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100 Mile Skating Club growing as it celebrates 50th anniversary

The 100 Mile Skating Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary this April with a show featuring Elvis Stojko

For 50 years now the 100 Mile Skating Club has been helping the children of 100 Mile House learn how to skate.

Originally named the 100 Mile Figure Skating Club, the club has enjoyed a period of growth and renewal since the COVID-19 pandemic. Michelle Lewthwaite, one of the club's directors, said they have grown to close to 150 members this year and are still actively recruiting. 

"We've had some of our Star skaters go to competitions this year and everyone is excited and happy," Lewthwaite remarked. "We're happily growing and I think we've overcome our post-COVID hurdles and growing by leaps and bounds. There is a lot of energy and really happy kids. I was with the club 20 years ago, as a skater, so for me it's the most exciting thing to see it grow."

In addition to figure skating, Lewthwaite said the club offers programs for hockey power skating, CanSkate, STAR Skate and programs for adult skaters. Lewthwaite said the club's Star Skate program members are preparing for more competitions later this year while their CanSkate members are working on skill development. 

The first competition 100 Mile skaters participated in this year was the Autumn Leaves Competition in Chilliwack where they competed at the Star 2 level. 100 Mile Skating Club coach Cindy Mardyn said the four skaters did an excellent job representing the club. 

"Of course, there is always room for improvement, but our skaters were an excellent representation of our club, at the Star 2 level, with enthusiasm and near flawless performances, walking away with a gold, two silvers, and a bronze!" Mardyn said. 

This success continued on Nov. 23/24 when 15 skaters at the Star 1 and Star 2 level travelled to Kamloops to compete in the Okanagan Interclub there they brought home three bronze, seven silver and eight gold. 

While the season is still months away from being over, Lewthwaite said she and the rest of the board are already planning this year's year-end ice show scheduled for April 5. While some records of the club have been lost and they don't know the exact year they formed, Lewthwaite said they've chosen to celebrate their 50th anniversary this year. 

With this show marking 50 years, Lewthwaite remarked she and the other executive members knew they had to do something big. That's why she is incredibly excited they have been able to hire Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko and his wife Gladys Orozco to perform during the show as their guest skaters. Lewthwaite noted some of their STAR skaters got a chance to do a workshop with Stojko in the Lower Mainland in September and really enjoyed the experience. 

"Elvis is an Olympic silver medalist and I think he's a three-time world champion. He is probably one of the most prominent names in figure skating and he was big in my era changing the men's figure skating landscape," Lewthwaite said. "Being able to fly them in for us is giving the community a really great event, something the figure skating club has never done to this magnitude before. We're excited for the community but we're also really excited for our skaters to have the opportunity to see them in person. They'll see what is possible if they follow their hopes and dreams in the figure skating world." 

The theme of this year's show will be A Glide through the Decades, with Lewthwaite remarking they'll be pulling from popular movies and pop culture of the last 50 years for inspiration for the costumes and routines. Like last year there will be two performances one at 11 a.m. and the other at 6 p.m. Tickets for the show are already 50 per cent sold out and are available through the club's website. 

"We had a really big ice show last year and this one is going to be even bigger and we're very excited about it," Lewthwaite remarked. "Everyone is very excited. We have a lot of work ahead of us, a lot of planning but we have a good plan and I'm thinking this is going to go off without a hitch." 

Anyone looking to join the club can register and pay online. Lewthwaite noted they also welcome any businesses interested in sponsoring the club or the year-end show to reach out to them via their website as well. 



Patrick Davies

About the Author: Patrick Davies

An avid lover of theatre, media, and the arts in all its forms, I've enjoyed building my professional reputation in 100 Mile House.
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