Submitted Media Release
Skating pair Patricia Andrew and Zachary Daleman earned their first gold of the 2019 competitive season earning top honors while representing the Brant Skating Club and their home community at the opening round of Skate Canada National Summer Series this past weekend in Ottawa.
The Minto Summer Skate competition was held in Gloucester, Ontario over three days, occupying three arenas in the Ottawa area. The first of five regional competitions, building to the Sectionals Championships in November, eight skaters from Brant traveled for the opportunity to measure their skills and performance against competitors from across Canada.
After a strong opening skate in their short program Patricia and Zachary were ranked third in their flight. An incredible performance in their long (free) program vaulted the junior pair to the top spot on the podium. Their final total, a score of 137.58, was more than 7 points higher than the silver medalists Gabrielle Levesque and Pier-Alexandre Hudon of Nova Scotia. It was a great achievement underscored by the short time the pair have skated together.
Club Vice-President Lauren Boyce was watching the streaming broadcast of the performance in Brantford, made available by Skate Ontario. Incredibly proud of all the Brant team members, she commented, “All our skaters did quite well. It was a very strong start for their competitive season. Patricia and Zachary skated a phenomenal number. They should be very proud of their performance. We are all very proud of them.”
Two more Brant skaters scored in the top five of their competitive class. Keira VanDinther and Jessica Lahosky each earned a 4th place overall in their pre-novice women flight, narrowly missing a trip to the podium.
Coach Alison Purkiss accompanied the Brant Skating Club competitors to the Minto Summer Skate and was thrilled with the results for her young team. “Everyone works hard. I was very pleased to see that everyone had a great start to their season and can build on this experience. This is always more work to be done, but for this weekend we can all head back to training feeling good about what we did in Minto.”
While the award-winning pair will continue to develop their program and increase the technical difficulty as their season progresses, based on their performance in Ottawa Patricia and Zachary have been selected to represent Canada at their first junior grand prix in Russia this September.
Coach Alison will soon join her senior pair skaters Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud in international competition as well. Currently ranked second in Canada after a silver medal performance at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in their first year of senior competition, the dynamic-duo will look to build on their incredible start.
Evelyn and Trennt will be opening their competitive season at the North York Summer Skate in August, before travelling to Helsinki, Finland for the Finlandia competition in October.
RESULTS: Minto Summer Skate Series, Ottawa, ON
Junior Pair (no age requirement, with Gold-level Free Skating credentials)
Patricia Andrew and Zachary Daleman (1st Overall)
Pre-Novice Women (under 16 years, with STAR 5+ credentials)
Jessica Lahosky (4th), Keira Van Dinther (4th), Laurel Cowan (9th), Gabby Lahosky (15th)
Novice Women (under 17 years, with Gold-level Free Skating credentials)
Patricia Andrew (6th), Ainsley Cowan (9th), Lilyana Petrella (9th)
About Brant Skating Club:
Since 1947, the Brant Skating Club operating in Brantford, Ontario has provided instructed skating opportunities for all ages, from the smallest preschoolers to competitive athletes.
Skaters can participate in diverse programs including Power Skate, CanSkate and Star Skate training. Each program is overseen by Skate Canada and is designed to build on basic fundamentals. Skating programs are offered 12 months of the year in Brantford.
Skaters desiring to further their skills enter into competitive training, with on-ice and off-ice programs. Coached ice time can reach 7 days a week as skaters pursue excellence. The Brant Skating Club hosts much of its ice time at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, located at 254 N Park St, Brantford, Ontario.
For more information please visit www.brantskatingclub.ca
