The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
After being named a top figure skater in Manitoba, the next step for a local athlete is Nationals. Mikayla Gawiak, 14, will be heading to Fredericton, New Brunswick, to compete against roughly 24 other skaters for the coveted first place title in the HomeSense National STARSkate Championships. This is the first time Mikayla has made it to this level, which leaves her with some mixed feelings. "I'm very nervous," she said. "I don't know what to expect. "I haven't gotten excited yet, but I bet I will." Mikayla, who has been skating for nine years, will be accompanied by her parents and coach Heather Powell for the April 3-5 competition. Though she has been skating for almost a decade, Powell says she is the youngest to enter the competition. The age range for her category runs from 15 to 19 and sometimes 20 years old. Skaters come from the universities in both Winnipeg and Brandon to compete. Entering the competition, Mikayla says she feels strongest in her interpretive section. She will be competing in the Silver Triathlon, which includes the interpretive as well as a long free-skate program and creative skills. Looking ahead at the competition, Mikayla says she doesn't know how well she will do, but hopes for the top half. "I'll try to skate my best," she says. "I'm hoping to do very well in interpretive, which will help with (my) points." Adding to that, Powell says she agrees Mikayla has a good chance in the competition. "She should do quite well," says the coach, noting that Mikayla is strong in her creative skills as well as the interpretive section. That said, Mikayla hopes to see her name in the top seven. Skating at the Provincials, which were recently held, Mikayla had to skate to qualify, which meant she did her routine but there were no other skaters to compete against. Skaters are given marks as if they were competing. Those marks are then used as their numbers for Nationals. Looking at those numbers, Powell says they are "comparable or slightly higher than those we have compared." With the marks of the skaters across the country available online, the team has been tracking and comparing numbers of those in the same category.
