Successful start for Sault speed skaters

Three local speed skaters have qualified for the provincial championships and two for the Ontario Winter Games.

Audrey Steele, Chris Biocchi and Karli Lee have recorded race times that have already qualified them for the Provincial Short Track Championships in March.

Meanwhile, Lee and Biocchi have also met the requirements of age and speed to compete at the 2006 Ontario Winter Games to be held in March in Barrie.

This past weekend in Cambridge, the three members of the Sault Ste. Marie Speed Skating Club competed in the first Ontario Cup meet on the Olympic size Ice Oval at the Hespeler Arena.

The three had pre-qualified for the event, which saw each class limited to the top 15 skaters in the province, with their time standards.

Steele finished sixth overall in the pee wee class while Biocchi placed sixth overall in junior and Lee, who rebounded from skate problems on Saturday for a solid performance on Sunday, finished 11th in juvenile.

Sault Speed Skating Club coach Art Jennings notes that other skaters from the local club are very close to meeting the time standards to qualify and are continuing to work hard during weekly practices at the John Rhodes Community Centre and the McMeeken Centre.