Canadian Junior Long Track Championships kick off at Pomeroy Sports Centre 

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Adrenaline-charging action is set to hit the oval of the Pomeroy Sports Centre this weekend as Fort St. John welcomes the top young speed skaters in the country.

The Canadian Neo-Junior/Junior National Long Track Championships are the first of three major meets the Fort St. John Speed Skating Club will host this season, according to club president Shadi Salehi.

Salehi says the club “is thrilled” to be hosting the event during its 60th anniversary season.

“We’re super excited,” said Salehi. “For most people, coming to a small town is a little bit intimidating because they think they don’t have as many resources that the bigger cities would have.”

“But coming to Fort St John and seeing the facility that we have. They walk in the doors and are in awe of the oval and the facility. It’s something that we’ve been super proud of.”

Unlike previous events, neo-juniors for skaters 14 and 15 years old and juniors from age 16 to 18 were separate stand-alone competitions.

With 110 skaters from around the country, the distances will consist of races from 500 metres to 1000 metres, 1500 metres, and 3000 metres, similar to Olympic and World Cup competitions.

The local speedskating club will feature a strong contingent to carry the city’s hopes.

Max Wu, Taha Ahmed and Tara Asrafi are in the neo-junior class, while Austin Macgregor, Cheyanne Key, Maria Hansen and Matthew Mitchell will race for junior title hopes.

Two foreign students, Mar Ayzagar and Lucas Orzanco, trained inline skaters from Spain, will be included in the competition, which will be a highlight.

They came to Fort St. John to learn to speed skate. While they qualified, they were ruled ineligible because they were not Canadian citizens.

However, they will participate in the event as forerunners, meaning they will warm-up skate each distance.

“They did a couple of time trials and were super fast,” said Salehi, who adds their first experience on the ice was in September. “They will have sanctioned time. We couldn’t be more proud.”

The competition begins on Friday, December 13th, with the warm-ups beginning at 8:00 a.m.; 500-metre races for both classes start at 10:00 a.m.

The competition will begin on Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 a.m. at the Pomeroy Sports Centre located at 9324 96th Street in Fort St. John.
Admission for spectators is free, and the event will be streamed throughout the weekend on Speed Skating Canada’s YouTube channel.