The 2026–27 speed skating season is underway, and there’s already lots happening across Alberta! Welcome to another edition of The Fast Lane.
From upcoming competitions and athlete opportunities to club news, coaching opportunities, and updates from across our community, The Fast Lane is your connection to what’s happening in speed skating across Alberta.
Each edition, we’ll continue to share the updates, opportunities, stories, and successes that keep our sport moving forward. Whether you’re an athlete, coach, official, volunteer, parent, or club leader, we hope you’ll find something here to keep you informed, inspired, and connected to our speed skating community.
Here’s to a great season ahead!
New Season, New Team
Meet the 26/27 Provincial Team!
We’re excited to introduce this season’s Speed Skating Alberta Provincial Team — a talented group of athletes proudly representing our province across Canada!
The purpose of the Provincial Team is to: • Provide a clear pathway for Alberta skaters to progress from club-level development to national-level competition, and • Recognize and connect Alberta’s top-performing skaters, fostering a strong sense of team identity and community across the province.
This year, 35 athletes have been named to the Provincial Team, with 4 skaters joining the Provincial (Junior) Development Team, and several others already earning their spot on the team early in the season! The Youth Development Team is also returning this year, and we’re excited to share the full team list and updated criteria with our community.
We’re also excited to share a new tool we’ve launched to help skaters, parents and coaches calculate whether they or their skater have met the criteria to make it on to the Provincial Team. We hope this will make the process a little easier to understand and provide a helpful resource throughout the season.
A big thank you to Emil Hodzig-Santor for helping us build this tool!
You can find the Provincial Team Calculator HERE.
Congratulations to all athletes named to our Provincial and Development Teams! Click on the button below to find out who's on the team this year!
The time submission for the Canadian Junior Championships is coming up! Skaters who are 15 - 18 as of July 1, 2026 and who are interested in trying to qualify for the competition must fill out the SSA Time Submission Form by October 4th, 2026. Skaters who do not fill out the form will not be submitted. Please have the following information ready:
SSC number
Date of birth
2 best 500m times skated between January 1, 2026 and October 4, 2026
Exact date and location that both times were skated
Update from the Board
We’re excited to share that Greg Ogilvie is the new President of Speed Skating Alberta, taking over from Rachel Miller. Rachel has accepted to stay active with the Board this year in the role of Past President.
We’d also like to thank Antonio Faiola, Cherise Eaves, and Andrew Kay for their service and contributions to the SSA Board over the past couple of years. We truly appreciate the time and commitment they have given to our organization and sport community.
We’re looking forward to introducing the full new Board and their roles in our next newsletter!
Coach Applications
Submit your expression of interest!
We have several coaching opportunities coming up this season — from coaching at an SSA camp here in Alberta to supporting Team SSA at national events when additional coaching support is needed.
We’re looking for both certified coaches and Coaches in Training who are interested in getting involved and supporting Alberta athletes throughout the season.
If you’re interested, you can share your expression of interest through our online form.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you and receiving your applications!
The road to the 2027 Canada Winter Games continues! Here’s the latest on Team Alberta and how eligible athletes and families can stay informed and involved.
The Long Track Canada Winter Games ranking list following the first qualifying competition is now available on our website. The ranking list will continue to be updated after each qualifying competition.
With the Short Track qualifying competitions also getting underway this past weekend, the Short Track ranking list will be posted on the website shortly.
Good luck to all skaters as you work towards qualifying for the Canada Winter Games!
🎨 Design Team Alberta’s CWG Suit! The CWG Suit Design Contest is open for one more day! We’re looking for creative ideas to help design the suit Team Alberta athletes will wear at the 2027 Canada Winter Games.
Get your submission in now: Put your creativity to work and submit your design for a chance to see it become part of Team Alberta’s CWG experience!
Our strength has always been our people, our skaters, coaches, volunteers, officials, clubs, and families.
Let’s make this season one to remember. Celebrate personal bests, step up for your community, and don’t forget to have fun along the way.
We’d love to hear from you. Got a story to share, from your club or as a skater, an achievement to celebrate, or a question about what’s next? Email us at info@speedskatingalberta.ca or tag us on social media.
We would love to highlight your speed skating story in the next issue!
Together, we will shape the future of speed skating in Alberta
With gratitude,
Maggie Executive Director
PS: You’re receiving this email as a registered member of Speed Skating Alberta. If you’d prefer not to receive future newsletters, you can unsubscribe anytime below.
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