EOSIC, a big event for local figure skaters

 

The Morrisburg and District Figure Skate Club sent a record 16 skaters to the EOSIC competition in February, and for many of them it was there first time at a competition of this calibre. EOSIC  brings together the top skaters in Eastern Ontario and is a qualifier for the Skate Ontario Championship coming up in Sudbury, March 19-20

Although none of the local skaters earned a qualifying spot, Alexis Engwerda has received the nod for a wild card spot and will be making the trek to Sudbury to compete at the Senior Silver level.

Engwerda became the first Morrisburg Club skater last year to ever win an Ontario Championship and she did so skating at the Senior Bronze level.

Since last year she has moved up two levels to  senior silver and just missed qualifying for the Provincial Championship at EOSIC with a fourth place finish. 

Following are the EOSIC results of each of the 16 Morrisburg Club skaters with comments from their coaches who are, Allison Scott, Danielle Napier and Ali VanHoof.

Erika Jordan

Erika had a spectacular skate, not only attacking her elements with speed and confidence but with dynamic connecting steps and footwork all with a crisp artistic flair which earned her second place in the flight, a personal best score and a position in the finals.  

In the finals, Erika was once again energetic and full of attack. She missed just one spin, but landed both double jumps, the first time ever in competition. This was an excellent accomplishment.  Erika  placed sixth, to earn her spot in the top half in the finals, a fantastic achievement! 

Abigail Jordan–Star 5 (over 13).  Abigail had a beautiful program. Skating effortlessly and elegantly, she performed strong quality elements.  Abigail was the last skater in her flight, so when she received her marks, that were a personal best and placed her 1st, for a spot in the finals, it was priceless!  

In the finals, Abigail skated with ease and grace, but yet full of power and speed, and placed sixth.  It was not quite the program she had hoped for, but it was top half in the finals, an awesome achievement to be proud of! 

Alexis Engwerda–Senior Silver. Alex compete at the Senior Silver level which is two levels above what she did last year.  Known for her consistent technical ability and to rise to the occasion and perform, she did just that!  

Alexis had an ambitious program. She completed three double/double combinations,two other double jumps, an axel, three spins and a choreographic sequence and displayed mental toughness. 

She demonstrated awesome competitive spirit and placed fifth which meant she would be an “alternate” for the All-Ontario event!  She could also obtain a “wildcard” position for the All Ontario.   

Cameryn Broad–Star 5, flight 1. Cameryn had a strong skate, her program including five jumps (axel, axel/loop combo, lutz/toe, double salchow and double flip) plus two spins (flying camel and three- position combination spin). She had an amazing warm up landing all of her jumps including a beautiful double flip. 

Unfortunately, in her program she had problems with her flip and second axel and had a deduction on the flying spin. Otherwise a strong program. Cameryn landed her first axel combo and double salchow with ease and finished fourth place in the qualifying event, one spot away from moving on to the finals.

Kristyn Vanhoof had a jammed pack weekend skating in four programs. This was Kristyn’s first time to compete in the bronze triathlon event, (skate three programs, for an accumulated score). At the Junior Silver Level, she skated her three minute programs in Freeskate and Interpretive and her two minute skills program.

Her first program was her Skills on Friday, in which she is required to do a straight line footwork sequence with a series of loops, a circular footwork sequence with required turns and a field move sequence. She was ranked 13th after skills. 

Saturday, she started with her Interpretive program. Skating to “Can’t Stop the Beat”, she rocked the rink and put smiles on everyone’s faces, but didn’t score with the judges as had been hoped.  Her accumulated score from her first two programs put her in 13th spot in the Triathlon.

Kristyn then skated her Senior Bronze Freeskate program which has five jumps: axel, double loop, double toe/double toe combo, double Salchow/doubleloop combo and a double flip, as well as two spins.

Kristyn didn’t have the skate she had hoped for, as she struggled with some of her landings. She finished her 2.5 minute program in fifth place, one spot away from moving to the finals. 

She then put this skate behind her and went to work on  her Triathlon (Junior Silver) freeskate only two hours later. This program included three double/double jump combinations, two doubles and an axel plus three spins.

Kristyn had a solid performance, landing a flawless double loop/double toe combination. Her spins were perfection and the presentation on the minute program had the audience applauding.  The result was a third place finish in the Freeskate which brought her overall  Triathlon ranking from 13th spot to eighth.

Marin Morrow, Olivia Chafe, Emma Morrow, Shianne Johnson, Peyton Singh and Lilly Napier skated in their first EOSIC at the Star 2 level. All had fun and enjoyed the experience.

Marin Morrow-Star 2. Marin skated with ease and polish and performed each element with grace and detail. She received a bronze award.

Olivia Chafe–Star 2. Olivia, known for her spirited rhythm and musicality, had a lively and peppy performance. She received a silver award.

 Emma Morrow–Star 2. Emma had a speedy attack and skating aggressively which led to strong solid elements and overall performance. She received a silver award.

 Shianne Johnson-Star 2. Shianne was thrilled to land all of her jumps to achieve a personal best on her report card and overall ranking of bronze.

Peyton Singh-Star 2. Peyton laid down a clean program to achieve a silver ranking and a personal best on her report card. Peyton enjoyed every minute of her competition experience.

Lilly Napier-Star 2. Lilly gave it her all at EOSIC. Skating a near perfect program, she finished with a gold ranking and a personal best on her report card. 

Lilly was also being assessed by Eastern Skate Canada as part of phase 2 for the “STAR” program (Skater Technical Assessment Recognition Program). One of 50 skaters in Eastern Ontario to place in phase one of the program in November, and chosen to move to phase two, Lilly had the opportunity to have video analysis of her program at EOSIC.

She didn’t let the added pressure effect her and will find out if she is selected to move to the final phase of the program in 2 weeks.

Jessica Swerdfeger–Star 3. Jessica had a bit of nerves in performing her program at her first EOSIC competition. She persevered and finished her program strong, to achieve a silver ranking.

Gracie Fairbairn–Star 3. We call Gracie “our little firecracker” because this young lady loves to perform. Although Gracie struggled with a few elements in her program, it didn’t stop the presentation. Gracie finished strong and achieved a silver ranking at her second EOSIC. 

Reagan Belanger–Star 4. For Reagan, EOSIC presented the first time to compete on a boardless ice surface.  Despite this, she had a wonderful program. Reagan skated with speed, great edges and had good height in her jumps, to receive gold standards for her sixth place finish.

Madisyn Hart–Star 3, flight 5. Madisyn skated a personal best and gold ranking at her first EOSIC. She enjoyed her time and improved many of her elements from her last competition. Achieving a gold ranking on her combination spin put a huge smile on her coach’s face