After two long years of waiting to hit the ice and showcase their talents in front of the home crowd, the Prince Albert Skating Club carved up the ice at the Art Hauser Centre during their year end ice show last weekend.

While the skaters were able to compete in various events throughout the season, head coachCarla Jenkins says it was great to hold the year end event, where kids of all ages could share the ice.

“We were able to do a regionals competition for the little ones, so we had a lot of little kids that hadnever been to any sort of competition,” Jenkins said. “But today it was awesome to be able to do this forall of our age groups.

“We were lucky enough to be able to skate during COVID. We were operating at lower numbers of course, but we were able to still have the kids on the ice. Today was great for the kids to all go out and enjoy skating without any restrictions.”

It was a great turnout on Sunday afternoon for the show, as parents and spectators filled the stands. The ice was filled with kids just learning to skate, as well as those with plenty of experience. Jenkins saw Sunday’s event as an overall success, as the skaters were able put on a show and feel relaxed.

“I was super excited about it, ” she said. “It’s nice for the kids to be able to have this fun time and have something to look forward to at the end of the season, and it’s just awesome. There was so much excitement from the kids just to feel that normalcy again, and they were able to get that team spirit back. They could just go out and compete and feel themselves progressing.”

Like many other sports programs and businesses in Prince Albert, the skating club was hit hard by the pandemic. With registration costs increasing in order for the club to stay active, Jenkins said the volunteers that helped put together fundraisers and donations played a huge role in keeping the Prince Albert Skating Club running for another year.

“Our fees are so high, with ice fees and just to be able to operate. So to have that fundraising is a requirement. We just have to have that to run. Hopefully it continues on so that we can continue to send kids to competitions and doing test days and our year end ice shows.”