Andrea takes her heritage onto the ice
By Maurice Switzer
NIPISSING FN – Andrea Goulais incorporates her First Nations heritage into her figure skating routine, as well as her skating regalia.
The medals being accumulated by the 12-year-old member of Sturgeon Falls Figure Skating Club indicate that judges like what they see..
“She started skating when she was four,” recalls Mom Chantal Vezina. “It was a fight at first – we didn’t register her. But when she was six she decided to go back. She seems shy, but she’s in her element on the ice.”
Andrea has skated competitively since she was seven when she entered a Powassan event.
“It was a half-ice routine,” she recalls. “Two girls on the ice at the same time. “I was nervous but got over it. I was on the podium with no front teeth!”
Her cool demeanour helped in Andrea’s most recent competition, her first-ever Skate Canada regional event in Sault Ste. Marie, where she brought home two silver medals despite a glitch in the sound system during her free dance routine.
“She just kept skating,” says her proud Mom, who, together with dad George Goulais forms Andrea’s cheering section. She adds that Andrea was also chosen to read the opening skaters’ oath on behalf of about 200 competitors.
“It talks about following the rules and good sportsmanship,” says Andrea.
The Sault event marked the fourth competition in which Andrea wore the buckskin-like regalia made by her Mom.
“She did all the beading, made a moccasin-like boot cover, and my auntie gave me a feather,” says Andrea, who keeps her Anishinabe culture close. She started Jingle Dress dancing at the Jocko Point pow-wow when she was barely walking at two, and has graduated to Fancy Shawl. She also sits on the PNMI (Premieres Nations, Metis, Inuit) committee at Resurrection School in nearby Sturgeon Falls, a pilot project designed to make First Nations students feel more welcome.
Coach Julie Miron suggested last summer that Andrea consider a Native theme for the two-minute interpretive portion of her routine. Called “My Ancestors’ Spirit”, it portrays movements of animals, and an Eagle taking flight, performed to Lakota drum and flute music. Her 1 ½-minute free dance solo is skated to a medley of classical music.
During the September to April figure skating season, Andrea practices four days a week for a total of six hours with private lessons from coaches Sharon Lajeunesse and Julie Miron. She also appreciates the mentoring she has received from fellow Nipissing First Nation skater Matthew Penasse, a former provincial champion who is a family friend.