Former world speed skating champion Mengyao "Maggie” Qi will return to Whitehorse to impart her technical wisdom during development camps this weekend.

Qi's second trip to the Yukon coincides with the Whitehorse Rapids Speed Skating Club's long-awaited return to the ATCO rink after a June fire closed the Canada Games Centre's Olympic ice surface until last week.

She first visited Whitehorse for camps last January in the lead up to the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, N.S.

The camp this weekend will consist of two sessions from 6-9 p.m. Friday, and continue with five sessions on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on both days. The camp is targeted at skaters of all ages who already have some skating ability.

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.

As the short track speed skating coach at the Olympic Oval, Qi specializes in fundamental skating techniques, starting tactics and racing strategies.

"My job coming to Whitehorse is to deliver the latest techniques – the same techniques that the skaters at the Olympic Oval are working on,” she said.

Whitehorse Rapids coach Phil Hoffman said he could see slight changes in his skaters the last time Qi visited.

That's why he's invited her back for a camp at the end of January in the lead-up before the 2012 Arctic Winter Games, which are scheduled to be held in Whitehorse from March 4-10.

"It's hard to improve your technique just over a couple of days,” Hoffman said, adding of this weekend: "We'll be doing a lot of technique stuff, because she is quite good at getting skaters to improve their technique.”

She's also good at teaching local coaches, Hoffman pointed out.

"That's one thing that I try to do while she's here: watch what she's doing, try it and see how she's incorporating that into what she's doing with the skaters,” he said.

Qi's visit also comes before the Arctic Winter Games (AWG) speed skating trials,

which are scheduled for Dec. 4 at the Canada Games Centre.

Hoffman pointed out there are still spots available for males and females in the Juvenile (11-13 years) and Junior (14-19 years) groups.

Hockey players or figure skaters could easily make the transition to speed skating if they're interested, Hoffman added. The upcoming camp with Qi will make a good opportunity for prospective AWG skaters to try out one of the fastest sports on ice.

"This weekend would be a good time to start,” Hoffman said of the AWGs. "This is the time you want to do it. You want to do it in advance of that.”

Whitehorse Rapids skaters are returning to the Olympic-sized ice after training this fall on the NHL-sized Takhini Arena surface.

While the speed skaters were just one of the sports affected by last summer's fire, the club continues to be hampered by a lack of crash mats.

All 140 mats were damaged in the fire. Fund-raising efforts began last summer to replace the mats, the total cost for which was estimated at $100,000.

Hoffman said the Yukon Amateur Speed Skating Association has received the adequate funding to purchase the 100 mats necessary to return to full-speed training but are waiting on the orders.

"We're just about at our fund-raising target, now it's just a matter of being made and delivered.”

The group is currently using 57 mats, he said. The 100-mat mark should be reached by December. Hoffman projected that by the AWGs all 140 should be replaced.

"It's nice to be back on the full-sized ice,” Hoffman said. "The biggest hold back is not having enough mats to do things. But being on the bigger ice gives you a bit more time.”