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Skating extravanganza shows high calibre performances

Local skater Bau just missed out on advancing the Skate Canada Challenge in Montreal
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Oceanside Place drew nearly 210 figure skaters last weekend to compete in the 2017 B.C.-Yukon Sectional Championships.

Representing 25 clubs throughout BC-Yukon region, the participants, who included national team members from B.C., treated fans to high-calibre short routine and free program performances while competing for a spot in the Skate Canada Challenge to be held Nov. 29-Dec. 3, in Montreal.

“The event was a huge success,” said Launie Elves, president of the local Sandy Shores Skating Club, which assisted Skate Canada in organizing the major event Nov. 9-12. “It ran smoothly due to the incredible volunteers. We have some amazing club members and skaters at Sandy Shores that volunteered their time to help at the competition. Over 90 per cent of the volunteer time was covered by people in our community, which I am so grateful for.”

Sandy Shores had four of its skaters vying for honours at the championships. Leading the way was Olivia Bau, who competed in the women’s novice category.

“Our club standout was Olivia Bau in her free program, where she had a clean skate and finished 5th for an overall placement of 8th,” said Elves. “She just missed out on advancing to (Skate Canada) challenge.”

In the short program Bau ranked 10th and ended up in eighth place overall out of 20 competitors. She was just a couple of points away from advancing to the Skate Canada Challenge, as the top six skaters qualify and the seventh-place skater serves as the alternate.

In the juvenile ladies under-14 category, Sandy Shore’s Tabitha Devaughn finished 17th, while Alice Terada ended up in 30th place.

In the pre-novice ladies event, Kate Cameron was 23rd in the short program and 32nd in the free program to finish 31st overall.

The Skate Canada Challenge determines which skaters will advance to the Canadian Tire National Championships, to be held in Vancouver, Jan. 8-14.



Michael Briones

About the Author: Michael Briones

I rejoined the PQB News team in April 2017 from the Comox Valley Echo, having previously covered sports for The NEWS in 1997.
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