Talented skaters from Cochrane and surrounding areas assembled at the SLS Centre to prove their skills on the ice with the Cochrane Skating Club’s second annual Rocky Mountain Round-Up that took place on Dec. 16.
The club hosted 65 skaters all from Cochrane and surrounding communities for a 1 to 3 Star competition in element, solo, and creative events.
Bre Halliday, president of the Cochrane Skating Club, said everyone in the club is proud of their skaters’ performances.
“All our skaters did incredibly well,” Halliday said. “I think the coaches were just so proud of the club as a whole. Everyone really brought their game, where skaters were super excited to be there.”
As a non-profit organization, Halliday said the entire club is ran by past and present parent volunteers, which helps keep costs down. Through the Round-Up, it helps raise money to keep ice skating accessible and affordable to athletes in the community.
“By running these types of competitions, it helps us to make sure that we keep our fees down,” Halliday said. “We know how expensive it is [and] I’m sure everyone is aware of how expensive it is right now to live, and we really want to promote positivity.”
As an accredited program run through Skate Canada, Halliday said it offers foundational skating skills from the ground-up.
“We really teach children how to skate and the fundamental skills in respect to that before figure skating, if that’s what they decide to do, or sending them to a hockey camp,” Halliday said. “It’s not just about figure skating, it’s all about the overall tools and stability to skate, period.”
With last year’s event behind them, Halliday said the club is already gearing up for this year’s event.
“We definitely want people to take notes and we’re hoping to get out a little earlier so people can swing by and watch,” she said. “It’s really cool to see some of these kids, how much they developed, and how hard they worked to showcase their skills.”
Halliday said she would like to give a special thanks to the Cochrane Skating Club board and coaches who all worked tirelessly to bring the event together.
