Skip to content

Local figure skater named provincial champion

Mitchell Dunn, 12, shows drive and ambition
10915457_web1_180309-QCO-mitchell-dunn_2

Mitchell Dunn is a serious competitor in the figure skating world. Not just with his increasing STARSkate scores, but with persistent spirit.

At just 12 years old, Dunn has the skills and tenacity to take him far into the competitive realm of the sport.

He began STARSkate at seven, after having watched his sister Grace take the ice with such artistic flair.

“I tried hockey,” Dunn says, “but I didn’t like it.”

It’s the art of figure skating Dunn appreciates, and the challenge it gives him as a solo competitor. He recently placed second at the STARSkate Super Series event in Kelowna, and his accumulated points for the season mean he is provincial champion – by a long shot.

Carly Dinicol, Dunn’s Quesnel Figure Skating Club coach, is incredibly proud of the improvement and stamina she has witnessed in him.

With each competition, Dunn attempts to beat his previous scores and educates himself on the scores of his competitors.

“He spreadsheets it,” Dinicol says, which is a fairly involved process.

“He went through the region website and [researched] all the [competitors] in the province, what they’d been doing at each competition, so he knew what elements and how many points he needed to beat them.”

As a result, Dunn received the highest overall score in the province this season.

“All [the other boys] are from Vancouver,” Stuart says.

“They have the best training possible.”

With the limited ice Quesnel has per year, Dunn’s accomplishments are impressive.

Dunn’s goal, at Star 5 level, is to improve exponentially to one day put himself in the Olympic ranks.

He is on the ice six days a week to make sure that happens.

“I train hard.

“I work on having more emotion on the ice, and making my jumps and spins bigger and faster.”

Lynne, Mitchell’s mother and the president of the Figure Skating Club, has always encouraged him to pursue his love of skating. She says he is incredibly goal-oriented and has always strived to succeed in all aspects of his life.

“[Skating] has always been his passion,” Lynne shares.

She says that once he decided to take it on, he did so fiercely. The support and guidance of the coaches has been a huge asset in Dunn’s accomplishments.

“We have had the best coaching,” Lynne says.

“Carly Stuart and Sharon Chow have been really encouraging.”

When asked what it’s like to be the only male figure-skater in Quesnel, Dunn replies: “It’s sort of lonely, but I get used to talking to the girls.”

It’s also a boost for Dunn, who says being the only boy makes him feel proud to stand apart and do it on his own.