Gazette Staff
The Interclub North Region will be hosting the Bill Phillips Memorial Synchronized Skating Invitational Competition Dec. 13-14 at the Stratford Rotary Complex.
Eighty teams from Alberta, Quebec and Ontario will be competing in this first competition of the season, with skaters ages seven to 60 taking the ice. Teams range in size from eight to 20 members.
The competition is named after Bill Phillips, who died in 2005. Phillips was heavily involved in synchronized skating and made huge contributions to the sport.
The Interclub North Region consists of 14 clubs in the area, including the Stratford Skating Club. There are nine regions in western Ontario and each region hosts a few competitions each season. The Bill Phillips Invitation will be held in Stratford annually.
Several local teams will be skating at the competition, including the Plattsville Pizazz, coached by Cindy Brick. Local members of the Plattsville Petite Pizazz are Nicole Orr and Hilary Parson of Stratford and Holly Entwistle of Tavistock. The Novice Platsville Pizazz features Melissa Becker and Samantha Franke of Stratford, Emma Bender and Stephanie Lupton of Tavistock and Samantha Kerekes, Deanna Kerekes, Bailey Felkar and Rachel Fowler of St. Marys. Also there will be Stratford’s Robin Hewitt, who skates with the Ilderton Classic Jet, which won at the Canadians last season.
The Tavistock Team Unity, coached by Susan Naughton Ritchie, will compete, as will a team from the Milverton Skating Club.
Nexxice, the senior Canadian champions and world bronze medallist, are also set to compete. The team consists of members from the Burlington, Kitchener and Waterloo area.
“These are top-of-the-line skaters and it is thrilling to watch them skate,” said Alison Becker, in a press release.
After the Bill Phillips Invitational, the next contest in the area is on March 6-7 in Milverton. The Futures is a singles event for younger skaters. There is also a Boston Pizza Competition being planned for St. Marys in 2010 and is set to feature a higher level of skaters competing. The top three in each category will go on to compete at the All-Ontario competition.
