Island Skaters Competing at Canadian Long Track Championships
P.E.I.’s Jenna Larter, (second from right) pictured at the Canadian Short Track Championships last October, will compete at the 2023 Canadian Long Track Championships in Calgary this weekend. Photo courtesy of Tjerk Bartlema / PhotographieTB.
P.E.I. speed skaters Jenna Larter and Andrew Binns will be representing the Island at the 2023 Canadian Long Track Championships in Calgary this weekend.
Larter, from Brookfield, will be lacing up for her second senior national championships event in as many years, after competing at the Canadian Short Track Championships in Quebec City in 2022. At that event, she became the first Islander to compete in a senior national speed skating championship since 2013.
This season marks Larter’s first as a full-time long track skater, after she began part-time training and competition in long track in the latter half of the 2022-23 season. The 21-year-old sprint specialist has progressed quickly in her new discipline, where she will compete in the 500-metre and 1,000-metre events over the four-day championships. Larter has notched the fourth-fastest 500-metre time among Canadian women this season, after clocking a time of 39.27 seconds at the Olympic Oval Fall Classic competition in Calgary last month. With the fast time, Larter also met the 2023-24 International Skating Union (“ISU”) World Cup qualifying time standard, which allows her to compete for a chance to represent Canada on the international circuit this season.
Andrew Binns at the 2023 Canada Games. Photo taken by Frank Scheme.
Binns, from Stratford, will be making his Canadian championships debut, skating in the 500-metre event. The 21-year-old, also in his first full season of long track training, relocated to Calgary in July and like Larter, now trains at the Olympic Oval. He will enter this weekend’s championships with the 23rd fastest 500-metre time among Canadian men this season, after stopping the clock at 36.92 seconds at the recent Olympic Oval Fall Classic.
The Canadian Long Track Championships will crown Canadian champions from among the country’s top 30 (or fewer) speed skaters in each individual distance. It will also serve as a selection event for the team to represent Canada on the World Cup circuit this fall and competitors will earn points toward their Canadian ranking, which is used to help select athletes to the National and NextGen team programs for next season.
The championships get underway on Thursday morning, when Larter and Binns will both skate in the first 500-metre event. The Island pair will skate the second and final 500-metre event on Saturday, while Larter will also compete in the 1,000-metre races on Friday and Sunday. Live streaming, results and photos can be found at https://speedskating.ca/mec-events/2023-canadian-long-track-championships/
For more information about Speed Skating PEI, visit www.speedskatingpei.ca.
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Photo caption: Andrew Binns.
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