The Takhini Heartbeaters skipping club sent athletes to the Canadian championships for the first time this past weekend, where they found out the Yukon can hold its own against the other provinces and territories.

The mixed team of Tyler Wiens, Amanda Keleher, Erin Borgford and Taylor Forsgren placed fourth overall at the nationals, missing out on a bronze medal by just one point.

'We ended up with 783 points and the bronze medal team had 784, that's how close we were,' smiled coach Judy Ratcliffe, who made the trip along with judge Christine Borgford. 'That made us really proud.'

Ratcliffe said the competition, which was held in Edmonton this year, wasn't very well organized and competitors were stuck waiting hours for their events.

'The days were really long,' said said. 'We got there at 7:30 in the morning and didn't leave until 6:30 at night, and we spent an awful lot of that time waiting, so it's hard to keep your focus.'

The teams were put up in dorms at the University of Alberta, where Wiens said the beds 'were rock hard,' but overall it was a good experience for the Yukon crew.

Forsgren was the lone athlete from the territory to take part in the individual portion of the competition, and she finished sixth in the 10-11 year old category, out of about 40 people from across the country.

She was second in the single freestyle event and had personal bests in all the others.

'I beat all my goals (posted on the Takhini gym wall),' said the quiet youngster. 'I think I did pretty good.'

'Taylor can certainly rise to the occasion,' added Ratcliffe. 'She's got the competitive drive.'

The best event for the mixed team were the pairs freestyle, where they placed first overall in the 12-14 year old mixed category. They were also second in double dutch pairs freestyle and second in double dutch pairs speed.

The strongest teams at the nationals were from B.C., which the Yukon group face on a yearly basis at provincials.

If they can keep up with B.C. at provincials from now on, Ratcliffe said it would be a good sign of how well they could do on a national level.

The local skippers also learned a lot from the older age groups at nationals, who use a lot of acrobatics and gymnastics in their routines.

'It was awesome,' said Wiens. 'They did back flips and front flips.

'We need to get the donkey kick in our routine.'

Ratcliffe said the one thing that became clear over the weekend was the importance of a clean routine if you want to place in the top five on a regular basis. All of the top three finishes for the Yukon group came following completely clean routines.

Also, there are minimum requirements in the teams events, with three intermediate and two advanced tricks necessary, and the local skippers didn't get one of the requirements done in an event.

'So I think we really need to work on being solid and consistent with required elements,' said Ratcliffe.

Those are all things the skippers will work on before next years nationals in Montreal, which they hope to attend.

Ratcliffe said it will ultimately be up to the parents to decide if the athletes can afford to make the trip, but now that they know they can compete at the national level, it would be nice to keep going.

If the Heartbeaters continue to improve on the skipping scene, the next step would probably be a citywide skipping club. Right now, there is also a club at Jack Hulland Elementary School, but they don't travel to Outside competitions.

Ratcliffe said while it would be great if there was a citywide club initiated, new people would have to step up and organize it, since she and the few others who have been running the Heartbeaters for years are just about burnt out.

But for now, the Heartbeaters will get set to compete together once again next year.

The current mixed team will lose Keleher this fall, as she heads into Grade 8. But Ratcliffe believes she has a good core left in Wiens, Borgford and Forsgren.

The coach hopes to once again bring in a dance instructor next year, to help the squad with their form and some new moves. Ratcliffe may also try to get a gymnastics coach to work with the kids.

While the competitive portion of the season is over, the team will perform at a couple of Whitehorse-area events over the summer, including next month's Relay for Life and possibly the City of Whitehorse's annual pancake breakfast.