November 20, 2014 (Calgary, AB) - Nine skaters from the NWT Short Track Canada Winter Games Training Group travelled to Richmond last weekend to take part in the Western Canada Single Distance Short Track Championships at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Shane Clark, coach of the CWG Training Group, was pleased with results, which netted several personal bests among skaters and consistent racing across the board.  Daphne Cloutier and Grace Clark, both Yellowknife Speed Skating Club and the youngest members of the training group skated to personal bests in all three CWG distances.  Kristin Chapman, Ali Fleming and Camille Rourke (all Yellowknife Speed Skating Club) scored PB’s in the 1500m category, and improved their standings in their division as the meet progressed.

Lauren Eggenberger led Team NWT with the best overall placing in the meet, skating strongly in Division 1 and placing consistently in the top seven. 

Unfortunately, Madison Pilling (Fort Simpson Speed Skating Club) was injured in a fall on Saturday and had to sit out the remainder of the competition.  She is expected to be back racing by December.

On the boys’ side, Alex Robertson and Jackson Christie (both Inuvik Speed Skating Club) were able to repeat their 47-second 500m times, and gained valuable experience against other western Canada skaters.  The two boys found their greatest successes in the 1500m distance where, skating in Division 2, they both achieved top 3 finishes.

Coach Shane Clark called the competition “a huge success” as all skaters in the training group have now achieved their CWG qualifying times.  While in Richmond, the group also had a session with sport nutritionist Cristina Sutter and gained valuable information on the best nutrition choices for peak performance.

Final CWG team selection will take place in early January.

Pam Dunbar
President, NWTASSA
www.nwtspeedskating.ca