There was plenty going on in Canada in the year 1952, including a young lady named Elizabeth being named Queen, Ernest Manning was premier of Alberta, Canada won gold in hockey at the Oslo Olympics and Detroit beat Montreal to win the Stanley Cup.
It was also the year the Red Deer Central Lions Speed Skating Club was formed.
“The Lions have been involved when the club originally started, “said Shawna Pearman, the club’s coaching coordinator who has been with the club since 1999. “They got involved right away and have every year.”
By involved, Pearman says the Lions Club gives a donation every year but then members of the club volunteer as timers for the indoor meet and the outdoor long track meet.
“For them it’s great. They don’t have kids skating but they enjoy it and it gives us a neat little group to work with.”
While the support for the cub has remained steady Pearman says the sport itself has changed over the years with new equipment and how the racing has changed.
“We’ve gone from age classes to ability.So we group kids based on their ability, based on a seed time. That’s the best change for young kids like this,” she said during a one day meet in Red Deer’s Kinex Arena. It featured skaters from all around the province from age five to 14.
So now a skater who is ten years old and has been skating for five years won’t be racing against another ten year old who is just starting. Pearman says it’s not fair for either skater so now you will see boys racing against girls, all having similar abilities and it’s just better racing, she said.
She’s looking forward to the new oval being built at Great Chief Park for the 2019 Canada Winter Games as it will provide a top-notch facility, good ice and a Zamboni. She feels the new home will help raise the profile of the sport and attract new people to speed skating. All things which are good for the club but there is a bit of disappointment in leaving the club’s long-time home at the Golden Circle, a track where Pearman skated as well.
The club will be hosting a test event at the new track in late January and the meet has been named after local speed skating icon Jeremy Wotherspoon. Pearman says while some of the younger skaters may not know Wotherspoon, their parents will recognize the name.
“He put Red Deer on the map. Anywhere I’ve travelled in Europe with my daughter’s skating, they find out she’s from Red Deer club and they’re like, oh Jeremy. We know where Red Deer is and we’re in Northern Italy.”
Pearman says in order for the sport to thrive however, new blood is required as it is in all sports and parents can play a key role in growth by volunteering, even in helping coach these young athletes.
“That’s a big thing. You need that person that has some knowledge and sometimes you don’t need knowledge, you just need to learn.”
That is how a club can stick around for another 65 years.