Speed Skating Winnipeg

Prairie Challenge + Canada Winter Games Trials

Posted by mhilland1 on

December 10th & 11th

Portage la Prairire

This event is a sanctioned event and the results will be used to select the athletes for the Short Track Team for the Canada Winter Games taking place February 18th to 25th in Prince Edward Island.

Good luck Skaters!

PREPARING FOR A COMPETITION

The night before the competition, you should make sure to:

  1. Your skates are sharpened and ready for racing. Leave your skates with a coach or older skater a few days before the meet for sharpening if you can’t do it yourself.
  1. Pack your bag and make sure you have the following:
    • 2 skates
    • 2 skate guards
    • 2 knee pads
    • 2 shin pads
    • 2 gloves (cutproof preferred)
    • helmet (mandatory)
    • neck guard (mandatory)
  1. You will also need to pack a nutritious lunch and snack foods such as granola bars, fruit, and juices. A small cooler containing these items works great!

Now you can get a good night’s sleep! Avoid tension:
Arrive at the arena early and most of all RELAX!

At the rink:

  1. Find your coach when you get to the rink. They will tell you which dressing room to use and any additional information which you might need to know.
  1. There will be a warm-up for your group so ask your coach when you should be getting ready. Be careful when you are out on the ice because it gets very crowded.
  1. At least three races before your event, report to the Clerk of the Course who is at the whip area (row of chairs). Make sure you have your skates and all your safety equipment on before you go to the whip otherwise they will send you back to get them and you will be rushed! Make sure you have your neck guard – that is a commonly forgotten piece of equipment!
  1. Check the Results area for your time after each round of races you compete in and also check to see when you race again and what heat.

Good sportsmanship is important:

Regardless of how you do in your race, ALWAYS BE A GOOD SPORT! Even the best skaters in the world sometimes have great meets and sometimes not so good meets.

Take a moment after the meet to think about what you did great, what you did okay and what you want to work on at practice for the next meet.  These meets are all great learning experiences so take advantage of that!

Remember to say thank you to the officials and congratulate your fellow competitors.

REMEMBER TO HAVE FUN & TRY YOUR BEST!

Thank you to the Cambridge Speed Skating Club for allowing us to share this document!