WESTVILLE ROAD, N.S. – They’ve put in thousands of hours of work in cold rinks, always trying to improve.
Now, three Pictou County skaters will be competing at the 2019 Canada Games in February in Red Deer, Alta.
Jailyn Elliott, Cameron Boulter and Brooke Pennington all qualified following their performances at the Skate Canada Challenge in Edmonton, which was held in early December.
CAMERON BOULTER
“I did my solo, and it wasn’t the greatest, and I was in last place after the short. The long went pretty good.”
Described by his coach Angie Coady-Pennington as a “performance-oriented, athletic skater,” Boulter shares the credit for his success with his coaches and family and is looking forward to Red Deer.
“I’m really excited. It’s going to be so much fun, and I couldn’t do it without the help of Angie, (assistant coach Adele Elliott) and my parents,” he said.
“I’m going to have to work as hard as I can, just to improve on everything the next two months.”
BROOKE PENNINGTON
“It was a really cool experience, I really liked being there with the Nova Scotia team,” says the 13-year-old, when asked about her time in Edmonton.
“I had two clean skates, so I was pretty happy with that. I moved up a bit in my long.”
“My favourite part about skating is probably performing,” says Pennington, who is the daughter of Mariposa East coach Angela Coady-Pennington.
“I like entertaining people, I guess.
“I’ll be excited to see all the skaters that will be there, there will be a lot of good skaters and I can learn from watching.”
JAILYN ELLIOTT
Elliott and her dance partner Dawson Munroe, who lives in the Annapolis Valley, have been skating together for a year. Munroe regularly travels to New Glasgow so they can practice together, and they also meet up in Halifax once a week.
“It’s important to have trust, since we’re doing lifts and stuff together – to be confident with each other,” Elliott says. “You have to trust your training.”
Coady-Pennington competed at the Canada Games in 1983, which were held in Chicoutimi, Que. She went again in 1987, when she and her dance partner, Glenn MacCara, who grew up in Trenton, won a gold medal in Sydney, N.S.
She’s unsure if she’ll attend the 2019 Games.
“I might go as a mom and aunt, and take in other sports. I’ve been there twice as an athlete, and as a coach three times, so this time I might go as a spectator and actually enjoy the other sports,” she said.
“I’m extremely proud of all the kids, and how they handled the pressure in Edmonton. They had to perform, and win their spots.
“One thing I’ve learned from other coaches who work with their own children, is that it has to be athlete driven, and it’s always been athlete driven. For Brooke, this is what she wants and I’m kind of going along with the ride.”
If the skaters don’t want it, she added, “then there’s no sense.”
NAME: Jailyn Elliott
AGE: 14
HOMETOWN: New Glasgow
YEARS SKATING: 9
NAME: Brooke Pennington
AGE: 13
HOMETOWN: New Glasgow
YEARS SKATING: 9
NAME: Cameron Boulter
AGE: 13
HOMETOWN: New Glasgow
YEARS SKATING: 6