Reflection of 20 years
in sport

August 27, 2025

by Raistlin van Spronsen

Where it all began

This upcoming October will mark the beginning of another season for the Dawson Creek Speed Skating Club. This year will be the 68th year for the club, with our origins dating back to 1955

Pat Underhill moved to Dawson Creek in the early 1950’s and soon began the process of organizing the new club, Pat was joined by locals Tom & Clara Overend to form the first speed skating club in B.C.. In 1965 the Fort St. John Elks Speed Skating Club was formed and in 1966 the British Columbia Speed Skating Association was established, it has since been rebranded to Speed Skating BC (many confused us with BCSSA for the swimming organization when it was abbreviated)

 

The early years

My personal experience with the sport of speed skating began in 2006 with the Dawson Creek Speed Skating Club. While I’ve been on skates prior to this it was my first experience on speed skates which have a much different profile than hockey skates.

Over the years I’d take part in many local, regional and provincial competitions along with a few national competitions. For the first few years our local events consisted between Fort St. John, Grande Prairie, Dawson Creek, Peace River and Chetwynd. Around 2010, the Chetwynd club folded so we no longer went to competitions there. Some regional competitions included places such as Vanderhoof, Mackenzie. In 2011 BCSSA (SSBC) removed the regional championship and instead implemented a qualifying system for B.C. Short Track Provincials, 

Some of my favorite events through the early years include; 

the 2009 Worksafe BC Long Track Championships at the Richmond Olympic Oval (yes, the very ice as the 2010 Olympics where Denny Morrison, Clara Hughes, Christine Nesbit and many others skated) 

2009 Regional Championships in Dawson Creek and accepting the championship award on behalf of the club (and the club coming on afterwards for the group photo (we were a huge club  back then) 

2010 Regional Championships where many of us who skated in the 2009 BCLT event witnessed Canada win gold in a small packed concession with a 19″ inch TV

 

The Elks era

As our family was actively involved in the sport from us kids as athletes, my dad as an official and my mom managed the hospitality room for competitions. In the fall of 2011 we transitioned from training with Dawson Creek to the elite FSJ Elks where we all excelled and had a year like none other thus far in my skating career. We attended competitions in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Fort St. James, Prince George, Dawson Creek and of course our home ice, Fort St. John

Walking into the Memorial Arena that year was a strange feeling as we had our dressing room with FSJ. The one thing I remember about that event was as I was doing a 777m race all of a sudden someone yelled “Shame on you, traitor” however it never phased me as I kept going. In early January after a family vacation to Hawaii we got our FSJ suits (we were currently using our former Dawson Creek team suits)

It was then our Long Track season kicked off, we first travelled to Red Deer along with the Kalkman family (Renée, Rachel and Michelle) for the Alberta Open (the oval is now in a new location) at the Golden Circle Seniors Centre which always had great amenities, staff and of course the best ice I’ve skated on. After returning from Red Deer it was off competitions for a couple of weeks until hitting to road to Fort St. James for the B.C. Provincial LT Championships and to secure that spot to represent our club at the Canadian Age Class LT Championships in FSJ.

After the event, the names came in on who had qualified for the final competition, including myself. I was happy to have hit the goal that I had set in the beginning of the season. The national championship was an exciting event reconnecting with friends from across BC. This wasn’t my final competitive event, my last event was in 2014 at the B.C. Provincial Championships with the endorsement of Mayor Dale Bumstead and my bestie, Brhyer. I hit the ice flying and cut PB’s. After that season I resigned from competitive skating, I did continue on skating recreationally and coaching. To this day I am the sole member of my family still active in the club

Coaching & Officiating

As I finished competitive skating in 2014, I began helping out on the ice along with skating in the older groups to stay active. In 2016 I obtained my Level 1 Clerk of the Course, and a year later I obtained my Level 2. In 2017 I began working along side Special Olympics BC as we have always had SOBC athletes in the club through the Child Development Centre, however these new athletes were adults in the community joining us. One of them was my friend Michael Ryder who had no idea I coached skating until I came up behind him. I took him under my wing, and along with myself and our coaches.

I only attended a few Special Olympics events over the years, one in Abbotsford BC and one in Coquitlam BC. The other was the 2020 BC Games just before the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 era & the closing

As our season was wrapping up as the COVID-19 outbreak spread across the country, it only affected a few events at the end of the year. The seasons from 2020 – 2022 were having mandates on and off the ice. We did have a few parents not happy about us enforcing the requirements however we got through the pandemic. This is where the club started to break down. The 2021-2022 season saw most of our board quit due to restrictions. After the 2022-2023 season Special Olympics was no longer part of the club, this past season (2023-2024) saw only 4 athletes, we did however send myself and a skater to the B.C. Games in Quesnel

Our club strived for over 70 years, however as most things come to an end the club ended all practices due to low numbers and high costs in November 2025. While it isn’t ideal, I still do some official work as a SSBC Independent Member in order to still be covered for insurance purposes.

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