Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

SPEED SKATING

Kamloops Long Blades prepare for 2023-24 season

Sep 21, 2023 | 4:24 PM

KAMLOOPS — With fall firmly in the air, many winter sports are getting underway at arenas around the city.

One of those is short-track speed skating, as the Kamloops Long Blades have started to prepare for their season at the McArthur Island Sports Centre.

Each Long Blades practice starts with pulling the pads out of storage and setting them up around the ice.

“You’re going so fast and it’s just like, ‘Oh, I’m in the mats,’” Leah Turner explains. “Then it’s like, ‘Okay, am I hurt? Am I okay? Or can I get up as fast as I can and go?’”

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With skaters reaching speeds as high as 50 km/h in short-track speed skating, those pads are a necessary safety measure.

“We can get going pretty fast after the first lap,” Meena Litt, another skater with the Long Blades tells CFJC Today. “It’s really nerve-wracking when you’re on the starting line, but it usually goes away after a couple of laps.”

The Long Blades have been skating in Kamloops for more than three decades, and for that whole time, Sandi Vyse has been part of the club.

“Our club is probably up around 40 members and growing,” Vyse explains. “We just started our learn-to programs, so that brings in a lot of skaters.”

Included in that group is Eric Villeneuve, who has been with the club for around a decade. He got involved because his son was also a Long Blade.

“At one point around ten years ago, the club decided to have a masters program,” Villeneuve explains. “I’m already coming, and it’s always good to try new stuff, so I said, ‘Sure, I’ll try it.’ My son has moved on, and I keep coming because I really enjoy it.”

The club is hosting the annual Chills and Thrills competition on October 7 and 8, which should draw competitors from across BC. The Long Blades always welcome new members who might want to give the sport a try.

“People can join at any time,” Vyse says. “Of course, the best value is to join at the beginning and get a full season of skating. We also continue through the summer, with inline and dryland, so we’re kind of year-round.”

For the skaters, being part of the club has more benefits than just being out there on the ice.

“I love the adrenaline, but it’s not even just that,” Turner says. “It’s like the community we have here, and just the enjoyment for the sport and competing. But even with the daily practice, I love it here. It’s my happy place.”