News Archive
September to December 2011
Belleville Silver Regional
A dozen members of the Kingston Striders Speed Skating Club participated in the Silver Level Regional Short Track Speed Skating meet held in Belleville on Sunday October 16. Alexander Petznick, 5, was the youngest competitor of the meet skating in the Cradle division, while Darren Dykstra, 41, represented Kingston in the Special Olympics division. Every Kingston skater posted personal best times, and three skaters managed to reach the podium in their respective events. Sarah Ball, 13, won a bronze medal in the Bravo grouping; Aliya Howard, 11, took the silver medal in the Echo grouping; and Nicholas Symons, 9, earned a silver medal in the Golf grouping. Sarah currently ranks 3rd provincially in the Juvenile girls division, while Aliya is ranked 1st among Midget girls in Ontario. Sarah and Aliya are joined by teammates Julia Patterson, Laura Ball, Sarah Shires, and Alexander Arellano in qualifying for the Gold Level Ontario Cup series. Ontario Cup competitors earn points in order to qualify for provincial championships, which will be held in Kingston on February 25-26, 2012.
Ontario Cup #1 – Cambridge
The first Gold Level Ontario Cup speed skating event of the season was held in Cambridge over the weekend of October 29-30, assembling the fastest youth skaters from more than 20 clubs throughout the province. Three members of the Kingston Striders Speed Skating Club were in attendance, with two skaters reaching the podium in this age-class competition. Sarah Ball, 13, skated consistently throughout the weekend, earning a bronze medal in the Juvenile girls’ category, while Aliya Howard, 11, overcame a fall in the first round of competition to capture the bronze medal in the Midget girls’ category. Also skating was Laura Ball, Midget girls. On the same dates, teammate Sarah Shires, 16, was in Cleveland, Ohio for the second event in the American Cup season. Shires posted a 6th place finish in a field of 21 young women from across North America.
Kingston Ladder Meet
November 15, 2011 – Congratulations to all Striders who participated in our annual ladder meet! Personal bests abounded! Skating for Kingston were Sarah S, Sarah B, Aliya, Laura, Alex T, Alex A, Meghan, Darren, Julia, Seamus, Brennoch, Nicholas, Mathieu, Paul, William and Sandy.
Ontario Cup #2 – Newmarket
Four members of the Kingston Striders Speed Skating Club were in action in Newmarket over the weekend of November 19-20, at the second Gold Level Ontario Cup meet of the season. The top-ranked competitors from 25 clubs throughout Ontario were invited to this age-class meet, the second in a series qualifying skaters for Provincial Championships.
Aliya Howard, 11, was a strong contender in the Midget girls division, skating personal best times in two of three distances and ultimately earning a gold medal for her efforts. Sarah Shires, 16, proved herself a force to be reckoned with, as she took on the province’s fastest skaters in the Junior women’s division. Skating several photo-finish races, Shires reached the podium in the silver medal position.
Also in attendance were Sarah Ball, 13, who competed in the Juvenile girls division and Laura Ball, 11, a Midget girl skater. The Ball sisters each posted personal best times in all three of their competitive distances, which improve their standing on the Provincial ranking list.
The Kingston Striders Gold Level skaters are in action once again in Clarington on December 17th for Ontario Cup 3, and each stands an excellent chance of competing in Provincial Championships, to be held in Kingston on February 25 and 26, 2012.