Richmond Rockets speed skaters took a gold and silver medal at the BC Long Track Championships in Fort St. John last weekend.
The Rockets started out the new year in winning fashion after sending out two skaters to Fort St. John; Alivia Lam in the Female Youth Division (12 and Under) and Nathalie Stewart in the Female Masters Division (30 and Over).
Alivia set a personal best in each of her distances (300m, 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m, and 3,000m), capturing the silver overall and qualifying for the TeamBC Long Track Speed Skating Team.
While Stewart also set personal bests as a master (500m, 1,000m, 1,500m, and 3,000m) and won the gold overall and qualified for the World Masters Championships in Quebec City, on Jan. 28 and 29.
Their accomplishments are even more impressive in light of the fact that they generally compete in short track.
The last time that there was a long track speed skating facility in the Lower Mainland was during the 2010 Olympics, at the Richmond Olympic Oval, while Fort St. John has an indoor long track.
The closest facility to Richmond is in Calgary, over 1,000 kilometres away.
