Alexis, Trina off to Skate Ontario final

 

Two Morrisburg club skaters will be lacing up their skates for the Skate Ontario Championship coming up in Brampton, March 13-15.

Senior Bronze skater Alexis Engwerda and Juvenile (under 14) skater Trina Dykstra-MacPherson, put together strong performances at the Eastern Ontario StarSkate Invitational Championships (EOSIC) held at the Nepean Sportsplex, February 13-15, to land their qualifying spots. Engwerda skated to a podium silver medal finish in her division while Dyskstra-MacPherson placed fourth.

“Alexis had a great skate to her spirited Celtic music from the ‘Lord of the Dance” that won her a bronze medal in her flight, and qualified her for the final,” says her coach Allison Scott.

“Not everything was clean, but I tried everything and I was happy about that,” says Engwerda whose program is ambitious and energetic and consists of three spins (camel-sit-change, sit combination, deathdrop and sit-change-sit) and six jump elements, five of them double jumps, including two double-double combinations, and a spiral sequence. “I had a personal best with 23.53 points, and that beat my previous best by two points.” 

“Alexis skated with great flow and finesse attacking each element with a smile,” said Scott. “She had a fabulous combination spin, an effortless double flip jump, and she achieved a personal best score and a spot in the final.”

 “However, her performance in the final was even better than her first skate!  She rose to the occasion, skated aggressively but assertively into each element, had solid and complete rotations in both her double-double jump combinations and beautiful spins including a quality death-drop spin which all resulted in her surpassing her previous score and achieving another personal best!”  

“Her silver medal win and a chance to skate at the All-Ontario Championships in Brampton, is an honour which is so incredibly exciting!”

“Alexis has improved tremendously this season.  Her her hard work, determination and dedication has paid off, and I am extremely proud of her outstanding accomplishment for this event.”  

“I am just so happy for her and look forward to our experience together at the All-Ontario!

Trina had a nearly flawless personal best performance at EOSIC in the Juvenile under 14 category to earn her a qualifying position for the Skate Ontario Championships in March. 

“It was one of my better skates,” says Trina. “I did a personal best 28.79 from my previous 22.02. That was a really big jump, and I was really happy.”

“Trina completed a jam-packed 2.5 minute program including an axel and eight doubles (2 double-double combinations, an axel-double loop with three other doubles by themselves),” says coach Louise Dimmick. “She also performed three excellent spins, two change-foot combination spins (one with a flying entry), a flying camel spin and a beautiful spiral sequence that really highlighted her flexibility.” 

“Trina’s speed and artistry have really improved over the last six months, and you could see Trina’s love of skating come out in her performance.”

 “This success is the result of years of hard work and it’s been so nice to be a part of this journey with her.”

 

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