Aldergrove figure skater Haleigha Bull will be competing at the BC Winter Games this weekend at Mission.
Bull, 11, will be in individual Juvenile-level competition at the Mission Leisure Centre on Saturday afternoon and will be skating a routine set to the theme music from the "Tetra" video game.
Inspired by the 2010 Olympic Games four years ago, she has pursued her passion of free skate diligently and with the best instructors she could find.
The BC Winter Games targets skaters at the early competitive stages. The Juvenile Competitive category is for athletes who compete at the provincial level and the Pre-Novice Competitive category is the first category that advances to national level skaters. The athletes at the BC Games are 9-15 years old and generally train on the ice 10-15 hours per week, as well as off-ice programs including aerobics and/or floor classes.
Skate Canada BC/Yukon Section oversees the development of figure skating in the province through their 115 member clubs.
There are many different disciplines of figure skating including singles, pairs, ice dance, and synchronized skating. The BC Winter Games features a singles competition where skaters perform a short program and/or a free program, depending on their competition category. Points are earned for each skating element (e.g. jump, lift, footwork), as well as for five program components: skating skills, transitions, performance, choreography, and interpretation.
A grade 5 student at Coghlan Fundamental School, Bull started skating with the Aldergrove Skate Club, the Mission Skate Club and currently skates with the Connaught Skating Club in Richmond.
Her coach is Keegan Murphy, who is also the director of the Connaught Skating Club.