Despite being part of the national culture of all-ages recreation in other northern countries, like Norway and the Netherlands, speed skating in Canada has long played second fiddle to other on-ice sports like hockey, ringette, and figure skating.
Southeastern Manitoba has a growing speed skating club with two new up-and-coming athletes who are excited to try to change that.
Mia Tetrault, age 12 from Ste. Agathe, and Willa Dowse, age 14 from Niverville, are proud members of Speed Skating Manitoba’s provincial team. Together, they aim to use their recent award-winning performances to enhance the profile of the sport locally—and encourage new enthusiasts to come out and try it for themselves.
Young Talent
Both Mia and Willa are relatively new to speed skating, though winter sports run strongly in their families.
Mia played hockey before she learned to speed skate. When her mom Cassandra, who is a master speed skater herself, saw how much Mia loved to skate, she brought her to an Eastman Speed Skating Club (ESSC) practice in Steinbach, where the club was located at the time.
“After my first time on the ice, I was hooked and wanted to join. I just loved it, and really loved the endurance component of the sport,” said Mia. “You get to go so fast and there is always something to work on. It is also so satisfying to put everything you have into a race.”
When the club relocated to Niverville in 2020, Mia and her mom continued to be involved with the ESSC. Mia advanced her skills, claiming a spot on the provincial team, and Cassandra continued to be involved with coaching, skating, and volunteering.
Mia now skates both short track and long track and has started to rack up some notable wins.
“Last year, I won all of the distances for my age class at Canadian Youth Long Track Championships in Fort St. John, B.C.,” she says. “I also won all distances for my age class at the Canadian Western Short Track Championships in Saskatoon. We also brought home a silver medal in the team relay event.”
Focused on improving on last year’s milestones, the young athlete says that her goals for this season have been to improve technically and continue to get faster.
In January, Mia achieved a personal fastest time, bringing home a silver medal from a competition in Calgary. She is now preparing for the National Long Track Speed Skating Championships, which take place on February 10 in Quebec City. From there, she has her sights set on the next Canada Games and as many national competitions as possible.
“A long-term goal of mine is to make the Olympics in short track and be the first Manitoban to do so,” says Mia. “Also, I hope to transition to long track when I’m done with short track and make the Olympics [in that], too.”
Mia’s teammate, Willa, is also heading to Quebec City in February. Willa grew up playing many sports and learned to skate around the age of three. She tried ringette, hockey, and figuring skating and found herself discouraged.
When she first tried speed skating in 2019, she enjoyed it but still didn’t see herself pursuing the sport long-term.
When the ESSC moved to Niverville’s Community Resource & Recreation Centre (CRRC), the proximity made it even more accessible. She kept finding reasons to continue with her training.
The number one thing that piqued her interest? She loves speed.
“I started getting faster and that made a difference,” says Willa. “And then I felt like I could really do this and go somewhere with it.”
Aside from the thrill of high speed, Willa says that the close-knit and encouraging community has made her feel at home with speed skating.
“Speed skating is a community. Everyone knows each other and everyone is so encouraging and thoughtful,” she says. “In my first year, I already felt like I fit in there and everything.”
Willa says that she enjoys travelling with her team and really appreciates the opportunities she’s gotten to meet notable people in the professional speed skating community, including Olympians Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin.
“In Calgary, that’s where the national team trains, we got to meet them,” Willa says. “Especially, with Ivanie, my coach set up a whole dinner and we got to train with her. A lot of other people wouldn’t have the opportunity to do that.”
Willa took home two gold medals from the Calgary meet. She says the ice in Calgary made a big difference in her performance.
“In Winnipeg, we have an outdoor oval,” she says. “With the wind and stuff, it’s not as fast. But if you go somewhere with really fast ice, like Calgary, it does feel like you’re flying.”
Her experiences in Calgary have given her a lot of inspiration to work hard. Her progress is starting to accelerate, along with her personal best times.
“My goals for Quebec City are doing my personal best and being able to compete with the top girls in my age category. Last year I was definitely up there, but I didn’t do as well as I personally hoped to.”
The humble athlete would also like to encourage anyone with an interest in skating to come out and try it.
“Just try it. A lot of people don’t know enough about it to give it a fair chance,” says Willa. “Some people I would meet have never even heard of it. Take the opportunity to try it. And chances are you’ll really like it.”
Willa’s parents, Ray and Cara Dowse, are also keen to see the club continue to grow in Niverville, saying that it has been eye-opening to learn the sport and see how much the community has rallied around it.
“Willa had been skating since she was three [with ringette and figure skating],” says Cara. “She was a good skater, but we never felt the support quite like this.”
Cara found the intergenerational aspect of the sport to be an extremely positive, and possibly unique. It truly felt like a sport for everyone in the community.
“Something I found interesting is, like, it’s for ages 4 to 70, so you literally have seniors in the club that skate for fun. It’s not like that in any other club I know of,” she says. “One of our Eastman club members is in his seventies and he is an amazing community volunteer. He zambonis the ice and volunteers at the oval in Winnipeg. And that’s just one example… I mean, figure skating isn’t really something you really do as an adult. But speed skating, we found out, was.”
Growing Interest
In Manitoba, anyone interest in speed skating typically gets involved in a local club. The ESSC was first established in Beausejour, then moved to Steinbach before relocating to Niverville.
“Ever since that move, it’s been such an opportunity for that club,” says Elizabeth Williamson-Derraugh, executive director of Speed Skate Manitoba. “They used to struggle with membership numbers, but now they’re one of our strongest clubs. It’s really great to see how the community has embraced that club. They do a good job of offering a well-rounded program.”
Reece Williamson-Derraugh is the provincial team coach.
“The development team is a bit more open, for those just looking for more ice time to get more exposure to more racing and development-specific coaching,” says Reece, who coaches Mia and Willa.
Reece says the two girls are a shining example of what a community is capable of, not just because of their skills but because of what it means when families get involved.
“Speed skating is a small sport,” he says. “Not in many sports do you have the opportunity for a seven, nine, twelve-year-old, and a mom and dad all involved doing something they love together.”
Reece adds that the sport is important because it helps fill a gap in what is offered in terms of physical activity for all ages in the winter.
“We are winter athletics,” he says. “Speed skating is another form of just getting out and being active and finding a way to have fun in a Canadian environment… People think they have to wear a skin suit, a tight suit. You don’t. You can wear anything you want and step onto these blades that are designed for gliding. You can wear padding. You can learn safely. You will go fast. That’s what [the blades are] made for. I would just say, skate and be active in your community. You don’t have to be a competitive member if you don’t want to be. But speed skating could be great for you.”
Elizabeth agrees that sometimes speed skating is seen as a niche or elite sport.
“The perception is that it’s an elite sport, but it’s accessible,” she says. “You can start when you’re 60 years old and still skate and enjoy it for another 20-plus years. I want people to know that it’s not just an elite level sport.”
One barrier to growth for the sport is the available ice and size of rinks in Manitoba. Short track speed skating refers to the length of one lap (111 metres) and most hockey rinks, including what is available at the Niverville CRRC, provide this.
The Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex in Winnipeg has a 400-metre oval, which qualifies as long track.
“Imagine a 400-metre running track of incredibly smooth ice,” says Elizabeth. “It’s made for skating laps. You can just skate laps, no sticks or pucks. You just glide. It’s active. It’s enjoyable…. And [Niverville] seems just a bit ahead of game when it comes to caring about its community and looking for ways to put in place what people will want and need for the future. I love to see that kind of commitment to what is best for people and their neighbours.”
How to Try Speed Skating
On January 28, Speed Skate Manitoba hosted Skate the Oval at the Susan Auch Oval in Winnipeg, a public come-and-try-it type of event. These sorts of events are great opportunities to give the sport a try.
Looking forward, the 2024 Manitoba Short Track Provincials will be held in Niverville on March 3 and everyone is invited to come and watch. Also, a local come-and-try event is being planned by the ESSC for the spring at the CRRC in Niverville.
