Share this Story: Edmonton skater Kaetlyn Osmond wins national title as Royal Glenora club faces closure
Edmonton skater Kaetlyn Osmond wins national title as Royal Glenora club faces closure
Brian Swane
It's been quite the roller coaster ride for local skating fans lately.
Just when the Edmonton figure skating community was left heartbroken by its most venerable institution, a precocious 17-year-old came to the rescue.
Earlier this month, Edmonton's Kaetlyn Osmond won the women's title at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Mississauga, Ont.
That was just days after news broke that the Royal Glenora Club would be closing its ice arena, shutting the doors on a historic facility that was once the epicentre of figure skating.
"At the beginning of the week there was a lot of discussion around what would happen with the Royal Glenora, but the Canadian Championships was really exciting to watch from start to finish," says Denise Gariepy, executive director of Skate Canada's Alberta-NWT/Nunavut section. "Our athletes came to compete and they did very well."
Thirteen of 15 entrants representing the region achieved personal bests in at least one of their programs at the Canadian Championships. Osmond's gold medal was the first national senior figure skating title won by an athlete representing the section since Susan Humphreys, who trained out of the Glenora, won the women's category in 1997.
The Royal Glenora Club has trained World Champions and Olympians. Kurt Browning, David Pelletier, Jamie Sale, Michael Slipchuk and Kristi Yamaguchi are just a few of its alumni.
But the rink that housed such household names is showing its years. Purportedly $2 million to $4 million is needed for upgrades to keep it operational. It's planned to close at the end of May.
Losing a facility with so much history would be a tremendous emotional blow, but also hurt on a tangible level, as Glenora skaters would be forced to train elsewhere, resulting in less ice time — an already scarce commodity — to go around.
There are several figure skating clubs in the Capital Region, including five (Extreme Edge, Fliteway, Ice Palace, Sherwood Park and the Royal Glenora) that sent skaters in Mississauga.
"We definitely want to see the Royal Glenora Club continue," says Gariepy. "The challenge is the massive amount that's required for the renovations. It would need a significant amount of either corporate or government support.
"We simply don't have the resources to assist with the amount that's required, but we're most definitely willing to assist the club, whether it's with finding new space or trying to keep the club going."
Since age 10, Osmond has trained with the Ice Palace club with coach Ravi Walia, who is also a former Royal Glenora skater.
Osmond's meteoric rise to stardom began last season when she won bronze at the Canadian Championship. Her performance this season has demonstrated that, regardless of the Glenora's fate, figure skating is still going strong in Edmonton.
"She's someone that we're going to see our next generation of skaters look up to," Gariepy says.
"She's a wonderful ambassador for skating and a representative of the section, and will have the performances that inspire more kids to try figure skating."
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