The Cochrane Skating Club had fairly good representation at this past weekend's 2019 Chinook Open Invitational Competition in Lethbridge.

Twenty figure skaters from our local figure skating club attended the three-day competition (March 1st to 3rd) which attracted over 600 competitors from all over Alberta and some British Columbia clubs. With STARSkate championships in Airdrie only a few weeks away, the girls' incredible effort shined on the ice. 

Kaitlyn Eiserman won a Silver medal for her Bronze interpretive performance.

Coach Karen Allison shares exceptional results were seen over the three days. "We had a really good weekend in Lethbridge with a few learning opportunities moving into STARSkate, which is good. We had three skaters skate up a level which is always good to get those programs in front of the judges and get some feedback on paper. We also had some personal best scores which are always great to highlight as well. Overall a really great weekend."

Allison says she was also happy with performances by the Club's younger competitors. "Our STAR kids also did extremely well and represented our club well. We had fourteen of our junior and intermediate skaters attend, and they had a really good showing as well as really enjoyed themselves."

Encouraging the skaters to continue to work hard and challenge themselves throughout the season is echoed by the entire coaching team. "We had a couple of girls start this season in one level, and now one of them has competed in two competitions up a level, and two others just bumped up a level in this past one. We have another competition simulation with a technical specialist coming up on Saturday so it is another opportunity for them to get out there and perform and get judge feedback which will be really prefatory before STARSkate the weekend of March 23rd. We will be really training hard for the next two weeks, doing lots of program run-throughs, goal setting, program tracking, accountability tracking...lots of things that keep these skaters accountable and watching their progress on the ice."

The skaters will continue to work hard over the next few weeks as they prepare to compete in the 2019 STARSkate and Adult Championships from March 22nd through 24th in Airdrie. "That is where our entire section of skaters will be represented; so the groups per level are very large, usually well over 60 skaters per event. It is a great way to see where you are within the bigger picture of the province, and I think everyone's goals are to be middle of the pack or higher and have their best skates at STARSkate."

Results for this past weekend's competition are listed below:

Star 1:

  • Julia Fraser-Silver ribbon
  • Katelynn Kurkowsky-Bronze 
  • Sophia Prokopchuk-Bronze ribbon
  • Paige Shiner-Bronze ribbon

Star 2:

  • Shiloh Ballak-Silver ribbon
  • Rose Fraser-Silver ribbon
  • Bentley Halliday-Silver ribbon
  • Piper Halliday-Silver ribbon
  • Feiyha McLean-Bronze ribbon
  • Clair Moore-Silver ribbon
  • Jocelyn Peters-Bronze ribbon

Star 3:

  • Ellie Allison-Silver ribbon
  • Mackenzie Cann-Gold ribbon
  • Danika Jones-Silver ribbon

Star 5 U13:

  • Alexis Brassington-5th
  • Kaitlyn Eiserman-6th  
  • Lauren Rowsell- 7th 

Star 6:

  • Evelyn Archibald-Gold medal
  • Taylor Kaarto-Silver medal 

Star 7:

  • Evelyn Archibald-8th 
  • Taylor Kaarto-4th 

Star 9:

  • Mairyn Dumanowski-8th

Gold Free Skate: 

  • Mairyn Dumanowsky-5th 

Bronze Interpretive:

  • Kaitlyn Eiserman- Silver medal 

Star 5 team:

  • Alexis Brassington, Lauren Roswell & Kaitlyn Eiserman-Silver

Star 8 team:

  • Taylor Kaarto & Evelyn Archibald -Gold