told the Star last week. "This is my third time here and I have already seen a lot of improvement from the skaters that attended those camps. They've been working hard on getting better.”

Focus on core skills development has been crucial for the young athletes.

"The basic things are the most important,” she said. "You need the skills to get better. It's best to teach them those skills at a young age, because if you wait until they are 18 it can be very hard to get the basic forms down.”

The extra focus on training comes at a pivotal time for local speed skating.

The Whitehorse Rapids skaters returned to Olympic-sized ice this winter, after spending the fall training at the NHL-sized Takhini arena, a result of last June's fire at the Canada Games Centre.

The Whitehorse Rapids were among the most affected by the fire damage.

It was their crash mats which were used to ignite the blaze, leaving the centre with $5 million in damages.

Back on track after the loss, the team is preparing for the Arctic Winter Games in March.

"They're really good kids,” said Qi. "They are working really hard to improve and they should be successful.”

– With files from Sam Riches.