Two 12-year-olds from Fort Simpson caught the eye with their performances at a Yellowknife speed skating tournament on Saturday, despite having no home ice to train on.
Ember Sibbeston and Mia Hardisty-Atkins were the village’s representatives at the Yellowknife Speed Skating Club’s annual ability meet, joining 50 or so other skaters at the city’s Ed Jeske Arena.
“They are doing incredible. I’m super, super proud of them,” said their coach, Madison Pilling, before revealing why their performances felt so impressive.
“They’ve jumped onto the ice as if they’ve been skating for at least a month already,” she said, “and it’s their very, very first day getting on the ice.”
According to the club’s website, most Yellowknife speed skaters have had access to the ice since late August or mid-September depending on their age.
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It’s now almost December and in Fort Simpson, Pilling said, the rink isn’t open yet. The Dehcho village’s arena, like many in the NWT, relies on natural ice – it doesn’t have an ice plant.
“It’s up to Mother Nature to give us our ice, so we’re always patiently waiting,” said Pilling.
“We hope that it gets in by the end of November every year, but we also have to rely on the town to put in the ice, so it’s a combination of factors.
“We just do everything we can to do supplemental training – and a lot of skating once the rink does open.”
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Sibbeston told Cabin Radio she has been going to the gym twice weekly and taking part in two sessions a week of dryland training – exercises designed to replicate, off the ice, the kinds of moves the body would go through on the ice.
Asked where that dedication came from, she said: “I just really like doing sports. I do a bunch of other sports like soccer, volleyball, snowboarding, and it’s really fun.”
Hardisty-Atkins had a similar outlook. “I played hockey and then I saw people doing speed skating, too,” she said, “so I thought I’d join it, because it looked fun.”
She described being “excited and nervous” to take part in the weekend competition. Sibbeston said she felt “pretty good” after the opening morning of racing, adding: “It’s always nice to touch the ice.”
“They’re matching their personal best times and I couldn’t be more impressed with the hard work they put in during the off-season to have these kind of results today,” said Pilling.
“It’s so impressive that they’ve just been able to pick it up like they haven’t been off the ice at all.”
