Two-time Canadian Olympic figure skater Keegan Messing showed Lloydminster and area skaters how to fly on ice last weekend.
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Messing, who hails from Anchorage, Alaska, but calls Edmonton his home club, was in the Border City for a Future Stars Camp hosted by the Lloydminster Skating Club.
The two-day camp was held at the Servus Sports Centre and saw 30 skaters learning on and off the ice. Messing was the on-ice instructor and two dance instructors were brought in for dryland training.
“I love doing these seminars. You get all these kids coming together and it’s a way for me to pass on the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years,” said Messing. “My favourite part is breaking things down and teaching the love of a sport.”
Messing retired from competitive skating in 2023 after a 30-year career; however, he’s recently gotten back into the competition side of the sport.
The 33-year-old father of two explained his focus over the weekend was skating skills, something he said helped him immensely.
“I’ve always been fast, but I looked into how I was skating fast and how I was taking an edge,” he said, noting the reception during the weekend was fantastic.
“One of the best things about these kids is, you show up and there’s an eagerness to learn. The kids are giving me their full attention.
“You give a correction and see an immediate attempt to adjust what they were doing on the ice just before. As a coach, there’s a rewarding aspect to seeing a genuine attempt from the student. It’s especially rewarding with the younger ones.”
For Messing, being a part of these camps is all about giving back.
“It’s reaching out to these kids and trying to give them the best I can,” he said.
“I skated on Team USA for seven years before switching to Team Canada, which is where I always wanted to skate. I never really got support in the sport until switching to Team Canada, so doing these seminars is a way to give back and say ‘thank you’ to the sport and Skate Canada.”
Hillary Sehn, president and adult skater with the Lloydminster Skating Club, said Messing’s presence meant a lot to the club.
“When do you get an Olympian on the ice with you? When do you get an Olympian to show you a one-foot spin?” said Sehn, noting she picked up a few pointers of her own after more than 40 years on the ice.
“We go to Stars on Ice every year and watch Keegan. He’s amazing and the girls at the camp are so excited to be able to learn from him.”
What started out as an email from Future Stars’ president George Short turned into a weekend to remember for a passionate group of athletes.
“I opened registration and filled the entire 30-skater roster in about an hour. There was also a 25-skater waitlist for people wanting to come,” said Sehn.
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