Fort St. John speedskating member earns double international officiating honour

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A longtime Fort St. John Elks Speedskating Club member has been added to a pair of worldwide officiating lists by the International Speedskating Union (ISU) for the upcoming 2024-25 season.

According to a July 18th release, Tina Peters has been added to both the International Sport Experts for speedskating and the International Competitor Steward for short-track speedskating lists.

Peters joins Wim Kok, the only other Fort St. John Speedskating Club member on the list. 

Kok has held an international referee designation since 2012 and was recently approved for the upcoming season.

Club president Shadi Salehi says hosting high-level speedskating competitions throughout the season provides “perfect opportunities” for the development and advancement of officials.

“Congratulations to both Tina and Wim,” said Salehi. “We are very lucky to have them in our club.”

Peters is one of only five individuals across Canada with both credentials from the ISU. Of those five people, Peters is the only one in British Columbia. 

The statement says Peters serves as an “integral member” of every competition officiating team, with duties such as checking skater eligibility, establishing ranking lists, building competitions, recording individual races, and compiling final competition results.

Currently, seven individuals across B.C. are on the ISU international list of speedskating officials. 

Speed Skating Canada recently announced Fort St. John would host two events over the winter. 

The Canadian Neo-Junior and Junior Long Track championships are scheduled for December 13th to December 15th, and the Youth Long Track championships get underway from February 7th to February 9th, 2025.

Both events will be hosted at the Pomeroy Sports Centre.

For more details on Fort St. John speedskating club, visit their Facebook page.