“I think that's why meets like this are so amazing. That's because we pull kids from every district, and that might be the only time you see them in a season,” she said.
“You'll remember them, you'll remember the fun races you had, the fun laughs you had, the laughs you had at the end of the races. It goes a long way.”
“You never forget the kids you skate with, even if they live 24 hours away from you.”
Over the weekend, 121 of Western Canada's best speed skaters took part in snowboarding.
Polina Davydova, a U-13 skater from British Columbia, said tournaments like this are what brings the speed skating community together.
“I saw my dear friends Molly and Felicia from Alberta and reunited,” Davidova said.
“I saw a girl who was super fast last year. Her name is Mia from Manitoba and she is really good.
Justin Chang of Manitoba echoes that sentiment.
“It feels great to represent your county, and just skating with all your friends and meeting new people from the county was great,” he said.
Medicine Hat once had a healthy speed skating community that has seen its popularity decline during the coronavirus.
Medicine Hat has a very rich history in the sport, Speed Skating Canada's Tyler Derro said.
“Quebec in particular is very dominant, but Medicine Hat has a very rich history,” Deroux said.
“Kirsty Lay, who is a fantastic speed skater, moved on to track cycling and won an Olympic bronze medal,” he said.
“Liam McFarlane was a short track speed skater for the Medicine Hat club here. At one point, he held the unofficial world record. He was an exceptional skater and now he's a coach in Edmonton.”
“There is some rich history here and we hope we can feed the club from this event to bring out more skaters.”
Dero said the record number of participating athletes shows that the sport is not only alive and well, but that it is beginning to see a boom.
Jill Lynch, also of Speed Skating Canada, said she really embraces the camaraderie that the sport provides.
“Yes, they race each other, but they congratulate each other at the line, and they fist bump each other at the end of the race when they see each other had a great race,” Lynch said.
“Watching those friendships build [skaters] Coming back and running to friends from a county they haven't seen in a year, and watching those friendships built has been so much fun.
