It was their first competition of the year and nerves certainly came into play, but four skaters from the Quesnel Figure Sking Club were pleased with their efforts.
For Vanessa van Aert, 17, the trip to the Autumn Leaves competition marked her return to figure skating after a two-year hiatus to pursue dancing.
“I missed being out on the ice and practicing,” she said.
Vanessa finished the competition with a silver medal, with a routine she said went by really fast.
Spins are Vanessa’s favourite part of figure skating and she remembered being pleased with the way she performed a combination of camel spins and the not-so-perfect lay back spin.
“I’m not sure what happened,” she said with a smile.
“It just went badly.”
QFSC coach Jo-Ann Nadalin was impressed with Vanessa’s overall performance, especially considering she had been away from skating for a couple of years, but there was still some work to do.
“She needs to improve her cardio and ramp up her program,” Nadalin said.
Selena van Aert came away with a first-place finish in ladies gold competition after an impressive freeskate.
“She has good skills,” Nadalin said of Selena.
“She puts on a great performance.”
With her performance in Kamloops, Selena now sits in second place in the provincial super series for ladies gold free skate.
Kina Ellison skated in the novice ladies division and finished 13th overall in a competitive field thanks to a strong long program.
“Nerves got the best of her in the short program,” Nadalin said.
“She pulled it together for the long program.”
Ellison said she was also pleased with her long program, especially since she was able to land most of her jumps.
“I was happy to improve my skating and artistry components,” she said.
Improving, Ellison said, is why she enjoys figure skating.
“I like that there are many aspects and room for improvement,” she said.
Alivia Marleau also had a bit of a tough time in Kamloops.
She finished 19th overall in a strong field of more than 30 skaters.
It all came down to one jump.
“It was a humdinger of a fall,” Nadalin said of the unfortunate tumble Marleau took when her toe pick punched out a bit of ice just as she was pushing off for her jump.
But to her credit, Marleau got up and kept skating without missing a beat, an effort that impressed Nadalin as well as the judges.
“She ended up with great marks considering her fall,” Nadalin said.
“Especially for her execution.
“I expect she will redeem herself this weekend in Prince George.”
Marleau, along with other members of the QFSC head to Prince George this weekend for the Williston Freeskate competition at the Kin arenas.