Thanks to funding from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, newcomers to the Pembina Valley are getting the equipment and guidance they need to learn how to skate this fall.
Twelve youth were on the ice for the third of five training sessions at the Meridian Exhibition Centre in Winkler Friday morning. Similar sessions are taking place in Morden and Altona as well.
“The kids here all received brand new skates and brand new helmets they get to keep,” says Aubrey Krahn, a staffer with Regional Connections Immigrant Services’ Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program. “We have kids from Afghanistan, Nigeria, Ukraine … most of them hadn’t really ever skated before, so it’s all very new to them.”
Learn to skate sessions have run in Altona a number of times now, but this is a first for both the Winkler and Morden SWIS programs.
“We’re always trying to get the kids out learning something new and having new experiences,” says Krahn. “And skating and hockey for our culture and our community is such a big thing.
“The fact they get to keep the skates and helmets afterwards is great; in the wintertime we can show them where some of our outdoor skating rinks are or we can bring them here to the arena.
“It’s a good way to build community connections and learn a new skill.”
Twenty-year-old Syrian immigrant Mohamad Ibrahim was feeling pretty good about his on-ice footwork last week.
“It’s my first time on the ice and I’m still learning,” translated SWIS worker Ani Manukyan.
“It’s not too hard to learn, but it will take time to practice it.”
Ibrahim says he jumped at the chance to be part of this program because skating is such a quintessentially Canadian hobby.
“I like other kinds of sports, like basketball and football, but in Canada this is the most popular so I thought maybe I should start learning it.”
He’s looking forward to being comfortable enough on skates to give hockey a try sometime in the future.
Twelve-year-old Vasim Abdullah, also from Syria, had tried skating before and it certainly showed: he was the only student zipping around on the ice without a chair for balance.
He says he’s enjoyed honing his skills and helping out the other kids.
“He likes it a lot,” translated Manukyan.
Fellow Syrian immigrant Ibrahim Ibrahim, 15, shared that he’s very much been enjoying learning to skate, but it’s also been a challenge.
“It’s icy and you are falling to the ground a lot,” he said.
Mariia Radchenko was out on the ice with her husband, Viacheslav, and their twin five-year-olds, Yeva and Vira. The family recently moved here from Ukraine.
Speaking through Manukyan, Radchenko said they knew they wanted their kids to try skating soon after they arrived here.
“You can’t live in Canada and not practice skating,” she said. “And we knew for sure that Winkler is [big into] hockey.”
Her girls have very much enjoyed the lessons.
“They’re getting better and better at it.”
Krahn says they hope to get more newcomer children out on the ice in the months ahead, but could use the community’s help to make that happen.
“If anybody has skates or helmets that they’re not using, feel free to reach out to your local Regional Connections, because we can definitely make use of them.”
Photo by Ashleigh Viveiros/Voice
