“Become involved in the sport that teaches you so many life skills – dedication, organization, time management and volunteering – and give back so others have an experience like you did.”

 

Jobs: Official, Evaluator, Technical Representative
Levels/Programs: Novice Singles, Pre-Novice Pair and Juvenile Competitive Dance (O). Gold Level in all disciplines (E). Local, Provincial and Canadian-level events (TR)

“Officiating is so rewarding, but one must not take it lightly. It takes a few years and a lot of education to become a world level official; be content to help locally or Provincially as we need so many officials to service the events in the Province.” If anyone would know the training and work, it would be Susanne Morgan; she’s been an official for 55 years (2018).

“Skating has taught me about joy, failure, excitement, teamwork, winning and losing,” says Susanne. “I love to give back to a sport that offered me so much as a skater. It is so rewarding to see the competitors who reach their goals and know I was a small part to their success.”

Susanne started skating at 10-years-old, at 16, Charles Dover encouraged her to become an official. She’s been through various jobs in the industry since then, including President of the Barrie and Mariposa Board of Directors, and being a part of both the Skate Ontario working group and the Skate Ontario Transition Committee. Throughout this, she has continued to officiate.

“The new star program is so much fun to assess. The STAR 1 skaters bring a smile to everyone’s face. It’s so nice to go to these events; there is limited tears as they know exactly how they skated not whether they came first or not.”

Susanne was inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 for her work on building the skating community in Barrie.