Camrose Spiral to attend World Skipping Championships

Myles Bogstie will be wearing Team Canada colours at the World Skipping Championships in Tampa, Florida, this August.

The 18-year-old member of the Camrose Spirals qualified for the championships' masters and team competitions with strong performances at the Canadian Skipping Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, May 18-20.

Bogstie was one of seven members of the Camrose Spirals to attend the event.

"As an individual he competed as a member of the Spirals but his team was one from Quebec," said Camrose Spirals coach/manager Janine Carroll.

The championships were so important to Bogstie that he missed his High School graduation at Bawlf in order to attend.

"It was his only chance to qualify for the world's," said Carroll.

Bogstie will be flying to Montreal once school is out to join his Quebec teammates in preparation for the world championships, just as he did over the Easter break in preparation for the Canadian.

"He'll be staying with the families of the Quebec skippers, at least two of whom speak English," said Carroll.

The world skipping championships are held once every two years for athletes who are 15 years of age and over. This year's event is expected to draw more than 1,000 athletes from 25 to 30 countries, including 95 from Canada.

"Skipping isn't an Olympic sport so the world championships is the pinnacle," explained Carroll. "To attend and have success at the world's you need to train about 30 hours per week, a time commitment that is similar to the Olympians. For those who have made it to this level it is a full-time job."

Bogstie was happy that his overall score in the masters' competition in Moncton tied him with the athlete who was a six-time Canadian champion, but knows he will be up against some formidable opponents at the world's, some of whom could be three years older than he. Two of the attributes on which he will be counting are a highly competitive nature and willingness to do whatever it takes to win.

"He joined our club when he was in Grade 9, which is testament to the fact that you don't have to start in the sport when you are six years of age to become an elite athlete," said Carroll. "He has worked very hard and is very passionate about the sport. He is skipping all the time."

Bogstie's opportunity to compete with the Quebec team for a spot in the world championship came out of a long-standing relationship between that team and the Camrose Spirals.

"We had an exchange with that team seven or eight years ago and the connection has continued to this day," explained Carroll.

While Bogstie was happy with his own success at the Canadian, he was also thrilled with the success of Camrose Spirals teammates Olivia Mah, Tashina Bogstie, Brock Proctor, Taytem Syrnyk and Kaleigh Taschuk, who won the gold medal in the 15-17 mixed category. The team competed in four speed events – two of which were single rope and two of which were double dutch; and four freestyle events – two of which were single rope and two of which were double dutch.

"It was the first year that all of them have been together, but three have been together for several years," said Carroll.

The team has hopes of being able to qualify for the world championships in another two years' time.

"They could have gone to the secondary competition at world's but decided to wait until they could compete at the full championship level," said Carroll. "It might have been just as well because if they had gone to the world's this year they would have been looking at another two to three months commitment to the sport."

The other member of the Camrose Spirals to attend the championship was Vanessa Cha, who placed 15th in the 10-11 age group.

"She has a lot of drive and is very competitive, so we expect she will be an important member of the Spirals as we go forward," said Carroll.

The Camrose Moose Lodge will be holding a steak fry at the Moose Hall from 5:30 to 7:00 June 20 to raise funds that will support Bogstie in his travels to the world championships.

"It is going to be a great opportunity to meet Myles before he leaves for Quebec and wish him luck," said Carroll.