The Smithers Figure Skating Club recently held their year-end awards, to honour their best skaters and celebrate wins at competitions over the past season.
Winning the Bill Cromer Award for the most decicated skater was Samantha Fallows, who also passed the most tests this year, with six passed. The Program Assistant of the Year went to Taylor Foreman. The Most Improved Senior was Breanna Robertson-Matthew.
At the junior level, Rebecca Andruchow was named the Most Sportsmanlike. The Most Improved was Neve Foreman. In Pre Junior, Ylana Buhr was the Most Improved, while Brianna Lancaster won the Most Sportsmanlike award.
The CanSkaters of the Year Award went to Petra Martens, Elka Desharnais, Megan Fraser, Danile Derbyshire, Boden Derbyshire and Sarah Fillier.
Two senior skaters that are graduating from the club were also given awards. Kellsey Truscott won the Rochelle Boot Memorial Award, given to the most inspirational skater. In past years, she has also won the Bill Cromer and Most Sportsmanlike awards. Truscott passed her gold level Interpretive test this year, which with her gold level Dance and her gold Skills, makes her a Triple Gold level skater.
Smithers coach Tyler Dykens said Truscott has been a great benefit to the team, keeping smiles on everyone’s faces, while serving as an example of hard work to the younger skaters.
“Kellsey has been able to pass these tests because of her dedication and work ethic,” she said.
Dykens said Truscott was always helping out other skaters on the ice, whether it was with new skills, or helping them with something they might have been working on for a while.
“I am sure that Kellsey wasn’t aware of the impact she was having on the other skaters, but it was huge,” said Dykens.
Another graduating skater, Erika Salvati, won the Most Sportsmanlike Senior award. She has been skating with the club since age 6. Through her history with Smithers Figure Skating, she has also been awarded Most Tests Passed, several Most Sportsmanlike awards and Program Assistant of the Year.
Dykens said Salvati has been a positive influence in the dressing room, and is kind to skaters of all ages.
“Erika has been a huge asset to our club, not only as a skater, but as a role model and mentor to her peers,” she said. “She had won the Program Assistant of the Year award because of her enthusiasm, her desire to see others learn to skate, and because it was a way to give back to her sport.”
The club as a whole was also celebrating a number of medals over the past season, which culminated in the team winning the Club Aggregate trophy at their final competition, held in Terrace in April. Many of the other clubs had more than double the amount of skaters competing. The club also ran the Beauty and the Beast Ice Carnival, which drew a packed audience to the Civic Centre Arena. Dykens said the skaters’ greatest achievement for the season was their representation of the club.
“All the skaters were sportsmanlike, gracious and encouraging to all skaters,” she said.