The Richmond Rockets speed skating club thrived on home ice at the V-Rooom Challenge III, held at the Olympic Oval.
The competition served as a qualifier for this weekend’s B.C. Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Abbotsford. A club record 12 Rockets will be making the trek to the Fraser Valley thanks to their performances.
“It is our 10th anniversary this year and as a small club of 32 skaters, placing 12 skaters at provincials is quite an accomplishment,” said Rockets coach Nathalie Stewart.
It was an excellent meet for Avery Quinn who skated the fastest 200m pursuit and earned a set of gold, silver and bronze medals. Quinn also recorded three personal best (PB) times.
Lan-Vi Nguyen dominated her division — earning three gold and a silver. She also skated to a PB over 1500m. Another Richmond skater, Boston Mah, captured a pair of gold in the Performance Division and beat his 1500m PB time by an impressive nine seconds.
For Quinn and Mah the provincial championships are a step closer to earning a spot on the B.C. team that will be competing in the Canada West Short Track Championships later in March.
Many other Richmond skaters won individual medals and improved their PBs in the process.
