LITTLE CURRENT—They twirled, they swirled and in some cases they whirled, as skaters of all levels of the Skate Canada Manitoulin CanSkate and Star programs took to the ice in front of an appreciative audience at the Northeast Town recreation centre to show off the on-ice moves they have mastered during their classes.
This year’s skaters were: Shaylee Taylor, Jasmine Clark, Nikki Boyle, Brooklynn Ferguson, Kirsten Bowerman, Violet Sutherland, Morgan Dedman, Hailee Harasym, Matilda Mishibinijima, Sadie Eadie, Jaydyn Pegelo, Maria Loucks and Ava Mandigo. The Canskaters came from three Island three communities (Wiikwemkoong, M’Chigeeng and Little Current).
“It was a lot of fun,” said Abby Drolet, director of programs for Skate Canada Manitoulin. “This year was really special as our Star skaters did the choreography. Shaylee (Taylor), Jasmine (Clark) and Nikki (Boyle) took it on and did a really amazing job.”
There is a touch of the bittersweet to the trio of Star skaters’ efforts as they will be aging out this year. “They have been with me for 10 years,” said Ms. Drolet.
The Skate Canada Manitoulin late fall exhibition functions as a fundraiser for the club, but it is really all about letting the skaters get out on the ice in front of friends and family.
“It is really nice that we get to invite the schools,” she said. “This year, even though it was a snow day for the students, they still came. It’s nice for our skaters to be able to perform in front of their friends.”
One change for this year was that there was no program on the tables. “We went paperless,” laughed Ms. Drolet.
The skaters are looking forward to putting on another show this coming spring, said Ms. Drolet. “We haven’t picked a set date yet, so stay tuned.”
