Estevan welcomed skating clubs from around the area to participate in regionals on Saturday, with over 60 participants taking part.

Estevan Skating Club President, Shawna Nielsen said, “We wanted to showcase our great rink, but each town in our region usually takes a turn hosting and Estevan happened to be this year.” 

They last hosted a couple of years ago for the Winter Classic. Skating clubs from Milestone, Wawota, Oxbow, Indian Head and Melville all participated in the events.

The skating season began in the fall with most skaters training since September or October. On average they train for about 5 hours a week; however, that is dependent on their age.

Estevan Skating Club Head Coach Ashley Piper said, “To go to a competition for a star 2, and that’s usually where we start, they have to land all their jumps up to their flip jump and have either a sit spin or a camel jump.”

Izzy Fonstad a skater from Estevan Skating Club explained that while preparing for the competition she realized that she was able to better connect with lyrical music instead of instrumental. 

The skaters competed in free skate which is a choreographed routine to music and creative improv which is when the skater only hears their music minutes before hitting the ice, and they create a routine on the spot.

One of the toughest categories was the Elements category. "They’ll stand by the boards and perform elements in isolation for the judges, and then get feedback on it,” said Piper.

Ameilia McQuoid, a participant from the Estevan Skating Club, said she was nervous about the competition, but it went really well. Her favourite part of skating was the friendships and excitement that comes from it.