Brigitte Laskowski who in March competed at the first ever 2004 Adult Canadian Championships and won a Bronze medal in the Ladies Freeskate 1 40 and over category was forced to change coaches. Brigitte's former coach Coleen Matheson has decided to go into other avenues in skating and won't be coaching for the next while. Brigitte says, "I enjoyed working with Coleen but her schedule was getting to be a bit much for her and she often wasn't able to make it to the rink to coach. I wish Coleen well in her new direction. My new coach has been around for quite a while and coaches more than figure skatng. He coaches baseball as well. Karey Rudling has been coaching at Tecumseh Arena for serveral years and has brought quite a few skaters to Sectionals and some to Nationals. I can't wait to start working with Karey."
Laskowski will be competing Sunday, May 23, 2004 at the Ann Arbour Spring Skate in Ann Arbour, Michigan trying to bring Canada some hardware home, possibly Gold in US Ladies Bronze Freeskate.

She's broken an elbow, sprained a knee and tweaked an Achilles tendon but still she persists and, next March, she hopes to compete at the first-ever Skate Canada Adult National Championships in Burnaby, B.C. "I just love it," Laskowski said of her unusual middle-aged hobby. "It's basically for fun. There's not all the pressure that the elite skaters have on them at a national." In Canada, adult skating is generally limited to gliding around the ice without having to dodge other skaters but competitive adult skating has been offered in the U.S. and Britain for years.

More ice time

Now, with prompting from devotees like Laskowski, Canada will offer a national championship on an invitational basis in 2004. That means she'll be on the ice three times a week at Club Tecumseh, preparing a three-minute interpretive program and a two-minute free skate.

At a Thornhill competition earlier this year, Laskowski was third in interpretive and second in free skate and at the North American Adult Invitational held annually in Wyandotte, Mich., she was fourth in free skate and eighth in interpretive. Her most difficult element is a flip-toe combo.

Laskowski is hoping to pick up a sponsor or two to help defray the costs of travelling to British Columbia. If she's can't afford it, she'll continue to train locally.

"I'll keep skating until I can't stand anymore," she said. "I love to skate and I love to perform."

© Copyright 2003 Windsor Star

I must say, they forgot to tell the name of the Thornhill competition; Skate Canada COS Adult Spring Skate. Left out the reason why I came in 4th in FS and 8th in interpretive at the NAAI; surgery to remove ovarian cyst 4 and half months prior leaving no ab strength.

What they didn't know at interview time was that I was a week later going to enter/register to compete in Canadian Adult Nationals, Sun Parlour and North American. I won't just stay home and train.

If sponsors wish to sponsor me, Brigitte Laskowski, please email ME or write,

Brigitte Laskowski
933 Frank Ave.
Windsor, ON N8S3P4
or phone
(519) 948-3915

The above article is from Dec. 31, 2003.