We are pleased to introduce our next Skate Ontario Member Spotlight: Kenora Skating Academy!

Located in beautiful Kenora, Ontario, this wonderful skating school offers a variety of programming for skaters of every age, and is currently home to skaters ranging from the Pre-Can to Gold levels.

The Kenora Skating Academy is run by RoxAnne Daignault and a stellar team of hard working coaches and program assistants. Originally the Kenora Skating Club, in June of 2019 it was decided by the Board of Directors that the organization would become a skating school as of May 1, 2020.

Seeing as it was the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and many rinks across the province were closed, RoxAnne had to get creative on how to get this new school up and running. “I panicked a bit, as our small community had no idea when we would put ice back in our arenas….What I decided to do was to put a 2000 square foot synthetic rink in our community to help keep kids skating. We had small numbers on the ice and were able to keep figure skaters as well as hockey players doing some sort of training until things could return to normal.”

Since then, thanks to their determination to keep their skaters on the ice, the school has seen great success in many avenues – with numerous skaters passing gold tests in multiple disciplines and competing at events across the province – including three skaters who placed in the top 20 at the 2025 Skate Ontario Provincial Championships!

Kenora Skating Academy has also been incredibly successful in their implementation of both the CanSkate and STAR 1-5 Excellence programs, and has received the Exceeded Standard and Engaged Standard designations in these programs, respectively. According to RoxAnne, “when Skate Ontario introduced the CanSkate Excellence program, we were one of the first at that time to register. I have found that the outlines and all the resources provided were an excellent way to coordinate and organize the program so that it remained consistent from year to year. Letting the public know that you are a CanSkate Excellence program also informs them that the programs they are signing up for meet a standard. I was also excited to see the Star 1-5 become the next step, and we are looking forward to our next steps with this program.”

Each year the Kenora Skating Academy puts on an ice show. This event receives significant support from the community as both sponsors and as spectators. According to RoxAnne, this event is made possible by the support and collaboration of the school’s coaches. “We act as a team and work as a team…I have an incredible group of coaches that I have the pleasure of working with each day. They all bring their strengths to the ice and it helps our school work as a cohesive unit, which is wonderful when putting a show together.”

This team work contributes to the success of not just the ice show, but the day-to-day operations of the school as well. Team work, inclusion and safety are all among the core values of the Kenora Skating Academy. “Working as a team means no one is left out,” RoxAnne says. “Having lived experience parenting my own child with a mental illness has changed the way I coach and my approach to making a safe and inclusive environment. Sometimes we may need to do things a little different to accommodate some skaters and that is OK, as long as everyone gets what they need to be able to participate in our sport.”

When asked what makes her the most proud to be a part of the Kenora Skating Academy, RoxAnne told Skate Ontario, “Kenora is my home town and I have been walking into the Kenora arena for 53 years now. I spent time coaching with other clubs over the years but have always returned to my home club. The Kenora Skating Academy (and when it was a club) has always been my safe space. I want to create that safe space for all that pass through our Academy. When our skaters graduate and leave for post secondary education it is always a sad moment for our Academy, so watching some come back to skate on reading week and summer breaks and those that have come back to help coach over the years has made me proud to know that this is their second home and safe space.”

We are thrilled to profile this wonderful organization this month. Thank you, Kenora Skating Academy, for sharing your story with us!