Hope you had a restful summer building your strength for the new season.
It is great to get reacquainted with returning members and meet out new members. Welcome Jongsuk, who is here from Korea to learn English. Samantha skated with Pacific Blades last year, but with the family move to the Lower Mainland, she and her Dad, Stephen have joined Burnaby Haida.
It has been a smooth start to the season, due in large part to the volunteers:
Mike, Jeanie and Anna who have taken your club registration.
Sophie who organized the fittings for returning members.
All those who helped bundle and distribute flyers.
Marian for coordinating the new recruits.
Gayle, Diane, David, Sophie and Glen for fitting skates.
Our coaches on the ice, Ariana, Gayle, Diane, Alice, Sophie and Peter
Calla for organizing the chocolate fundraiser.
The first local Interclub is taking place in Mission this Saturday. With over 20 of our skaters planning to attend, only two practice sessions of ice are booked on October 13. Skaters in the first two sessions (3:00 to 4:00 P.M. and 4:15 to 5:15 P.M.) are not affected. Skaters in group 3 come to the second session from 4:15 to 5:15 P.M.
Want to go faster? Sharp blades can help you achieve that goal. Don’t know how to sharpen your skates? Not confident with your sharpening skills? Sign up for a Skate Sharpening Refresher and receive some expert help. Sessions are being offered on October 20 and 27 from 4:15 to 5:15 P.M. at the rink.
Over the course of the season you may notice different skaters on the ice. Yes, we continue to have drop in skaters, however with the Civic Strike in Vancouver, we have invited members from that club to join us for our Saturday practices. Our club is a member of the Fraser Valley Regional Training Center (FVRTC). Many skaters from the other four member clubs plus the Regional Coach, Bette Roberts at times will join our last ice session. Feel free to introduce yourself.
Fundraising may be a priority this year as the Gaming Commission funds which have been so helpful in the past are not forthcoming this year. An appeal to the Gaming Commission has been launched however, we will not know the outcome for some time.
Do you, your family and acquaintances subscribe to popular magazines? Magazine subscriptions are next on the list of fundraisers. Get the catalogue and order forms from Calla to see the wide selection.
It’s never too early to think about Christmas and for a speed skater, sharpening stones make a great gift. The club is selling stones as encouragement for the members to own their own. Cost to members for sharpening stones is $50.00, burr stones $17.00 or buy the pair for $65.00. To purchase, see Glen.
Start saving your recyclable bottles and bring to the rink for a Bottle Drive on November 16.
A great deal of the strength and longevity of the Burnaby Haida Club is owed to the commitment and generosity of the Master Skaters within our membership. From role models to mentoring to laying the track to Executive positions to building carts to providing mat transportation to officiating to coaching to managing equipment to website and graphic design to fundraising to chaperoning and so much more, Master skaters offer continuity at the club level. Higher level competitions give some of these skaters the incentive to continue with the fine work that they do to develop the sport within this Province. It would be a loss to the sport if these skaters were excluded from these opportunities.
Bill Copeland Sports Centre is celebrating its 10th Anniversary with a party and cake on October 27, from 12:45 to 3:15 P.M. (Check out the attached flyer) We’ve been invited to participate and will set up a display. Volunteers are needed to help set up, man the table and clean up. If you have some free time and love to meet people, please let us know by return e-mail. This is a great way to fulfill a portion of your volunteer duties.
The club members directory will be ready to be sent out soon. If you want to be included in this directory, and haven’t given consent on your registration form, please speak with Jeanie, Anna or Mike.
Taking care of blades is a very important particularly for the equipment manager. An old pair of socks cut to fit can work well to protect those blades. Some of the blades in the cupboard are in need of protection, so if you have some old pairs of socks that you just don’t want anymore, Glen can put them to good use.
Mark your calendars.
October 13 – First Local Interclub in Mission. Third session skaters attend the second session.
October 20 – Skate Sharpening Refresher 4:15 – 5:15 P.M
October 27 – Bill Copeland is celebrating its 10th Birthday 12:45 – 3:15 P.M.
Skate Sharpening Refresher at Kensington Arena from 4:15 – 5:15 P.M.
November 3 – Matsqui Interclub
November 10 – Vancouver/Richmond Interclub and BCWG Zone 4/5 Qualifier for Juveniles and Juniors
November 16 – Bottle Drive
November 24 – PoCo Interclub
My apologies if I have missed something or somebody.
Barbara Vogl,
Burnaby Haida
