Who knew the secret to not getting dizzy while spinning is simply getting used to it through years of practice?<\/p>\n
That insider\u2019s tip was supplied by three impressive Huntsville skaters who have just returned from the Skate Ontario Championships held over the weekend in Sudbury.<\/p>\n
Huntsville Skating Club\u2019s Mary MacMillan (17), Kaitlyn Brushey (12) and Peyton Burmeister (15) qualified to attend the provincial competition in which each skater has just one chance, about three minutes, to impress the judges. Scoring is based on the execution of requisite moves and on the program components such as the interpretation of the music, choreography, performance and transition.<\/p>\n
This wasn\u2019t the first time the Huntsville trio have attended the provincial championships so they went into the competition with some personal goals. Mary MacMillan, who placed 17th, is proud of her score. \u201cI got my best score of the season so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaitlyn Brushey, who finished 13th, was hoping to beat her best score. \u201cYou kinda want to beat your last score or your best before that but for my skate the jumps weren\u2019t my best so it wasn\u2019t my highest score, but it was close to my second.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peyton Burmeister has had a rough season. A concussion sustained when she was hit in the head by a puck at a hockey game took her off the ice just before she was supposed to leave for the provincial qualifier in January. She was sidelined for two and half weeks and then spent another two and half weeks working her way back. Still, she had a lot of success at the Championships. \u201cI haven\u2019t competed much this season but I had a really good skate. My goal was to crack the top 15 and I came in 15th.\u201d<\/sup><\/p>\n There is no question that these skaters love what they do and each has their specialty.<\/p>\n Mary says she loves to spin. \u201cI think my favourite moves are the big combos spins. You are spinning for a super long time and you change position in the spin and it\u2019s just really cool. Everyone thinks you get crazy dizzy but after a while you get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n For Kaitlyn, it\u2019s all about the jumps. \u201cI like the jumps. They are just my favourite. I like them better than spins but I think it\u2019s because I like leaving the ice and going really high off it.\u201d<\/p>\n Peyton has taken the spinning to the next level. \u201cI like spinning. I have a few more unique spins that are a little tougher to do and more complicated. I feel really comfortable with them so I just love doing them.\u201d<\/p>\n