Speed Skating Results

Tori (17) and sister Josie (15), members of the Kamloops River City Racers Speed Skating club, placed first and second respectively in the Junior Women’s Olympic Style category at the Provincial Long Track Speed Skating Championships held in Fort St. John over the weekend. Sara (14) and brother Eric (11) both claimed the provincial championship title in their respective age class category, juvenile girls and midget boys. This event was the first skating competition held at the newly opened indoor 400m skating oval in Fort St. John. Tori and Eric each established 4 new track records and Sara established three new records in their racing categories.

Tori and Josie have both qualified to compete at the Junior National/Canada Cup 2 olympic style long track speed skating championships in Saskatoon this coming weekend. The top juniors from this event will represent Canada at the Junior Worlds event in Russia. Sara and Eric qualified to compete at the Canadian Age Class Championships to be held in Winnipeg on February 6 and 7. Other club skaters will be taking part in a short track interclub event in Vernon on February 6th.

Alberta Long Track Results

River City Racers Sara Spence (14 yrs)skated to three provincial records and four personal best times on the weekend at the Alberta Long Track Speed Skating competition in Calgary. Sara was competing in the Juvenile female category and placed second overall with new provincial records in three of the distances she skated: 43.95 in the 500m (old record 44.22); 1:29.64 in the 1000m (old record 1:30.12) and 2:19.51 in the 1500m (old record 2:19.86).

Sara's brother Eric (11 yrs) placed first in each of his four distances capturing the overall gold medal in the midget boys division. Eric set four new personal best times and set a new provincial record in the 1000m with a new time of 1:39.23 (old record 1:44.20).

The next competition for the River City Racers is the Provincial Long Track Championships in Fort St. John this coming weekend. This will be the first championships held in their new indoor long track oval that was completed earlier this season.

Intact Speed Skating Challenge

The deadline to submit a video for the Intact Speed Skating Challenge is January 17th! This is the Third Annual Search to Find Canada's Best Speed Skating Story. River City Racer Tori Spence was the runner up in last year's competition for her video "Owen's Oval".

Along with Catriona Le May Doan, we're searching for Canada's best speed skating story. We're looking for hilarious, inspirational, action-packed, and just plain fun videos from skaters telling us about the person who inspired them to go beyond, both on and off the ice. And even if you don't have a story (and we doubt that), you can still vote for your favourites.

Check it out for yourself at http://www.intactspeedskatingchallenge.com/

And if you know of a skater, or fan of skating that would enjoy the Intact Speed Skating Challenge, please let them know what's going on.

Sincerely,
The Intact Speed Skating Challenge Team

2010 Polarthon Results

Here is the full breakdown of 2010 Polarthon results:

INDIVIDUAL

MEN
Greg Timewell - 1st 45.54
Chris Wenger (Team Foolish) - 2nd 49.01

WOMEN
Yvonne Timewell 1st 48.17

YOUTH
Eric Spence (Little Green Frog) 1st 55.35

TEAM

MEN
Brad and Darren Clark (Oilers) 1st 41.16

FAMILY
Tiffany Hornbeck and Max and Axel Hansen 1st 1:08.24
Shawn and Ethan Wenger (Terhes Talus?) 2nd 1:20.52
Lea and Dwayne Geiger and Lisa and Larura 3rd 1:27.46

MIXED
Matt Deny and Cathy and Sara Spence 1st 48.04

No practice Thursday

Due to a scheduling conflict there is no practice Thursday, January 15th.

2010 Polarthon

There were some impressive finishes in Sunday's Polarthon Challenge at Logan Lake, a winter triathlon that includes skating, cross county skiing, and running.

• Brad and Darren Clark in the men’s team event clocked the fastest time of the event in 41 minutes and 16 seconds
• Greg Timewell was the first individual man to complete the course in 45.54
• Yvonee Timewell was the top individual female finisher in 48.17
• Eric Spence (11 years of age) completed the course in 55.35 to win the Junior individual division
• In the team category Matt Deny and Cathy and Sara Spence won the mixed team event in 48.04
• A mother and son team of Shawn and Ethan Wenger won the family category in 1:20.52

Eric Spence won the best costume trophy as the ‘little green frog’.

Logan Lake LOop

The Logan Lake LOop drew speed skaters from 9 clubs across Southern British Columbia. The River City Racers Club narrowly squeaked by the Kelowna Speed Skating Club for top honours accumulating the most club points throughout the competition and winning the River City Cup Trophy.

Gold

• Matej Pederson - Peewee boys
• Gillian Michell - Bantam Girls
• Eric Spence - Midget boys
• Anneke Pederson and Sara Spence tied for top honors - Juvenile girls
• Stacie Coder - Senior women
• Brian Wallace - Master 1 males
  

Silver

• Tim Mburu - Peewee boys
• Calvin Forbes - Bantam boys
• Reed McIlwain - Midget boys

Bronze

• Alexander Willis - Peewee boys

Fourth Place

• Alex Forbes - Midget boys 

Following the LOop was a an open 100m challenge and a relay event.

Preparing for an outdoor competition

With the Logan Lake LOop coming up this weekend, here are some tips to prepare for an outdoor competition:

What to bring:

• Extra socks for skating
• Water bottle -- you still need to be hydrated even though this is an outdoor event
• Appropriate footwear to stay dry
• Skate sharpening equipment if you have it
• Rags for drying skates
• Warm clothes for when you are not skating
• Consider hot paws for those that don't like cold

What to wear:

• A neck warmer, toque and mitts. The mitts should be ones that don't absorb water quickly
• Long johns under the skin suit
• Do not have any skin showing including the ankles
  

No Speed Limit Radar Event

How fast can you skate? Come out to Owen's Oval (on the lake near the camp) at Logan Lake on January 10th to find out! Starting at 11:30 RCMP officers will be using their radar guns to track your speed and hand out speeding tickets.

The River City Racers club was successful in the recent call for proposals for Speed Skating Canada's Festivals on Ice, a program to encourage speed skating clubs and community groups across the country to host local events that encourage the general public to join them for a day of skating. It's an opportunity for people of all ages to come together in a fun, safe, and welcoming environment to experience the pure joy of skating in its many forms. So lace up your hockey, figure or speed skates and come out to Logan Lake this weekend!

Learn to Skate

The Kamloops River City Racers Learn to Skate Program begins January 12, 2010. We meet every Tuesday for 8 weeks from 4:30 – 5:15 pm at the Ice Box Arena. This program is for skaters of all ages.

To register contact Cathy @ 250-374-5430 or speedskatingkamloops@shaw.ca

Still time to register for Polarthon!

Logan Lake LOop

From River City Racers

The 4th Annual Logan Lake Loop Invitational Long Track competition is fast approaching! Experience Speed Skating as it used to be -- outdoors on natural ice! The purpose of this event is to give southern skaters exposure to outdoor long track skating without having to travel great distances. Our goal is to provide a friendly and fun event with fast ice.

When: January 9, 2010
Where: Owen's Oval (on Logan Lake)
Hosted by: Kamloops River City Racers Speed Skating Club
Meet Coordinator: Diana Coder 250 374 3719
Entry Fee: $25.00 Peewee and up. Cradles $15.00. Please bring on cheque per club, and all meet entry forms together at registration. 
Entry Closing Date: 8:00 pm, Monday January 4th, 2010. E-mail list of registrants to speedskatingkamloops@shaw.ca (one excel spreadsheet/club)
Eligible skaters: Cradle to Masters 
Seed Time: Midgets and down 333m, Juvenile and up 500m, Cradles 111m
Format: Age Class. If there is less than 4 skaters in an age class these skaters will be combined with the closest age class of the same gender but not to exceed 7 on a line. Skaters in these combined divisions will continue to receive points based on their registered age class. If there is more than 7 skaters in an age class heats will be skated. Only the top 6 skaters will advance to the final.

Races will start with the Pee Wee Division and work up. Cradles will be skated around 12:30 or just before lunch. We hope to run three distances for each skater and include the fourth and longest distance if time permits.

Schedule of Events
8:00 – 8:30 Registration
9:00 Coaches and Officials Meeting
9:15 – 9:45 Skater's Warm-up
10:00 – 4:30 Racing
12:30 – 1:00 Lunch (Officials go to Curling Rink)
4:30 – 5:00 Award presentation