Speed Skating Club hosting timing clinics this weekend

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Aiming to breed the “next generation” of timing judges, the Fort St. John Speed Skating Club (FSJSSC) is looking to teach new recruits.

Judging clinics will be held throughout Saturday, September 27th at the club’s home oval at the Pomeroy Sports Centre.

A Facebook post says it’s looking for “the next wave of superheroes,” who make the sport possible.

The clinic will run simultaneously with Speedskating BC’s Fall skating academy to kick off the speed skating season.

FSJSSC president Shadi Salehi says judges are crucial to the success of the sport, adding that several judges from the club have achieved national and international accreditation since the program’s inception.

“The backbone of our speed skating sports is not only our skaters, but also our parents and our volunteers and our officials,” said Salehi. 

“No competition, whether it’s a local time trial or a provincial event or a national event or an international event will run without officials.”

The judging clinics will begin with an official introduction to speed skating and officiating, followed by level two clinics in both finish line and manual timing judging.

The introduction will be a level one course, which is a prerequisite to participate in the level two clinics for finish line and manual timing judging. All the clinics are sanctioned by Speed Skating BC.

The clinics will be overseen by Wim Kok, an International Skating Union official who lives in Fort St. John, Tara Mitchell, a national-level timing judge and Kim Telizyn, who has national level finish line judge accreditation.

Salehi says notebooks “are a great idea” but are not required, and stopwatches will be provided by the club. The minimum age to participate is 16 years old.

“Anyone can take the first clinic,” said Salehi. 

“After that, they can choose a certain path if they want to go from finish line to manual timing, finish line or manual timing and then go.”

As the FSJSSC organization is run by volunteers, all the clinics are free. 

The clinics begin Saturday, September 27th at 9 a.m. and go until 2:45 p.m. at the Pomeroy Sports Centre at 9324 96th Street in Fort St. John.
To register or for more information, please email info@fsjspeedskating.ca.