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Saanich Peninsula speed skater reaches podium at provincials

Toria Kalyniuk fourth; qualifies for nationals in Quebec
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Saanich Peninsula speed skater Toria Kalyniuk (far right) made the podium at the B.C. Provincial Championships over the weekend. She placed fourth. (Submitted)

Speed skater Toria Kalyniuk has earned her way to the national championships in Quebec later this year.

Kalyniuk, who trains with coach Brenda Hennigar and the Saanich Peninsula Speed Skating Club, placed fourth at the B.C. Provincial Championships over the weekend in Fort St. John. Brooke Braun (Fort St. John) came first, followed by Laura Hall (Vernon) and Martina Antifay (Kamloops) in the long track event. All four qualified for the nationals in Ste. Foy, Quebec in February.

However, according to Hennigar, Kalyniuk will have to wait and see if she will be able to go, as a new selection process for the nationals is in effect this season. She said it’s based on an allocation of entries per province and the territories.

“Only the first two spots are guaranteed,” Hennigar wrote in an email to the News Review. “Toria will have to wait and see if a spot will be available for her.”

Kalyniuk skated to personal best times in three of her four distance races at the provincials. She skated against 12 competitors in her Under 16 age class.

She went to the provincials with fellow Peninsula club member Peyton Stonehouse-Smith, who placed sixth in the Junior Olympic category and personal best times in three of her four distances.

The pair have been skating with the local club for a few years and only recently began working with Hennigar on long track speed skating.