Skaters get international exposure

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

A trip to a skating camp in Ontario for three local skaters and their coach turned into a chance to meet a world champion and see how some of the best skaters in the world operate

Lorelei Murphy, the coach of the Yarmouth Skating Club, and skaters Kayla Mooney, Nicki Woods and Alyse McCarron attended the Mariposa Center of Excellence Seminar in Barrie, Ont. for five days. The camp was under the direction of world and Olympic coach Doug Leigh. But Leigh proved to be just one of the big skating names the athletes would meet.

The biggest? The 2008 men's world champion Jeff Buttle of Canada.

Such an experience does wonders for skaters in more remote areas such as Yarmouth, said Murphy.

"It shows them the possibilities," she said. "To take them to a place where there's so much positive going on in the sport and so many directions you can take in the sport, so it's great for them to see that."

The camp featured on-ice work and clinics as well as off-ice work. But judging by the smile on Mooney's face at just the mention of Buttle's name, sharing the ice with the world champion was the real highlight of the trip.

McCarron said she was impressed watching the top skaters practise and train.

"It's just cool to see how they do it, and stuff," she said. "For that week, that's how they do it all the time."

With about 200 skaters attending the camp, Woods said it was a chance to see how skaters from different areas train and approach the sport.

"People skate differently around the world," she said. "There's different levels that they skate than we do."