'I have to take the chance:' P.E.I. figure skater excited to make national debut in Edmonton

When 15-year-old figure skater Brooklyn Spates started this competitive season, qualifying for nationals wasn't part of the plan.

This is her first season competing at the pre-novice level as a singles skater, and her coach, JD Gilmour, said skaters usually spend a few years learning and understanding how that level works.

"Honestly, I always thought of this competition as something so big," Spates said.

"You have to be so good to go. All the top skaters go and I never knew that I would be able to go."

Now she is.

This Charlottetown figure skater is representing P.E.I. at nationals for the first time in years

2 hours ago

Duration 2:13

Fifteen-year-old Brooklyn Spates from the Charlottetown Skating Club is making her national debut at Skate Canada Trophy in Edmonton. She is the first skater in years to represent P.E.I. at the national level. CBC's Taylor O'Brien caught up with Spates at a recent practice.

Spates, a member of the Charlottetown Skating Club, is preparing to make her national debut at Skate Canada Trophy, a national competition being held in Edmonton Feb. 6 to 9.

Dozens of up-and-coming figure skaters from across the country will compete for the gold medal in the pre-novice and novice categories in singles, dance and pairs.

"It's been one of my life-long dreams and it's awesome to kind of inspire the younger generations of skaters to work hard so they can go to something like this in the future," Spates said.

Gilmour said it's a big accomplishment for her to qualify.

"I think I'm most proud of Brooklyn just for the commitment and the hard work that she's put into it," he said.

"I really see this trip to Edmonton and this competition, as just kind of the results of what she's been doing here in practice."

Spates' mom, Jaime Stewart, said she she is very proud of her daughter and is excited to share this experience with her.

"She had a period of growth and just, kind of, in the sport but also as a person. So I'm so proud of her and I know that this is just the beginning for her."

Representing P.E.I. at the national level

Spates will be the only figure skater representing P.E.I. at Skate Canada Trophy.

According to result archives from Skate Canada, the organization that governs figure skating in the country and hosts Skate Canada Trophy, no one from Prince Edward Island has competed at nationals within the past five years.

I'm super excited to represent this Island because skating here is quite small, and then when you have someone going to a big competition like this, it really kind of promotes it.- Brooklyn Spates, P.E.I. figure skater

Spates said it's surreal to be representing the Island, and she loves giving P.E.I. the chance to have a skater go to nationals.

"It's been a while, and I'm super excited to represent this Island because skating here is quite small, and then when you have someone going to a big competition like this, it really kind of promotes it."

Each element in figure skating is worth a certain amount of points, and skaters can gain or lose points on that element depending on how well or poorly they execute it in their program.

In order to qualify for these national competitions, skaters must meet a minimum Technical Element Score in their free program that is set by Skate Canada. Spates had to score at least 22 points to qualify for Skate Canada Trophy, which she did at her first pre-novice competition in the fall.

"It's not enough to simply be the top skater from P.E.I. in the pre-novice level, which is our highest level of competitive skater here," Gilmour said. "It's a high bar and it's not enough to just be the best in a small field."

'Just have fun'

Gilmour said nationals is a step up in terms of the competition intensity and the size of the rink. So his advice for Spates is to enjoy the fact that "she's done what she has to do."

"She made it to this competition, and just to soak it in," he said.

"Instead of focusing on the event itself just enjoying the moment and reflecting on how proud she should be of herself for this accomplishment."

"I know she'll be watching other skaters, and honestly, I feel like she'll be inspired and she'll come back and really want to continue and grow more as a skater," Stewart said.

As for Spates, she said she has a couple goals she wants to achieve. The first is to meet new skaters and coaches, and see new places, like the Rocky Mountains.

When it comes to competing, she said she wants to go out and have fun.

"I'm just going to go out. I'm going to skate my best. I'm going to smile [and] make new friends."