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World-champion on Quesnel ice
| Source: |
Quesnel Cariboo Observer |
| Date: |
April 25, 2012 |
| Author: |
Staff Writer - Quesnel Cariboo Observer |
On Kurt Browning's arrival in Quesnel, well his second arrival, he
matched the considerable energy of the welcomers with his own, wading
into the small crowd with smiles, laughter and the same near-slapstick
humour he shows on the ice.
He came, with that energy and humour to help the kids enjoy their
sport.
"My message this trip is very simple. It's to try to talk to skaters
in a way that allows them to enjoy their skating more," Browning
said.
The welcoming committee had planned for an eight o'clock arrival for
Browning. Though word went around the plane usually arrived early,
nobody knew he would be here much earlier, near four hours. He had
boarded an earlier flight and had been in town for some time before
doubling back to the airport to greet the greeting committee.
The evening was an exciting one for the Quesnel figure Skating Club
and a wonderful evening for Browning as well, who was pleased and
surprised at the welcome.
It makes the town feel a bit more familiar, Browning said.
From the high-energy welcome, to the ‘cariboo limo' (a logging truck),
a highlight of the evening, Browning had almost as good an evening as
the kids who waited for him to arrive.
The wait for the kids was longer than the half hour of fidgeting in
the airport, keeping a keen eye out for planes. For the kids, and
adults, in the figure skating club, the wait lasted more than a
year.
If you can wind back your memory to winter 2010, you may remember
seeing pennants and decorations with the Skate Canada logo pasted all
over town. You may remember early in 2011 the Quesnel Figure Skating
Club was the winner of the Skate Canada competition and that as a
prize, Kurt Browning would come to Quesnel and give a session on
figure skating to the club kids. After that it all went quiet. The
activity didn't let up, but it moved behind the scenes. Confliciting
schedules had to be adjusted. Winter is Browning's season, when he
crisscrosses the globe skating. And in summer, when figure skating
hits its lull, there's no ice on which to skate here in
Quesnel.
But all that was eventually cleared up. And for the kids it was worth
the wait.
"It's better than Christmas," figure skater, Jillian Culdwell,
said.
The faces of the kids as they skated with Browning showed their joy
through wide eyes and even wider grins.
Friday, Browning taught from twelve to seven, each session ranging
from a half to a full hour. Each session was tailored to the age and
skill level of the children. The sessions, however, were not intended
to teach so much as inspire the kids. An hour of teaching would not
make much of a difference to how the kids skate, Browning said. The
point of the sessions, regardless of age, was to get the kids to
experiment with their skating and enjoy each moment on the
ice.
"The jumps can be really hard and the competition can be really
intimidating, but as long as you enjoying your skating, that's really
the important part. I talked to them a lot about feeling the ice and
challenging themselves; doing the simple things really well and having
joy in that. I think that's important in life in a way. If you want to
get through life, it's the simple things in life we've got to enjoy,"
Browning said.
He enjoys working with the kids, and inspiring them to greater
heights.
"I've never really been interested in coaching that much. I do love
inspiring. I don't think I will ever be a coach, but I could be an
‘inspiralist'," Browning said with a smile.
And he's good at inspiring; the best coach Sharon Chow has ever
seen.
"He truly, truly has to be the most inspirational, motivational
seminar leader I've ever come across," Chow said, adding the kids
would probably remember it their whole lives.
But to do that, he needed the kids to open up and that was a job in
and of itself. He used all his considerable people skills and positive
personality to ease the kids out of theirselves. Though that backfired
a little with the younger kids.
"I think I was a little more personality than they were expecting,"
Browning said.
In fact, he had enough personality that it overflowed the rink and
kept the parents in the stands entertained.
Besides inspiring the kids, Browning also showed them some spins and
tricks close up, sometimes close enough to have the girls a little
nervous. He would twirl, jump or glide backwards, stopping just short
of an accident, at which point his audience would scatter, before
laughing nervously and gathering around once again.
After the inspiration sessions Browning moved to the Billy Barker
Hotel for autograph signings and to chat with the community at
large. The figure skating club would like to thank the Billy Barker
Hotel for hosting the event.
Then it was back to globetrotting for Browning and back to normal for
the figure skating club. Except for a brief visit Saturday before he
left. In the morning, while the kids were doing testing, Browning
dropped in and practiced triples for his program on the leisure
patch.
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