Terrace-born figure skater competes in Williams Lake

Aaliyah Beeton skates in the Gold Women’s Artistic category of the CNC Regionals in Williams Lake on Jan. 21. (Ruth Lloyd/Black Press Media)Aaliyah Beeton skates in the Gold Women’s Artistic category of the CNC Regionals in Williams Lake on Jan. 21. (Ruth Lloyd/Black Press Media)
Aaliyah Beeton skates in the Gold Women’s Artistic category of the CNC Regionals in Williams Lake on Jan. 21. (Ruth Lloyd/Black Press Media)Aaliyah Beeton skates in the Gold Women’s Artistic category of the CNC Regionals in Williams Lake on Jan. 21. (Ruth Lloyd/Black Press Media)
Aaliyah Beeton skates in the Gold Women’s Artistic category of the CNC Regionals in Williams Lake on Jan. 21. (Ruth Lloyd/Black Press Media)Aaliyah Beeton skates in the Gold Women’s Artistic category of the CNC Regionals in Williams Lake on Jan. 21. (Ruth Lloyd/Black Press Media)
Joletta Ratcliff, left, and her daughter Aaliyah Beeton were in Williams Lake over the weekend for the CNC Regional Figure Skating Championships. (Ruth Lloyd/Black Press Media)Joletta Ratcliff, left, and her daughter Aaliyah Beeton were in Williams Lake over the weekend for the CNC Regional Figure Skating Championships. (Ruth Lloyd/Black Press Media)

A young Nuxalk figure skater who was born and raised in Terrace competed in Williams Lake Jan. 20, 21, 22.

Aaliyah Beeton, 18 years old, was one of only a handful of Indigenous figure skaters at the competition. She finished up with a second in Star 6 Freeskate, a fourth in Gold Artistic, a first in Star 10/Gold Dance and a second in Elements 6.

Beeton has been skating since she was five and now trains and practices figure skating six times a week.

She feels proud to be one of the few First Nations figure skaters out there and she hopes to show that First Nations can do anything they want, it is just a matter of putting your heart and soul into it.

This will be her final year of competition, and she was skating four times during the north-central B.C. figure skating regionals in Williams Lake. When she spoke to Black Press Media, she had skated one of her four performances, and had done well, netting a second in her first event. She was about to go on the ice for Gold Women’s Artistic.

Beeton has not been to Bella Coola since she was a baby, and while she doesn’t remember being there, the family still has strong ties to the community.

Her great-grandmother was Dr. Margaret Siwallace, and her mom, Joletta Ratcliff, lived in Bella Coola until she was five years old.

Ratcliff’s parents left the community when her dad moved for a job, but her brother Vance Snow still lives in Bella Coola.

Beeton will also be attending events in Smithers, and Kamloops later this winter with the Kamloops competition to be televised on Skate Canada’s website.

After figure skating, Beeton is planning to attend college, apply for a nursing program.



ruth.lloyd@wltribune.com

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