Victoria (VIC) has taken out the 2023 Skate Australia Speed Skating National Championships in Perth, Western Australia (WA).
VIC collected a total of 72 medals across 116 events spread over 10 different age groups.
The National Championships ran from the 15th to the 21st January, hosting 76 athletes from around the country. Consisting of four different competition disciplines, Road, Indoor, Banked and Marathon Tracks.
During the event, athletes competed fiercely for podium positions, with some fantastic results across all states. Senior Mens skater Harry Stogdale VIC won the Shaun Thompson Trophy for the Open Men 10k Road Race, while WA World Skate Games athlete Asha Hickford successfully defended her Open Ladies 10k Lee Hollis Trophy from 2022, in addition to placing first in all 13 Senior Ladies events she competed in.
In the Cadet Boys there was an outstanding performance by New South Wales athlete, Emmanuel Calpakos who won nine out of his 12 events, placing second in the 5km Road Points Race and fourth in the 1 Lap and 100m in Lanes.
Event Organiser and Skate WA State Administrator Pauline Robertson found the event to be a great success even with the smaller number of competitors in comparison to previous National Championships.
“Unfortunately the number of competitors was down, but it was still a very successful event and Skate WA were very happy with the Championships,” said Robertson.
“Everything fell into place and all the hard work that was put into the event paid off.”
Hosting the national event in Perth gave many family and friends the opportunity to watch their athletes compete, something Perth based supporters don’t often get to experience.
“For our local skaters it was great to be able to have a Nationals event at home. We travel four out of five years so it can be expensive, so being able to have family and friends there supporting the athletes was great to see and created an awesome energy for our skaters,” said Robertson.
Ben Randall was one of the many athletes competing at this year's National Championships. The 12 year old Victorian competed in the Cadet Boys age group and had his best finish of third in the 3000m Finals.
Randall found the event to be a great experience and enjoyed not just the racing but the environment the event created.
“The nationals were really fun and a great experience, I was able to meet a number of other speed skaters from around Australia and made plenty of new friends which is always exciting,” said Randall.
With a total team of 33 athletes representing Victoria, Skate Australia Victoria Speed (SAVS) Chair, Scott Clayton was extremely impressed and proud of all VIC representing athletes.
“We are very proud of our Victorian skaters and their efforts in the WA National Championships. To have such a strong team to represent Victoria at our furthest local competition, is highly commendable,” Scott Clayton SAVS
Skate Australia would like to congratulate all skaters who competed at the event and to the skaters that were selected for the Oceania Championships which will take place in April this year. More information and team lists will be announced soon.
Applications will be open for team manager and coaching positions for the Oceania Championships in the coming weeks.
For all results check out the links below:
Road
Flat Track
Banked
Marathon