On Sunday night members of the Whitehorse Rapids Speed Skating Club gathered for time trails, training, and community recognition.

The junior and senior skaters alternated sessions on the ice at the Canada Games Centre, racing against the clock and attempting to set new personal bests.

In between the races, the club held a ceremony at centre ice to recognize the contributions of the community in replacing the safety mats that were destroyed in last June's fire.

"Arsonists started a fire just a few meters from where we are standing,” Mark Ritchie, the club's communications officer, told the crowd in attendance.

"Within a matter of minutes, temperatures quickly climbed to over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The Whitehorse Fire Department responded quickly but over $6 million in damages were done.”

A portion of those damages was the destruction of 140 speed skating safety mats, valued at over $100,000.

Ritchie thanked the local community for their support in the aftermath of the fire.

"Everyone knows how quickly individuals, clubs, businesses, government departments and other organizations mobilized to replace these mats,” he said.

Within a few months, the funds were in place to replace the mats and this year's skating club is reaping the benefits.

"The season has gone pretty well,” said Stacey Pennington, coach of the novice skaters, who are preparing to compete in the Arctic Winter Games.

Many of the young athletes have competed in the Games before but this year's edition will place them at home, racing in front of friends of family.

Pennington said the factor of racing at home might contribute to some extra nerves but overall the team is excited and looking forward to the Games.

"They are looking forward to getting out there, it's a great experience for them,” she said.

The novice skaters were joined by the senior skaters and Pennington said the night's event served as a good club builder.

"It's nice for the younger kids to be able to watch the older kids race,” she said. "It gives them something to look up to and look forward to as they continue to grow in the club.”

Malcom Taggart, president of the club, also took the opportunity to thank the sponsorship and donations of the community and highlighted the generosity of an anonymous donor.

"Someone in Vancouver, who did not want to be mentioned, put forward the money for five mats so I want to extend a big thanks to them,” he said.

"I also want to thank all the businesses and the local support. It's unbelievable how fast everyone came through for us.”

In a fitting performance, each of the club's juvenile skaters set personal bests while Rasheeda Slater, a junior skater, set a new record time of 3:23.35 in the 1500 metre race.

The club will have 10 skaters competing in the Games.

Kathryn Fortune, Hanna Wirth, Daryn Lovell, and Christopher and Michael Ritchie will compete in the juvenile category.

Heather Clarke, Emily Klassen, Rasheeda Slater, Donald Fortune, and Shea Hoffman will be racing in the junior category.

Coaches Phil Hoffman and Stacey Pennington lead the skaters.

The speed skating events will begin March 5 at the Canada Games Centre.