NEWS

Northern Regionals - Mackenzie, Feb. 27-28, 2010

Thirteen members of the Fort St John Elks Speed Skating Club travelled to Mackenzie this past weekend to attend the WorkSafeBC Northern Regional Championships.  It is a two-day age class event, hosted by a northern club,  primarily for skaters who have not yet qualified for provincials.  The Olympic spirit was  going strong so in between watching Denny going for gold in his team pursuit and the start of the gold medal hockey game, we were able to watch some very fun and exciting races.  There were many personal bests skated and four skaters achieved their provincial times:   Michelle Kalkman, Nyam Newlove, Ben Maxfield and Connor Johnson.

Individual results are as follows: 

Juvenile Male Regional 1

Connor Johnson – Gold – 5 Personal Bests (PB’s 

Midget Male Regional 1

Ben Maxfield – Gold – 6 PB’s Colton Johnson – 4th – 1 PB

Midget Female Regional 1

Theresa Martins – Silver – 6 PB’sMadelyn June – Bronze – 1 PB 

Bantam Female Regional 1

Eryn Stickel – Bronze – 4 PB’s

Pee Wee Male Regional 1

Nyam Newlove – Silver – 5 PB’sJoshua Telizyn – Bronze – 3 PB’s 

Pee Wee Female Regional 1

Michelle Kalkman – Gold – 7 PB’sAmanda Mitchell – Silver – 4 PB’s 

Cradles

Matthew Mitchell – 4th – 6 huge PB’s 

Exhibition – Juvenile Mixed

Rachel Kalkman – 8th – 3 PB’s 

Exhibition – PeeWee

Yuna Lovell – 2nd – 4 PB’s

Peace River Challenge – November 7, 2009

Please see results page for complete info.  Personal bests are highlighted in yellow. 

Special congratulations to Madelyn June and Nyam Newlove for achieving Regional I times during this competition. 

Also congratulations to Rowan Knowles, a new skater, who skated a personal best time in every one of her 7 races. 

Edmonton Fall Classic ST - Oct 23-25

Thirteen members of the Elks Speedskating club travelled to Edmonton over the weekend to participate in a competition.  It was a big meet with over 200 skaters, including many of the top short track skaters from Western Canada.

It was a good meet for the local club, with all the skaters looking good in the early season.  Of particular note was Mitch Kupchanko, who has looked sharp early skating against very tough competition from the oval program in Calgary. 

Results:

Div 2      Mitch Kupchanko             11th

Div 3      Kayne Dressler                  5th

Div 4      Jamie Lee                            6th

Div 8      Rick Lee                                1st

Div 9      Connor Johnson               9th           3 Personal Bests (PB’s)

Div 10    Ben Maxfield                     5th           5 PB’s

Div 11    Rachel Kalkman                6th           4 PB’s

Kyle Lyth                              8th           1 PB

Renee Kalkman                13th         5 PB’s

Div 13    Theresa Martins               11th             3 PB’s

Div14     Michelle Kalkman            8th                 4 PB’s

Eryn Stickel                         9th           2 PB’s

Details on the Enerplex Opening September 16

The first ever scheduled use in the City of Fort St John’s newest recreation facility, the Enerplex, will be September 16, 2009.   The Elks Speed Skating Club is scheduled to use one of the 1st floor rinks for their Short Track practice at 6:30am. 

During this exciting time of firsts for the Enerplex, the City again cautions the public that while the facility will be in use as of September 16, only the first floor will be open.  The Oval on the second floor and the track on the third floor are still undergoing the last phases of construction and will remain closed to public access throughout the month of September and into early October.  The City will release details of the upper floors opening in the near future.

Access to the Enerplex and parking will only be permitted at the rear of the facility.  Vehicles can only access the Enerplex site from 100th Street past the North Peace Museum, Skate Park, and Business Resource Centre. (adjacent to Centennial Park) Patrons scheduled to use the facility are asked to use caution and watch for appropriate signage.

The official Grand Opening date is set for November 27 when all three floors are scheduled to be completely operational and safe for public access.  Phased use will continue to be implemented over the coming months and the public is asked to watch for more information to come.

Enerplex soft opening is underway

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Photo: Speed skaters glide on the pristine ice at the Enerplex on Wednesday morning - submitted.

A group of speed skaters from the Elks Speed Skating Club were the first to try out the ice at the Enerplex on Wednesday.  At around 6:30a.m., skaters laced up their skates and practiced short track on the N-H-L sized rink. Now, the City is reminding the public that the facility is only open for pre-scheduled events on the first floor. The parking lot is still under construction and access and parking will only be permitted at the rear of the facility.

Vehicles can only access the Enerplex from 100th Street past the North Peace Museum, Skate Park, and Business Resource Centre. Patrons scheduled to use the facility are asked to use caution and watch for appropriate signage. For more information contact Debbie Callison, Recreation Manager via email at dcallison@fortstjohn.ca or at 250-787-8150 ext 6243.

Information Station