By Lisa Parent

Western Short Track Speed Skating Championships coming to Medicine Hat this weekend

Mar 21, 2024 | 5:47 PM

This weekend the Big Marble Go Centre will be full of speed skaters from across the western provinces and territories.

The Western Short Track Championships hosted by the Medicine Hat Speed Skating Club will welcome the top 120 speed skaters at ages 11 and 12.

On Friday, athletes will train with Alberta Speed Skating Association coaches and referees. Saturday and Sunday will be competition days.

There are no Medicine Hat athletes competing, because none fall within the age group. However, Rachel Collins, a coach with the Medicine Hat Speed Skating Club, hopes that this event will entice new people to join their small club, or spark extra passion in current members.

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“We have one older skater who’s pretty excited, this is his first time getting to volunteer to a meet. He’s excited to be part of the club and help out,” Collins said.

“For our younger kids, you can really start to see that passion starting to grow. And so having such high-caliber athletes here, I think we’ll put a lot of drive into keep practicing, keep pushing hard, ’cause if you do you can get to attend events like these.”

The event is free to attend and Speed Skating Canada will be streaming the event on YouTube.