Though she’ll face some stiff competition when she heads to her first provincial figure skating competition, nine-year-old Sophie Borhi is feeling pretty confident.
“I’m going to win it,” she chirps, before peeling away on her skates to do another series of spins and twirls on the ice at the Civic Centre.
Borhi is one of four local skaters who secured a place at the Pacific StarSkate Championships held in Cranbrook this month, after taking second in the 10 and under preliminary freeskate category at the Kootenay regional championship.
Mia Noblet, 15, also qualified with a third place finish in senior bronze freeskate, and dance pair Shaen Panko Dool, 10, and Morgan Sabo, 11, took first in their category with a set of tango and blues routines.
However, the pair won’t be attending provincials because they were the only two skaters to compete in their category in B.C. or the Yukon.
Head coach Rachel Stewart says the figure skating club has sent a few skaters to provincials over the years, but making it past regionals is often difficult because they’re competing against skaters from larger organizations in East Kootenay.
Competition at the provincial level is stiffer yet, Stewart says, with some kids skating twice as often as Borhi and the rest of the club.
“But she’s a good little skater,” she says of Borhi. “She did very well and she’s got a great attitude.”
The Pacific StarSkate Championships run March 4 to 6.