(September 12, 2007)

(L-R) Mandy Kahl, Kristyn Krause, and Jennifer Coates Photo : John Morrow / Abbotsford News

Three Skate Canada-BC/Yukon skaters from the Abbotsford Skating Club, and former students of Skate Canada’s STARSkate program presented by HomeSense, have recently signed six-month contracts with the European figure skating company Holiday on Ice.

Jennifer Coates (18), Kristyn Krause (18) and Mandy Kahl (19) will be going to Europe in October for training. Coates was the first to apply and try out for this ice show company, and informed the two other skaters.

“The Abbotsford Skating Club is so proud of Mandy, Kristyn, and Jennifer. They all have worked so hard and are so deserving of this success. The club would like to congratulate and acknowledge their hard work as well as the hard work from their dedicated coaches,” says Abbotsford Skating Club’s President Brian Johnson. 

Mandy and Jennifer will perform in the show Romanza presented in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and Russia. Kristyn will be a member of the Bugs Bunny On Ice show presented in Spain, Portugal and South America. The three skaters will have a week to learn their choreography and will average 10 performances per week, sometimes as many as three a day, once the shows start. Kristyn was also selected to be on a Disney ice tour.

"I am proud of the girls and it is so wonderful that they are opening up a new chapter in their book of skating and moving onto the professional end of skating. I am so excited for them to have the opportunity to be performers in the ice show. It will be an experience they will never forget," says Kristyn and Jennifer’s coach Shirley Brown.

These three skaters’ test accomplishments in Skate Canada’s STARSkate program include Gold Free Skate, Gold Skating Skills, Gold Interpretive, and Junior Silver Dance for Jennifer Coates; Gold Free Skate, Gold Skating Skills, Gold Interpretive, and Junior Bronze Dance for Kristyn Krause; and Gold Free Skate, Gold Skating Skills, Gold Interpretive, and Gold Dance for Mandy Kahl.

Mandy also successfully completed the Junior Competitive Singles test in the Skate Canada CompetitiveSkate program, whereas Jennifer and Kristyn passed the Novice Competitive Singles test in the same program.

"It's very exciting and rewarding to have an athlete, that you have trained, achieve success.  Mandy is already an accomplished amateur skater, having achieved Gold Test status in all four disciplines of skating: Freeskate, Skating Skills, Dance and Interpretive Skating and the Junior Competitive Singles test,” says Mandy’s coach Stacy Geddes.  “Skating in an ice show is not only a great skating experience but a great life experience as well.  Mandy has worked hard, to get accepted into the show, she has spent many hours at the rink with me and Shauna Vos, her choreographer, to prepare. Shauna and I are both very proud of her accomplishments and know that she will do well as a professional skater."

Skate Canada congratulates Jennifer, Kristyn and Mandy and wishes them the best of luck and great success.