Practice Ice Times:
We will be skating twice a week at Sun Gro Centre in Beausejour.
- Wednesday 5:45 – 6:45 pm starting Oct. 1, 2008
- Saturday 8:15 – 9:15 am starting Oct. 4, 2008 (click the Calendar tab on left to verify... sometimes our times may vary)
Equipment:
You will need the following equipment to speed skate (short track).
- Short track speed skates (available for rent)
- Helmet. For practice, this can be a speed skating helmet, cycling helmet, hockey helmet or ski helmet. For competing at sanctioned meets, only a speed skating helmet will be allowed. For competing at ability meets, any of the above-mentioned helmets would work.
- Gloves. Leather or Kevlar gloves.
- Neck guard. The type with a bib is required.
- Shin guards and kneepads. You can use soccer shin guards as they provide good protection, and are small and light weight. The hard plastic type provide the best protection. Kneepads can be the soft type that are used for volleyball or the hard type that are used for roller blading and skate boarding.
- Clothing: Comfortable fitting clothing. Tight but stretchable material is best. Speed skating skin suits work great. To start with, running tights work well for the bottom half. Skin should not be showing (only the face). We have a club designed skin suit available for just over $100.
AGM:
We held our last Annual General Meeting in 2008 Spring where we established a Board to run the club for the 2008-2009 season. We will hold a Semi-Annual General Meeting mid-October (date TBA) to invite new member to our Board. We strongly encourage you to join.
Upcoming Speed Skating Meets:
There are several speed skating competitions in Manitoba throughout the winter that all members are invited to attend. There are ability and age class meets.
- Ability Meets:
The majority of meets are developmental in nature. This means that kids skate with kids their own speed. Age and gender do not matter at the ability meets. Adults will skate against adults only. The first ability meet is late October in Souris. The Beausejour ability meet is scheduled on 2008 November 30, 12:00 – 5:15 pm at Sun Gro Centre. There will be a small fee charged per ability meet ($10/skater).
- Age Class Meets:
Age class meets are utilized at the provincial and national levels. Age classes are:
· Cradle: under 6
· Peewee: 6-7
· Bantam: 8-9
· Midget: 10-11
· Juvenile: 12-13
· Junior: 14-15
· Intermediate: 16-17
· Senior: 18-29
· Master1: 30-39
· Master2: 40-49
· Master3: 50-59
· Master4: 60-69
· Master5: 70+
Ages are determined as of June 30th prior to competition.
Short Track vs. Long Track:
We are a short track club because we will be skating on arena ice on a 111.11-meter track. However, much of the skills you will acquire on the short track can be used for long track speed skating. An outdoor long track 400-meter oval is located in Winnipeg at Sargent Park, Susan Auch Oval and consists of natural ice that is ready for use in early December. We will have access to skate long track at that time. More details on long track will be provided at a later date.
Fundraising:
In 2007, we were fortunate to receive $16,000 grant funding from Speed Skate Canada to start our club. This money was used to purchase speed skates and safety mats. However, to be a successful club we must continue to use fundraising as a source of income.
This year we will participate in various fundraising activites. We are required to send one (sometimes two) volunteer to work a Bingo at Winnipeg Casinos approximately 8 times per year. We will also hold a skate-a-thon in February to raise funds. We will hold a silent auction at our November ability meet and ask each member to donate an auction item. There may be other events planned, and we welcome any fundraising ideas that members have worked with at other venues, and look forward to working together to make our fundraising projects successful.
"Come Try Speed Skating":
The "Come Try Speed Skating" was held at Sun Gro Centre on 2008 September 21 from 9:45 to 11:45 AM. Sorry you missed it... but it's never too late to try speed skating. We accept new members at any time during the season (rates can be pro-rated). You can try it for free during one of our practices (click on Calendar on left side for times). We will provide speed skates and some basic instruction. It is great fun. If you are interested in trying it, call Stuart at 204-755-2922 to set it up. You will need to bring a helmet and gloves. Give it a try!
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