Lethbridge Skating Club hosts the 25th Annual Chinook Open

In March of 2019, the Lethbridge Skating Club hosted the 25th annual Chinook Open.

Chinook Open is a figure skating competition sanctioned by Skate Canada Alberta NWT/Nunavut. This 3-day event is held each season, and typically attracts approximately 700 athletes from across the province and into BC, and sometimes farther. Chinook Open is the 'South Region STARSkate Invitational'.

The event is managed by a dedicated team of volunteers comprised mainly by the Lethbridge Skating Club Board of Directors with the technical direction of a volunteer official. This team is assisted each year by volunteer parents and skaters, as well as officials that come from all over Alberta. Well over 1000 volunteer hours are dedicated each year to make this event a success. Skaters, parents, and officials often comment on how Chinook Open is an event they look forward to each season.

In 2019 the club was excited to host the 25th Anniversary edition of Chinook Open, and look forward to hosting many more Chinook Open's in the future. To celebrate 25 years the competition included commemorative shirts and keepsake athlete accreditation badges as well as custom medals to recognize the milestone.

The Lethbridge Skating Club has been teaching Lethbridge residents to skate since 1939. With approximately 500 members annually, and growing, the club offers programs for skaters of all ages and stages, including Canskate, STARSkate, Synchronized Skating, Adultskate, Canpowerskate, and Inclusive/Special Olympic programming. The club is run by a volunteer board of directors and makes its home in the ATB Centre located in West Lethbridge, running programs out of Civic Centre, Nicholas Sheran, and ATB Centre.