HAMILTON, Ont. - McMaster's figure skaters will head to St. Catharines tomorrow for the 2024 OUA Championships. The tournament will last two days and features skaters from 10 schools across the province.
Coming off of an impressive third place finish at the Brock Invitational tournament in December, the team is excited to prove themselves once again and add to their hardware. Hopefully, they will be able to reach the podium this year, having fallen just short of it at last year's OUA Championships when they finished in fourth place.
The tournament will feature the Brock Badgers, who are hosting the tournament, Carleton Ravens, Guelph Gryphons, McMaster Marauders, Queen's Gaels, Toronto Varsity Blues, TMU Bold, Waterloo Warriors, Western Mustangs, and York Lions.
ATHLETES TO WATCH
Lily Carbray is a second year Kinesiology student who has had a passion for figure skating since she was just 4 years old. She is considered a "triple threat" as she competes in freeskate, dance, and synchro. Lily is looking forward to her second OUA Championship, hoping to capture a medal in the "Freeskate Fours" event for the second year in a row. She also wants to score a personal best with her rookie partner,
Logan French, in Star 10 Couple Dance. Aside from skating, Lily keeps involved in extracurriculars such as being a welcome week rep, being part of the Arts and Communication Executive Committee, and volunteering for the stem cell club.
Alistair Lam is a Hamilton native in his third year of Kinesiology. The 2019 Skate Canada Challenge Junior Gold Medalist became the first skater to land a triple axel in OUA history at the fall invitational. This will be his third OUA Championship and he once again has his eye on the gold medal for the "Gold Men" event, which he is undefeated in. Alistair has also set an ambitious goal to score 100 points in the event. Along with his studies, he teaches strength and cardio at the Pulse Fitness Centre and coaches skaters of all skill levels.
MORE TEAM STORYLINES
This season, the team finished third overall at the fall invitational hosted by the Brock Badgers. They racked up two gold medals in Gold Men's and Senior Pair, a silver in Gold Artistic, and a bronze in Gold Women. They are hungry to succeed in tomorrow's tournament, as well.
Taking on her first ever OUA Championship this year is rookie
Amanda Tobin. The 2023 Sectional Champion and Skate Canada Challenge silver medalist is gunning for a gold medal in the Gold Women event. She may win the team yet another medal this season.
Rian Cocchetto, the co-captain of the team, shared her thoughts on how eager and resilient the team is. "This OUAs should be exciting. We have a good chance at medalling if we perform like we've been practising. It's been a little bit of a rocky road with injuries this season, but the team has been working hard and alternates have stepped up to the challenge, so I couldn't be prouder of my teammates. We also have a strong set of rookies this year that are making an excellent contribution so I'm looking forward to it."
Best of luck to our skaters as they hit the ice tomorrow!
