'Unfinished business' brings Trembinski back

It’s not a comeback, but it was some unfinished business.

Local speedskater Gary Trembinski skated in the Ontario Provincial Championships in Ottawa over the weekend.

His return to action proved to be a successful one as he won both the 500m and 1000m races at the three-day event in Ottawa over the weekend.

He stepped away from the sport but the provincials were an event he wanted to compete in.

“I moved to Calgary and made the national circuit so quickly that I never actually got to skate the provincial circuit (in Ontario) at all so it was a little bit of unfinished business for me to come back and do it,” Trembinski said.

He would say that this didn’t mean he was making a full-time return to the sport.

“I still consider myself retired from the sport,” Trembinski said.

Returning to a sport he was no longer training for on a regular basis wasn’t easy.

“It was definitely a wakeup call getting back on the ice,” Trembinski said. “I was on a three-week crash course to get myself ready for it after not training basically at all for the last 10 months.”

With his wins in Ottawa, Trembinski qualified to represent Ontario at the Age Class Championships, set to open on Feb. 4 in Edmonton, Alta. He hasn’t made a decision with regards to whether he will compete in the event.

Trembinski, who is currently in Hamilton attending the Ontario Real Estate College, does plan to compete in one more event, which is the Michigan State Championship later this month.