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NWTspeedskaterinspiresclubstotrainhardforAWGSkatetoSochibuildsOlympicexcitementinNWTSportRecreationSpeedSkating22TuesdayDecember102013PolarVisionWemakeagreatSTOCKINGSTUFFERWherequalitycomesrstandservicecomesnaturally.PolarVision113510948thStreetintheNunasiBuildingYellowknife.Tel867920-4500.TollFree1866944-7466Fax867873-4550.Emailpolarvisionssimicro.comHOURSMonday-Friday900a.m.-600p.m.Saturday1000a.m.-500p.m.20offNottobecombinedwithotherdiscounts.allaccessoriescontactlenssolutionandsunglassesByMARIACHURCHYoungspeedskatersintheNWTaretrainingevenharderthanusualanditsnotjusttheanticipationofthe2014ArcticWinterGamesAWGthatseggingthemonitsMichaelGilday.GildayashorttrackspeedskaterfromtheNWTwhorecentlymadeTeamCanadaisnowastepclosertoquali-fyingfortheWinterOlym-picsinSochiRussia2014.MichaelsagreatrolemodelsaidShaneClarkcoachoftheYellowknifespeedskatingclub.HesjustagoodexampleofwhatyoucanaccomplishbeingaNorthernkidandworkinghardifthatssomethingyouwanttopursue.Clarksaidspeedskatinghasbeengrowinginpopular-ityasanalternativetoothericesportssuchashockeyorgureskatingintheNWT.CurrentlytherearesixspeedskatingclubsintheterritorythenewestofwhichisinHayRiver.FortSmithsspeedskatingclubhasbeeninlimboformuchofthesea-sonwhilerepairsweremadetothetownsarenafollowingarethisyear.Whileroughly200youngskatersaresignedupintheclubsmanyareintheLearntoSkateprogramandnotatacompetitivelevel.LearntoSkateprogramshaveseenincreasingpar-ticipationparticularlyinYellowknifewithyouthasyoungas3yearsoldsigningupJillGildaysportdirec-torwiththeNWTAmateurSpeedSkatingAssociationtoldTheJournal.Wehavesomanykidsthatcometoourprogramsbecausetheirparentswantthemtolearntoskatebutthekidshaveexperiencedtoomanycoldngersandtoesinthepastandtheycomehesitantbuttheyal-waysenduphavingagoodtimeshesaid.Whileyouthgenerallystartoutinhockeyskatesorgureskatesthecluboffersspeedskatestothosewillingtotrythemout.Gildayestimates45speedskaterswillbecompetingintheAWGtrialsinJanu-ary.Fourfemaleandfourmaleskatersfromtwoagegroupswillqualifytorep-resenttheNWT.ThecoachesareworkingwiththemrightnowonlotsoftechnicalconditioninganduppingtheirtnesslevelssocometheterritorialtrialsinJanuarytheyllbeatthetopoftheirgameGildaysaid.NWTskatersencouragedtorecordlapsInamovetoencouragetheCanadianspeedskatingteamaninitiativecalledSkatetoSochiwaslaunchedonNov.15askingspeedskatingclubsacrossthecountrytologlapswiththegoalofrecordingadistanceequivalenttothatbetweenOttawaandSochi.TheYellowknifespeedskatingclubwastherstinthecountrytosignupforthetaskandhasbeenpumpingoutlapseversince.ThecityhostedapublicSkatetoSochieventinNo-vemberatitsbrand-newout-doorskatingovalwhere800lapswereloggedamountingtoaround160km.InInuvikwherethespeedskatingclubexpectsaroundsevenofitsathletestotryoutfortheAWGSkatetoSochihashelpedencourageyouthtogiveittheirallcoachThe-resaRosssaid.Itsafunwayforthekidstodolapsandtheyaremean-ingfulthen.Itsalotoffunforthemshesaid.HavingMichaeltherehelpsthemre-latetoitmoretoo.TheNWTassociationiscurrentlytrackingthelapsgarneredbyskatersandskat-ingclubsintheterritoryandrecordingthemdailyonlineathttpwww.nwtspeedskat-ing.canode93.GildaysaidsheencouragesanyonewithapairofskatestorecordtheirlapsandsendthemintobeincludedintheSkatetoSochicount.PhotosShaneClarkTheYellowknifespeedskatingteamcompetesinVancouverattheirrsteventofthe2013-2014seasonleadinguptotheAWGtrialsinJanuary.