In the chilly Polar Arena in St. Anthony a small group of local teenage girls are beginning to make a name for themselves in other ends of the province.
Members of the Northern Blades Figure Skating Club came out dancing like stars last week from January 20-21 at the western regional figure skating tournament held in Deer Lake with three medals won and four girls qualifying for the upcoming provincials in Grand Fall-Windsor on March 2 and 3.
The Crystal Edge club based out of the Straits Arena in St. Barbe also fared well against the competition with three of four team members winning medals.
They were up against some tough competition from bigger cities like Corner Brook, Stephenville and Port-Aux-Basques, who get three to four times the amount of ice time than the Northern Blades and Crystal Edge clubs are allotted in St. Anthony and St. Barbe.
Allison Earle-Beaubien, the Northern Blade's coach over the past two years, said that bigger cities get in eight to 12 hours of ice time per week whereas in St. Anthony the girls must make the most out of three hours with heavy competition from other sports in town - even getting in extra hours when it becomes available at 9:30pm on school nights and at 8:30am on the day of a competition.
"It was kind of a shocker for other clubs," said Ms. Earle-Beaubien.
"I'm really proud of them. Everyone worked really hard so it's good to see all the hard work pay off."
The winners from last week were 14 year olds Ashley Hedderson and Amy Cassel, who won gold and bronze respectively in the Preliminary Women 12 years and older category.
In her first time competing in the Junior Bronze category, Victoria Warren placed fourth and will join Ashley and Amy in the provincials given that one of the medal winners in her category could not make it.
Katherine Hillier had a strong performance competing in her first year in the highly competitive Senior Bronze category with a routine that included a few double jumps to earn bronze and move on to the provincials as well.
Dayna Penney came 7 out of 19 skaters in the preliminaries for the 12 and up category.
In the introductory interpretive competition Flower Cove's Alyx Lawless placed second and her sister Tori Lawless placed third despite their club being allotted only two and a half hours per week.
Unfortunately they will not be making the trip to Grand Falls - Windsor since the introductory interpretive competition was taken out of the provincial event a few years back.
Kailey Genge of Anchor Point finished third in preliminary two and Sandi Noseworthy of Anchor Point came fourth in the preliminary for girls 13 and up.
The Northern Blades were ecstatic after their strong performances.
"We were just overwhelmed and hugged each other. We cried and we were all joyfull," said Ashley.
"We all supported each other," added Katherine.
When asked if they were excited for the big tournament in March, the girls showed their enthusiasm.
"It's going to be awesome. There are lots of girls going this year so it's going to be fun," said Ashley.
Both Katherine and Victoria won medals last year to move on to the provincials so they are able to pass on advice to Amy and Ashley, who will be taking part in the tournament for the first time.
"It's all about fun. Winning is a bonus but it's mostly for fun and experience," said Katherine.
"And meeting new people," added in Victoria.
The girls are sure to meet many others in the upcoming tournament and likely make a few heads turn to recognize the talent coming out of the region.
"They're good girls," said Ms. Earle-Beaubien.
"There's a lot of talent here and hopefully we'll get the support from the town that they deserve."
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