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Three Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows skaters make their mark during Western Elite Circuit

Competition was held in Calgary in the first week of October

Three track skaters from Ridge Meadows Speed Skating club qualified for, and participated in the Western Elite Circuit held in Calgary in the first week of October.

The circuit, which gives a unique opportunity for skaters to race and develop their skills, has time qualifications, said Kyle Ludeman, the club president. All three racers from the club, Annabelle Green, Willa Ludeman and Mattias Daniels, had to meet certain times to qualify to be a part of the circuit.

“We had three skaters represent the club and all three did really great!” said Kyle, adding that the three have been with the club for many years and this time are competing in this inter-provincial competition.

Annabelle Green, 19, stood third in the female Junior A group. Green has been training at the Olympic Oval in Calgary and has already won several elite competitions including a bronze medal at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer. While she is currently enrolled with the University of Calgary, she still officially skates with the Ridge Meadows Racers.

ALSO READ: Ridge Meadows Racers going for spots on national speed skating teams

Willa Ludeman, 16, stood 9th in the female Junior B group. She gets extra training with the Langley Blades club with whom the Ridge Meadows share the coaching team. Willa is a grade 12 student at Garibaldi, in the International Baccalaureate Program.

Mattias Daniels, 14, stood 15th in the male Training to Train (T2T) 14 group. Daniels gets training from the Richmond Oval high performance program. Since the Ridge Meadows Racers only have ice twice a week, it is not enough ice time if one wants to be fast, said Kyle. Daniels therefore travels there several times a week for extra training, and wears the Oval HP (High Performance) suit, but officially races for the Ridge Meadows Racers.

The club also a meet coming up this weekend in Langley with one skater from the club representing.

“We have lost a lot of skaters over COVID. We only have about a half dozen skaters. It has been hard on the club,” Kyle said.

The club is now looking for new skaters to join and will be hosting an open house on Nov. 20 this year, the details of which will soon be available on the club’s Facebook Page.

“We accept anybody, any age. We have a motto, no age limit, no speed limit,” said Kyle, adding he hoped with the pandemic restrictions subsiding, more people will join the club.

Anyone looking to join the club, can visit their website at ridgemeadowsracers.org.

ALSO READ: Member of Ridge Meadows Racers competing at Olympic Trials


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Priyanka Ketkar

About the Author: Priyanka Ketkar

Priyanka Ketkar has been a journalist since 2011 with extensive experience in community-driven news writing, feature writing, and editing.
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