Fort St. John is known for exporting power, grain and — in the right circle — speed skaters.
The northeastern BC city of just over 21,000 people calls itself the “Energy City,” not only because of its oil and natural gas resource base but also because it prides itself on its youth, with its residents less than nine months old on average. Average in BC
Those youngsters are housed at the Pomeroy Sports Center, a facility that hosts two NHL-sized ice rinks and, on its second floor, one of three Olympic-sized indoor speed skating ovals in Canada, and a handful in North America.
See | A promotional video for Pomeroy Sports Center:
And it's here that the city plans to host what may be the country's first college speed skating event, building on the community's long legacy of punching above its weight when it comes to winter sports.
“We're absolutely thrilled,” said Jesse Drew, vice president of community relations at Northern Lights College (NLC), who is leading the program. “We are looking for students from Canada and around the world who want to come and study with us.”
In partnership with the city, the program will allow students to take trade or university classes while training as part of the NLC speed skating team.
They will have access to coaches, physiotherapists and five ice sessions each week, in addition to their regular studies, with the goal of going to high-level skate programs – offered in Quebec City and Calgary, which hosts the other two Olympics. – Indoor ice oval shape in Canada.
The Oval in Richmond, BC, used in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, has been converted to other uses.
The idea of producing high-speed skaters isn't new to Fort St. John: Local Denny Morrison trained in the city for years before moving to the program in Calgary and becoming an Olympic gold medalist. Another famous name from the city is Linda Johnson-Blair, who competed for Canada in both the 1994 and 1998 Olympics, the first Olympian from the city.
Fort Saint John Speed Skating Club, Formed in 1964has long produced provincial and national champions and in 1987, the entire BC women's speed skating team was made up of athletes from the city.
“The city has always been amazingly supportive,” said Shadi Salehi, president of the Fort St. John Speed Skating Club. Although she's not a skater herself, her 15-year-old daughter fell in love with the sport when she was just three years old, and the family was relatively new to the field.
“We were new to Fort St. John and speed skating gave us community,” Salehi said.
“It's not just a sport, it's really a family thing.”
She said the new college-level program will help players interested in the game who are transitioning from clubs like hers to the high-level training currently offered in Calgary and Quebec City.
This is not the first time the Northern Lights College has spearheaded an odd game in an attempt to attract students.
Five years ago, it launched B.C.'s only college-level rodeo team based in Dawson Creek, east of Fort St. John, which competes with teams from Saskatchewan, Alberta and the United States. The team has grown to about 30 members and is “very important” to bringing home enrollment, Drew said.
The next step for the speed skating program, she explained, will be the same as for the rodeo team: getting the word out, recruiting students and then looking to compete against other schools.
“We will be very busy preparing for September 2025,” she said.
