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Good evening Blizzard families,
I am slowly moving through getting our club members registered in Speed Skating Canada's new Member Administration System (MAS). Apologies for the confusion if/when you are receiving emails from the MAS. Please rest assured that all your fees have been paid at the Blizzard registration night, you do not need to log in to the system to make any additional payments. Its a big week for the PG Blizzard - our interclub competition is this coming Saturday. Keri McLeod is still looking for volunteers, if you are interested and available please contact Keri ASAP. Mats are being moved to Kin1 on Friday night at 7:30pm. Many hands make light work - if you are available please come down to help get the mats ready for installation early Saturday morning. **************************************************************************************** 1. BCSSA - CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP The BCSSA announced earlier this week that the President has issued his resignation. BCSSA Vice President (and PG Blizzard President) Kari Rae will be transitioning into the leadership role over the next several weeks. Thank you and congratulations Kari Rae! More information is available on the BCSSA website here: https://www.bcspeedskating.ca/mailster/6195/11f55d3b9ec40a9b640f1e01f9c07d56/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmNzcGVlZHNrYXRpbmcuY2Evd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMTgvMTEvRGF2ZXMtQkNTU0EtUmVzaWduYXRpb24ucGRm 2. FUNDRAISING Purdys - due to a lack of interest the PG Blizzard will not be selling Purdys this year. Operation Red Nose - ORN is in dire need of volunteers and they will donate funds to the club to anyone volunteering on behalf of the club. Please consider signing up. Colibri - The Colibri bags are expected to be shipped later this week. We should receive them promptly, pending the shipment is not disrupted by Canada Post rotating strikes. 3. ICE SCHEDULE A reminder that despite Monday, November 12th being a school holiday, the city facilities are open and therefore the Advanced Group ice will go ahead as regularly scheduled on Monday evening. Tuesday November 20th skating for ALL GROUPS is cancelled. The ice is preempted due to the PG Minor Hockey Assn Skate-a-thon. ***************************************************************************************** Have a great week! Kessie, Kessie Konwicki, Registrar PG Blizzard Speed Skating Club ~ on behalf of the PG Blizzard Board of Directors Good evening Blizzard families,
I hope that all of you, and your families are surviving the shift to daylight savings time, so far. The true test will be getting out of bed and out the door for school and work tomorrow morning. As we get closer to our Interclub meet - Central Interior Challenge (Nov.17) the PG Blizzard would like to acknowledge all the work being done by Meet Coordinator Keri McLeod behind the scenes to make this a great event for our club skaters and our guests from across the province. *************************************************************************** 1. MEET ENTRY A reminder that Registration forms for the PG Blizzard CICO on November the 17th are due by November 8th. Kari Rae is our club's meet entry coordinator. Registration forms are available here: https://www.bcspeedskating.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CIC-Announcement.pdf Please hand completed forms in to Kari Rae this week. If you need to access the BCSSA site to look up your skater's Personal Best (PB) times you can access the site here: http://lookup.speed-skating.bc.ca/request/pbtimes/ If you have any questions please contact Kari Rae, Keri McLeod, or any of the more "experienced" parents. All skaters registered in the Learn to Skate program are eligible to compete in one local meet - this is the perfect opportunity! All skaters will skate with skaters of a similar ability, and we like to say "we compete against our shadow", the goal is to set a new personal best. The Active Start skaters will also be able to participate in the Jamboree which is all fun and games. 2. MEET SAFETY Our club's Safety Coordinator, Meredith Earl, is wondering if any of our parents have Level 3 Occupational First Aid or equivalent. Please contact Meredith if you have the certification and are available to assist at any of our three meets this season. 3. PG BLIZZARD BOARD MEETING A quick reminder to Board members that we are scheduled to meet this Wednesday evening at 6:30pm. ************************************************************************* Thank you, have a great week! Kessie Konwicki, Registrar - on behalf of the PG Blizzard Board of Directors Good evening PG Blizzard families,
Here is a quick update for this week. ***************************************************************************** 1. KIN Centre Update This past week parents and skaters noticed that it was a bit chillier than normal in Kin1. The following information was provided by the City of Prince George: As part of the natural gas conservation effort, the City of Prince George has lowered the temperature in Kin 1 from 16 to 12 degrees. The attached sign will be posted around Community Arenas, however I wanted to share so that you can message to your Supervisors, Coaches to the parents as they may notice the cooler temperature around the building. 2. FUNDRAISING Colibri Bags - Colibri continues through to the 29th. Purdys - In order to qualify for fundraising with Purdys the Club needs to be able to order $1000 this holiday season. If you are interested in selling Purdys please email Fundraising Coordinator, Catherine Hansen CICO - Along with our interclub short track meet - Central Interior Challenge - the midget hockey team is also hosting a tournament at the arena on that weekend. Catherine is looking in to some interesting and innovative options to do fundraising. Operation Red Nose - Volunteering with Operation Red Nose has been a great option for families to fundraise in past years. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Catherine Hansen. *********************************************************************** That's all for this week, have a great week. Kessie. Kessie Konwicki, Registrar PG Blizzard Speed Skating Club ~ on behalf of the PG Blizzard Board of Directors Good evening Blizzard families,
All our skaters are settling in to the 2018/19 skating season. Our Elite skaters, Craig Miller, Kieran Hansen and Keanan St. Rose were in Red Deer this past weekend for trials for the BC provincial short track team for the 2019 Canada Winter Games, coming this winter to Red Deer, Alberta. Stay tuned for results. Here is this week's update: ******************************************************************************* 1. FUNDRAISING The Colibri fundraiser starts this week on October 15th. Fundraising coordinator, Catherine, will be handing out forms this week at practice, or you can go directly to their website at https://colibrifundraising.com/ . When ordering online, don't forget to select PG Blizzard as the school. You can also share the link from our Facebook page to family and friends. Colibri offers reusable bags for lunch, snacks or larger wet bags for swimwear, in a variety of kid-friendly patterns. 2. CENTRAL INTERIOR CHALLENGE - MEET COORDINATION Hello, It is that time of year again. The Central Interior Challenge (our short track meet) is fast approaching and I am looking for volunteers to help out. I will be needing officials, and a couple of people to help out with the lunch for the officials. The officials positions are: Place Judges Timers Lap Counters Runners Heat Box Steward Track Steward All of these positions can be learned the day of the meet and there isn’t any experience required. Our volunteers can be parents, grandparents, siblings (16 yrs and up) or anyone that you know who is willing to help. Please remember, without our volunteers our meets cannot run. Thank you, Keri McLeod, Meet Coordinator 3. LEARN TO SKATE - SKATE SHARPENING Following their 3rd session on the ice, the Learn to Skate skates will likely need to be sharpened. If all Learn to Skate skaters can leave their skates with Dave following the practice this Tuesday a team of "experienced" parents will help to get them sharpened, and return them at the beginning of practice next Tuesday. Dave will have a bin in the change room to collect skates at the end of practice. 4. PG BLIZZARD BOARD MEETING A quick reminder to Board members that we are scheduled to meet this Wednesday evening at 6:30pm. ************************************************************************ Thank you, have a great week! Kessie Konwicki, Registrar ~ on behalf of the PG Blizzard Speed Skating Club Good evening PG Blizzard families.
Happy Thanksgiving! We hope all our new Learn to Skate skaters had a great first session. Our new Tuesday night skaters all looked like they were having fun. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. **************************************************************************** 1. ADVANCED GROUP - NO ICE MONDAY, OCTOBER 8th A reminder to our Advanced Group skaters and families that due to the holiday, there is no session on Monday, October 8th. 2. FUNDRAISING - COLIBRI BAGS Our first new fundraising opportunity of the 2018/19 season starts next week. Colibri bags offers a number of sizes of reuseable lunch bags and wet bags in fun patterns. The fundraiser will go from October 15-29th and can be done online or through forms that Catherine will distribute at practice. These bags are made by a Canadian company and make really great Christmas presents and stocking stuffers. Feel free to pre-shop on their website and we will also share the link on our Facebook page that you can share as well. https://colibrifundraising.com/ 3. MEET ENTRY Please be advised that the annual Fort St. James short track event has been cancelled. ******************************************************************************* Thanks! Have a great week. Kessie Konwicki, Registrar ~ on behalf of the PG Blizzard Board of Directors Good evening Blizzard families,
We are excited to welcome our Learn to Skate skaters this week! Learn to Skate skaters will be starting this Tuesday evening - lets all do our best to make our new families feel welcome (I'm sure you still remember your first weeks as a speed skating parent). We have Learn to Skates joining the FUNdamental and Novice Groups. Here are this week's updates: ****************************************************************************************************** 1. LEARN TO SKATE - EQUIPMENT Dave is organizing equipment bags and skates for our Learn to Skate skaters. Please be at the arena (Kin1) a bit early to pick up your gear - Dave will be by where you tried on skates. Skaters who are skating with the FUNdamental group are on the ice at 5:45pm, parents are asked to be at the arena by 5:15pm to help put out mats. Skaters who are skating with the Novice Group will be on the ice at 6:30pm, dryland/warm up starts at 5:45pm. Most Learn to Skates will be on the ice with the FUNdamental Group for the first week. Dave kindly reminds all parents that helmets are a key piece of speed skating equipment, must be CSA certified, and expire after 5 years. Please review your child's helmet expiry date to ensure your child's head is adequately protected. Many of our Learn to Skate families ask "What should my child wear for speed skating?". We advise that skaters wear layers of warm clothing that are relatively form-fitting (ie. not baggy). Children can become cold on the ice, or may be warm if they are moving quickly. We advise against jackets or sweaters with hoods as hoods may cause tripping hazard or may prevent safety gear from fitting properly. Thermal underwear (long johns) are helpful. 2. FUNDRAISING We are launching our first fundraiser of the season. Colibri bags offers a number of sizes of reuseable lunch bags in attractive patterns. The fundraiser will go from October 15-29th and can be done online or through forms that Catherine will distribute at practice. These bags are made by a Canadian company and make really great Christmas presents and stocking stuffers. Feel free to pre-shop on their website and I will also share the link on our Facebook page that you can share as well. https://colibrifundraising.com/ 3. THANKSGIVING WEEKEND ICE TIMES A reminder that the Blizzards do have regularly scheduled ice times (Masters & FUNdamental) on Saturday, October 6th. However, Advanced practice on Monday, October 8th is cancelled because of the holiday Monday. ************************************************************************************************************* If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask :) If you have a partner or spouse that would also like to receive Blizzard updates, please send me the email address and I will add them to our list. Thank you, have a great week. Kessie Konwicki, Registrar PG Blizzard Speed Skating Club ~ on behalf of the PG Blizzard Board of Directors Good evening Blizzard families,
It was great to see so many of our athletes out on the ice this weekend for Kickstart Camp and BCSSA Short Track Academy. Special thanks to our Blizzard coaches - Kari, Sean & Taryn - for helping to run the sessions. Our Academy skaters were treated to fun and learning from Olympic silver medalist Jessica Hewitt. This week is our first week of the regular ice season. We will see you at the rink! The Learn to Skate program begins next week on October 2nd. ******************************************************************************** 1. ICE TIMES Here is a reminder regarding skating times for each group: FUNdamentals: Tuesdays 5:45 to 6:30pm (parents are needed to put the mats on the ice at 5:15pm) Saturdays 7:45 to 8:30am (parents are needed to remove mats at 8:30am) Novice: Tuesdays 6:30 to 7:30pm Thursday 5:45 to 6:45pm (parents are needed to put mats on the ice at 5:15pm) - dry land training/warm up starts 45 minutes before ice time Advanced: Mondays 7:00 to 8:30pm (parents are needed to put mats on the ice at 6:45pm and remove mats at 8:30pm) Tuesdays 7:45 to 9:00pm (parents are needed to remove mats from the ice at 9:00pm) Thursdays 7:00 to 8:30pm (parents are needed to remove mats from the ice at 8:30pm) - dry land training/warm up starts 45 minutes before ice time Masters: Saturdays 6:00 to 7:30am 2. Notes from our EQUIPMENT MANAGER At the beginning of the season here is a reminder about required safety gear https://www.bcspeedskating.ca/skate-with-us/required-equipment/ . A reminder that helmets do have a safety life span, please check that your helmet has not expired (nothing older than 5 years). Another reminder that the club has cleats available for parents to use when putting mats on the ice - they are stored in the small cage. Its been an exciting couple of weeks helping skaters get fitted for skates, Good job parents on whatever you've been feeding those growing feet!!! We will work with coaches to assess skate / blade fits over first couple of sessions. We encourage younger skaters to let their parents know if they have any sore spots / pressure points when they come off the ice. Dave will be on hand on the first night to assist, please find him if you have any questions. Heat molding instructions (for skates) can be found here. 3. PG BLIZZARD WEBSITE Our website is back up and running! Our webmaster (Dave K) is continuing to build and update the website. If you have ideas or photos that you would like to share, please forward to Dave. We are looking to add a classified section soon, stay tuned for more information. The calendar has been updated, as has the Upcoming Meets page - see the summary list on the Information tab. Don't forget to Like and Share the PG Blizzard Facebook page. News and information will also be posted here. 4. SKIN SUITS The club is scoping out the need for a skin suit order from Apogee. Does your skater need a new Blizzard skin suit? Please contact Kari Rae at pgblizzard.president@gmail.com. The club does have an inventory of smaller skin suits that are available for our younger skaters. Please contact Dave if you are interested in seeing what is available. 5. BOARD MEETING The PG Blizzard Board of Directors is meeting this Wednesday night at 6:30 at Houle Electric. Please contact Kari (pgblizzard.president@gmail.com) if you would like more information. ********************************************************************************************************************************* Thank you, Kessie Konwicki, Registrar ~ on behalf of the PG Blizzard Board of Directors Good evening PG Blizzard families,
Welcome to the 2018/19 speed skating season! We are counting down to the first week of skating - regular sessions start the week of September 24th, with Learn to Skate skaters starting the following week on October 2nd. **************************************************************************************************** 1. SKATE TIMES Skate times are as follows: FUNdamentals: Tuesdays 5:45 to 6:30pm (parents are needed to put the mats on the ice at 5:15pm) Saturdays 7:45 to 8:30am (parents are needed to remove mats at 8:30am) - coaches Wendy Hudyma, Kathy Lewis, Becca Harlos with junior coaches Morgan Aucoin and Sylvia Masich Novice: Tuesdays 6:30 to 7:30pm Thursday 5:45 to 6:45pm (parents are needed to put mats on the ice at 5:15pm) - dry land training/warm up starts 45 minutes before ice time - coaches Kari Rae and Sean Bernard Advanced: Mondays 7:00 to 8:30pm (parents are needed to put mats on the ice at 6:45pm and remove mats at 8:30pm) Tuesdays 7:45 to 9:00pm (parents are needed to remove mats from the ice at 9:00pm) Thursdays 7:00 to 8:30pm (parents are needed to remove mats from the ice at 8:30pm) - dry land training/warm up starts 45 minutes before ice time - coaches Taryn Vansickle and Kari Rae, with guest coach Keith Gordon Youth Learn to Skate skaters will skate on Tuesday nights 5:54 to 6:30pm with the FUNdamental group. 2. KICKSTART CAMP Kickstart camp and BCSSA Academy are running next weekend. Your registration should be in to BCSSA (Advanced skaters) or to Kari Rae (pgblizzard.president@gmail.com). I have attached the Kickstart form to this email for any late registrants. A reminder that the club is hosting a BBQ on Saturday evening at the Outdoor Oval building (thank you OIO). New families are welcome to join us. Please RSVP to me (pgblizzard.registrar@gmail.com) by Wednesday night. Skaters participating in Kickstart or Academy are free, additional family members are $5/person. Thank you to Anna-Marie Schmidt for coordinating our 2018 Kickstart BBQ! 3. ICE MARKING A reminder to all ice marking volunteers to please meet at Kin1 at 6:30pm. Thank you to all the volunteers for your help to get the ice set up for the skating season. **************************************************************************************************** Watch for PG Blizzard Update emails weekly on Sunday evening. A reminder to all coordinators to please have any updates sent to me (pgblizzard.registrar@gmail.com) by noon on Sunday. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email. Have a great week! Kessie. Kessie Konwicki, Registrar PG Blizzard Speed Skating Club ~on behalf of the PG Blizzard Board of Directors Academy short track is starting this year in Prince George on Sept 22&23. The coach is Olympic medalist Jessica Hewitt, from Kamloops.
You can register online with the following link. https://www.bcspeedskating.ca/bc-speed-skating-academy/ |
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