Pre-Novice Pair Ashlyn Schmitz and Tristan Taylor skate their way to Bronze
RED DEER, AB (February 27, 2019): Team Sask is proud to announce that the Pre-Novice Pairs Skating team of Ashlyn Schmitz (Shellbrook) and Tristan Taylor (Wolesely) has earned bronze in their event at the 2019 Canada Winter Games. The pair placed third in both their Short and Long Programs to come away with Figure Skating's first medal of the Games. See full results here.
The 12-year-old Schmitz and 16-year-old Taylor both compete individually in solo disciplines, but only began skating together as a pair in May 2018 -- less than a year prior to winning a medal at the Canada Games. As Schmitz lives in Shellbrook, which is 400 km north of Regina, in order to train at a high level with Taylor she regularly makes the trip down to the Queen City, as well as spends extended periods of time living there with her grandmother and studying by correspondence. Team Sask coach Shauna Klettberg credits their success at the Games not only to the work ethic and talent of the athletes, but also to the dedication and sacrifices made by their support system, including parents, grandparents, extended family and teachers. See Ashlyn's full bio here and see Tristan's full bio here.
Athletes who compete at the Canada Games represent the country’s next generation of national, international, Olympic and Paralympic champions. Team Sask alumni and Olympic medalists Mark McMorris, Catriona Le May Doan, and Emily Clark can all count their previous Canada Games experiences as a stepping stone to the highest levels of sport, as can Paralympians Brittany Hudak, Nic Goncin and Lisa Franks.
Throughout the Games, an ongoing Team Sask medal count will be found on the Team Sask website at teamsask.ca, and live results and sport schedules will be found at https://cg2019.gems.pro. Daily content can be found on Team Sask social media: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. High-resolution photos can be available here via Jody Bailey or here via the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
The official 2019 Canada Winter Games website is located at canadagames.ca/2019.
QUOTES
"I'm extremely proud of what Ashlyn and Tristan began as in May, and what they showed today. Their growth and development has gone nothing but straight up, and I'm excited to see what the future holds." Dave Schultz, Coach
###
For more information, please contact:
Karen Lawson
Games Services & Communications Lead
Saskatchewan Games Council
(306) 529-3120 | klawson@saskgames.ca
