Moriah (far right, in blue) with the pros during their final bow on October 17, 2019 (Photo courtesy Tanya Whipple)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge Special Olympian takes part in ‘Rock the Rink’ tour

Oct 19, 2019 | 8:05 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A Lethbridge teen got quite the thrill at the ENMAX Centre Thursday night.

The ‘Rock the Rink’ tour stopped by the Lethbridge venue, and 13-year-old Moriah Van’t Land was in attendance. But she wasn’t just watching the show; she was a part of it.

The tour selected a Special Olympics athlete to join the show on each stop across the country and Van’t Land earned the honour for the Lethbridge performance.

She’s been with the Lethbridge Skating Club for seven years and for the past two seasons, she’s competed in Special Olympics events. In February of this year, she took part in the Special Olympics Alberta Winter Games in Calgary, winning a gold medal.

Moriah outside of her dressing room at the ENMAX Centre on October 17, 2019 (Photo courtesy Tanya Whipple)

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This past spring, Van’t Land was awarded the Jamie Salé Special Olympics Skater Achievement Award by Skate Canada Alberta/NWT Nunavut.

The ‘Rock the Rink’ show was headlined by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and included a star-studded cast of nine of the world’s best skaters. Some included Elvis Stojko, Kaetlyn Osmond and Patrick Chan.

Van’t Land told LNN that she was so excited before performing and didn’t let nerves overcome her, even though she was performing in front of the largest crowd she’s ever skated in front of.

“Magical”, she said, describing how the experience went.

Van’t Land said her main goal is to eventually compete in Special Olympics Games at the Worlds level.

Her mother Angela said that this year, Moriah will solely be competing in Alberta.

“The Worlds – it’s a cycle like the Olympics,” she explained.

“This year is nationals, but she’s not going. We’ll just keep working towards the next four-year cycle and then she’s hoping to do provincials, nationals and worlds when the next four-year cycle comes around.”

Moriah performed in front of the largest crowd she’s ever skated in front of on Thursday night. She dazzled the crowd with a performance to ‘Give Me a 10’ from Beethoven’s Wig.

At the end of the show, she was welcomed back on to the ice and received a hug from Patrick Chan before taking a bow with the pros and skating a victory lap around the rink.

For more on the Lethbridge Skating Club, visit www.lethbridgeskating.com.