Connaught Skating will be well-represented at next month’s B.C. Winter Games in Penticton.
Six skaters from the Richmond club have earn the right to represent Zone 5 (Vancouver Coastal) based on their performances at the B.C. Yukon Sectional Championships.
Caitlin Tai (12), Phoebe Yan (11) and Mary Jo Yun (13) will be competing in the Pre-Novice category. The Juvenile category will feature Wesley Chiu (10), Michelle Wang (11) and Samantha Yeung (10).
Connaught was a major force in the younger age groups of Sectionals as Yeung and Wang finished second and fourth respectively in the 26 skater Juvenile U12 category while Chiu captured the Juvenile Men’s division.
“With the way the zone (teams) are broken up, Richmond is grouped with Vancouver,” explained Connaught director of programs Keegan Murphy. “To get selected to the Games is very, very difficult. This (zone) is really the hotbed for skating in B.C. The fact we have six kids going speaks to how well they did at the provincial championships.
“This is like a mini-Olympics for them. It’s a really nice stepping stone for all of that stuff. They all will be in the hunt for medals in their respective levels.”
Meanwhile, two of Connaught’s senior skaters are in Halifax this week for the Canadian Tire National Championships.
Former national junior men’s champion Mitchell Gordon will be skating for the third time in the senior men’s division, looking to improve on his eighth place finish from a year ago.
Gordon earned his ticket to the Maritimes by also placing eighth at last month’s Skate Canada Challenge in Edmonton.
Joining him will be Danica Vangsgaard in the Novice Women’s Division after she placed 13th among 60 skaters at Challenge.
