Mackenzie Haining, Elizabeth Liao, and Kristy Bell represented the Burlington Skating Centre proudly at the 2010 Junior Nationals / Canadian Championships held in London January 13 – 17. Mackenzie Haining skated a full out freeskate program attacking every element and managed a 11th place finish in the Novice Women’s event narrowly missing the top 10 by a few hundredths of a point. Elizabeth Liao had strong finish to her freeskate program landing her last double axel combination to finish in 12th place in the Junior Women’s event. Kristy Bell looked very much a national level Senior Lady skating 2 strong programs with poise and sophistication. Kristy completed 3 triple jumps in the competition which was a personal best and finished a respectable 14th.

Dear Skating Family,

There has been a lot of news lately on the best prevention and treatment against H1N1 Infection but unlike other medical conditions, the information is changing quickly and often conflicting from week to week. It is sometimes difficult to know what is true and what to do!

Currently, Skate Canada is advising that all clubs increase member awareness of proper hygiene to reduce the transmission of respiratory infections like H1N1 and seasonal flu. We are not recommending any additional measures such as infection surveillance or enforcement of cancellations of lessons, competitions or social events at this time. If these Skate Canada recommendations change based on government notification, we will issue another communication to keep you up to date.

Here is a list of good prevention habits and ideal infection control that you should practice at home and in the arena:

Hand Washing Hygiene

• Frequently
• Thoroughly
• Water and/or Sanitizer

The Sleeve Sneeze

• Catch those germs on garments not hands, face or air spray

Distance between Buddies

• Meet and greet without hand and face contact
• Three feet or an arms length between buddies

The Wipe-Down Brigade

• Frequent cleaning with anti-viral cleaning solutions
• Make all surfaces that have hand contact easy to wipe

Skate Canada is keeping up to date with the provincial Health Ministries as they advise on best practice for each province. You can too by visiting www.fightflu.ca.

Flu-Proofing the Skating Rink

• Keep magazines, books, cloth toys etc. out of lounge areas – they are difficult to wipe down
• Wipe down counters and surfaces frequently and have disposable cleaning cloths available
• Dressing rooms should not be overcrowded and each skater should have six feet of space
• Have lots of facial tissue on hand and lots of plastic lined garbage disposal cans
• Hand sanitizer should be available in every washroom, lounge area, food area and entrance way
• Make sure that towels, gloves, pillows and other items are not shared between skaters
• Hugs can easily be replaced by friendly non-contact greetings like elbow bumps, peace signs and air kisses
• Always give permission for someone who is not feeling well to stay at home, pressure to perform or attend could lead to infections being in the rink unnecessarily.

Wishing you a healthy skating season,

Dr. Julia Alleyne, Chief Medical Officer

William Thompson, Chief Executive Officer