By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Speed skating oval at Setters Place hosts 1st Jeremy Wotherspoon Open

Jan 20, 2019 | 11:35 AM

The ice at the new speed skating oval at Red Deer’s Great Chief Park could be the fastest in Canada on the right day, according to a local coach.

Nick Schultz, a coach with the Red Deer Central Lions Speed Skating Club spoke to rdnewsNOW on Saturday during the inaugural Jeremy Wotherspoon Open, so named after the former Red Deerian.

“We do have an amazing facility. We are feeling very privileged that The City has built this. It’s more than we’ve asked for,” Schultz said. “Every corner of this track is lit, and that compared to a lot of other tracks where there’s a lot of dark and shadows, this really allows us from a coaching end to make sure that we’re able to see the skaters throughout the whole lap of the track.”

Schultz noted though there were some hiccups producing ice a year ago, it was well worth the wait to get things right for what is now a ‘tremendous training facility.’

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The meet featured 110 athletes, including a number from Team Alberta who’ll be competing at next month’s Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.

Brooklyn McDougall, a 20-year-old Calgarian and member of Team Canada’s NextGen program, said she was honoured to be a part of the first competition at the new venue.

“I’m really excited. Having the Canada Winter Games in my home province is a dream come true,” she said. It’s an amazing venue and the ice was incredible actually. I got a personal best outdoors, so that’s really exciting. It’s smooth and all the volunteers have been working so hard to make this ice the best.”

Also a member of the Alberta Amateur Speed Skating Association, McDougall will compete in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, team pursuit and mass start events during the 2019 Games.

Jeremy Wotherspoon himself, though he couldn’t be at the event, did send greetings and reflected on his career.

“I always thought the Red Deer meet was the most important competition of the year, and I was always really excited to host the other clubs on our fast track,” he said. “It was always something to look forward to and it was also a big lesson, watching all the parents using so much of their time to put on a competition for us.”

The competition wrapped up Sunday. The 2019 Canada Winter Games will host long-track speed skating at the venue from Feb. 16-22.