World Junior Figure Skating Championships to kick off in Calgary this week

Junior figure skaters boost Calgary economy The junior figure skating championships this week will boost Calgary. Nicole Di Donato reports

The 2023 World Junior Figure Skating Championships kick off on Monday in Calgary at WinSport's Markin MacPhail Centre.

It's the first time Canada has hosted this competition in 15 years and the first it's ever been held in Calgary.

"I think it's a really great thing for the skating community in general. It's going to inspire a whole lot of new, young and up-and-coming skaters," said Jaime-Lyn Jackson, director of group programs at Canalta Figure Skating Club.

Sixteen-year-old Kaiya Ruiter, who trains at the Canalta Figure Skating Club, has been selected as the only Canadian to compete in the women's category at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships this year.

"I've never met anybody who has that kind of work ethic. It's really, really something to see, so it's quite exciting that she's made it this far," Jackson said.

"This is such a prestigious event, we're not going to see very many people have that opportunity."

In January, Ruiter competed in the senior women's category at the national championship in Oshawa, Ont. and skated away with a silver medal.

She is one of 16 athletes who will represent Canada on the world stage.

"We've got a very strong team," said Terry Sheahan, senior director of events and production services for Skate Canada.

"I know one of the local favourites will be Kaiya Ruiter, who actually lives not too far from the venue here. This is her home training venue."

In total, 200 athletes from 47 countries will compete for the title in the men's, women's, pairs and ice dance categories.

Most of the athletes are between the ages of 13 and 18.

Sheahan says this event can launch someone's career into future stardom.

"Typically, the ones that do well in the junior figure skating world championships go on to compete in senior Grand Prix circuit and senior national teams and inevitably end up at the Olympic Games," he said.

Skate Canada bid to host the competition in Calgary three years ago, Sheahan says,  as the city has been a good host for past sporting events.

"Canada always puts on fantastic events and we were very confident that what we would do here in Calgary at this venue would be something that both the International Skating Union and Skate Canada would be proud of," he said.

Local hotels are expected to get a big boost from this too.

"Just for the athletes, the skaters, coaches, management, that's over 5,000 room nights just for those who are attending," said Sol Zia, executive director of the Calgary Hotel Association.

Zia says that number nearly doubles when you count spectators, friends and family also staying here.

"Over a million dollars just in hotel rooms. That's not including food and beverage," he said, adding that Tourism Calgary expects the event to have an economic impact of over $10 million.

Zia says events like this during the quiet winter months are much needed.

"Having a busy February, a busy March really helps the whole sector out, not just hotels but restaurants, attractions, all sorts of things that are happening around the city," he said.

Official training and practice kick off on Monday morning, continuing into Tuesday.

The competition officially gets underway on Wednesday and wraps on Saturday.

Next Sunday is the final day and will feature an exhibition gala showpiece from the top skaters.

"It's a really unique opportunity to see athletes at this level here, live," Jackson said.

"It's not going to happen very often, so I strongly suggest if you're at all interested in figure skating to try and make a day to get out there and watch these athletes."

Tickets to the event are still available on Ticketmaster.