Time to lace em’up for another skating season
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- Published on Wednesday, August 29, 2018
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Neepawa Figure Skating Board
What do Matt Duchene, Ivanie Blodin, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir all have in common?
They all have been to the Olympics in their respected sports, but did you know they are also all graduates of the CanSkate program in their communities and you can be too right here in Neepawa!
The CanSkate program is Canada’s best and longest running Learn-to-Skate program. It introduces a healthy, lifelong sport to kids at any age whether you want wish to compete or just improve your hockey or skating skills. The curriculum for this program is based on Sport Canada’s long term athlete development (LTAD) principles and was designed with all ice sports in mind.
Contrary to popular belief CanSkate doesn’t teach figure skating skills. CanSkate teaches the foundation skills that all types of skaters need to be successful in their sport. Whether it’s hockey, ringette, speed-skating or a figure skating, the CanSkate program teaches the basic skills one needs to learn in order to be successful. You learn to balance on your skates by falling down and getting up, doing slalom around pylons or learning proper forward and backward crossovers. You learn how to be in control on your skates by skating backward, gliding on one or two feet and how to stop a variety of different ways. You also learn how to be agile on your feet. In this ribbon and badge program, there are six levels all with different skills to master in the three categories of balance, control and agility. Skaters can move throughout these different levels all at their own pace on circuits full of teaching aids, upbeat music and a wide variety of activities that are designed to accommodate multiple different levels at once.
In the higher levels there are specific hockey skills, ringette, speed skating and figure skating skills that a skater must achieve depending on what sport they are in. This encourages skaters to work on the skills specific to their sport in order to improve on their individual skills. On top of all this the CanSkate program is taught by a nationally certified coach (NCCP coach) who is trained specifically in teaching the mechanics and proper technique of basic skating.
All coaches are assisted by trained program assistants and the program ensures a 1:10 coach/program assistant to skater ratio or lower. To participate all you need are skates, a CSA-approved hockey helmet, long pants, mittens, warm sweater or jacket. Be a part of the fun – join a Skate Canada club today and learn to skate with CanSkate! Neepawa’s CanSkate program is Fridays from 6:00-6:45 p.m. at the Yellowhead Centre from October to March.
Another great program that Neepawa Figure Skating Club manages is the Synchronized Skating teams. Synchronized skating is a sport where 8-20 skaters (depending on level and age) skate together as one team. The team moves together while completing footwork all the same time. Neepawa is known for having strong synchronized skating teams in Manitoba and is coached by a nationally certified coach (NCCP coach). Synchro skating is a great way to improve skating skills while having a fun time. Currently Neepawa’s teams range from CanSkate levels up to a high competitive level.
Registration for Neepawa Figure Skating Club’s skating programs will be held at the Yellowhead Centre on Wednesday, Aug. 29 from 5:00-9:00 p.m. during the Fall Registration event. If interested in joining, please contact Jamie Ellis, Cynthia Chartrand or Kim Smith.
