Sixty-four of the best short track speed skaters in Canada are doing more than just trying to earn a spot on the national team in Sudbury.
They're looking to make a big impression on the local
group of young skaters known as the Sudbury Sprinters.
The 2007 Canadian Open Short Track Sped Skating Championships are being contested at the Countryside Arena. Skaters are attempting to make national roster spots for future World Cup events and get their names out there for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games (OWG). The event starts Thursday and runs until Saturday.
Even though none of them have ever really spent a lot of
time in Sudbury, they all realize there's more at stake
than getting the right to represent Canada in international
competitions.
They want to leave the Sudbury skaters with a sense of
pride, professionalism and what it takes to be am elite speed
skater.
Kitchener's Amanda Overland is one of these skaters.
Overland won a silver medal at the 2006 OWG in the relay. She
also holds the Canadian record in the 1,000-metre race.
"It's important for us to be here, competing at a high
level, especially with the Sudbury Sprinters trying to get
established," said the 2005 Canadian Female Short Track Skater
of the Year. "It's exciting for us to compete in front of
young skaters who have the same dreams we had. I was talking to
some people from the club and they're all so pumped to have
us here. The young skaters need to see us skating and realize
what they can achieve one day if they keep working at it."
Overland hopes she inspires at least one young athlete to keep
pursuing the speed skating dream.
"I was at the club level once...I know where the young skaters
are coming from," said Overland. "I used to skate with a chair
in front of me because I had no balance. Now, I am one of the
best skaters in the country."
The skaters have been impressed with the welcome they have
received in Greater Sudbury.
"The rink here is tremendous," said Charles Hamelin, a 2006 OWG
silver medal winner in the relay. "The organization has been
great and so have the people. The best skaters in Canada are
here and the competition is serious...it's action the fans
don't want to miss."
Day passes are available at the doors at Countryside Arena.
