|
Andy Wilson was born in North Battleford,
took an early interest in skating and formed a North Battleford pairs
with Ethel Aird, with whom he would skate in the major carnivals in
Regina and Saskatoon in the late 1940s.
He enjoyed the competitive nature of the
sport and, in 1950 he became the president of the North Battleford
Skating Club. He turned professional in 1953 and coached skating until
1974.
Andy was
awarded his first judges card in 1946 and, when he moved to Saskatoon in
1958, most of his work was done in the development of skating clubs and
introducing national skating tests to all clubs.
Andy decided that if
competitors were going to get better, summer schools were a necessity
and started the first in 1965, continuing them until 1978 when he turned
over sponsorship to the Saskatoon Figure Skating Club. In Saskatoon, he
was instrumental in amalgamating the Saskatoon Figure Skating Club and
the Hub City Club into the ACT Club in May 1977.
A proud moment was the
development of the ACT Skating rink, located in Sutherland and opened in
1978. He was the club's manager the first three years. Figure skating has become much richer because of his involvement as a
competitor, coach, clinician, judge and a volunteer. |