Skating Career;
I actually started skating at the age of 4 and didn’t like it, so I stopped and tried other things. Then decided to start back at skating at the age of 9 at the Langton Skating Club, and never looked back. I obtained my gold dance level, my senior silver Freeskate, and 4th figure. Freeskate was my favourite discipline in skating, and I competed in many competitions around Ontario, even New York State once. I skated about 4 days a week, training out of Simcoe and Langton. Once I started college, I switched over to synchronized skating for the Delhi Skating Club Senior Team where we went to the Canadian Championships in Calgary and placed 10th in Canada overall. As life got busy…marriage, kids, work, etc. I joined the adult synchronized skating team out of Langton, and we accomplished many medals in competition, and we had a lot of fun. I also started the process of obtaining my coaching certificates during this time of my life.
Professional Accomplishments;
I attended Fanshawe College in London, and earned a diploma in Science Lab Technology, and worked that field for quite a few years until children came along in the year 2000. After having my son Owen and my daughter Abby, I obtained a contract job with Norfolk County in 2004 in the Building Division. I’ve been working with Norfolk County ever since that time and I am very involved in the Planning and Development of our beautiful County as the Zoning Administrator for Norfolk County. I have been coaching since 2006. Over this time I have obtained my CanSkate Certification, CanPower certification, and my Regional Coaching Certification. I maintain to be a coach in good standing and keep up to date on all technical aspects of this ever changing sport. I enjoy competition and taking my students to compete.
When not at the arena;
I’m an outdoors person, and stay very active. I work full time and I am a single mom. In the summer I like to garden and always be outside. I have friends that I golf with, kayak, with and I am an avid mountain biker, and a part of the L.O.S.T girls turkey point mountain bike club. With my kids (now older) are away at University and starting exciting lives of their own. My daughter was a competitive figure skater, and my son played hockey all through minor hockey years as well.
TANIA GHESQUIERE
Skating Career
I started my skating career at age 4. I achieved my gold dance, Star 8 skills, and star 6 freeskate. I also skated synchro
for a few years in my younger years. As adult I came back and started skating synchro again for a few years. This is
when I decided to start coaching and have enjoyed every minute. This year I also returned to synchro to the new
Norfolk team Ice Crystals.
Professional Accomplishments
I worked at London Health Science for the past 24 years as an x-ray technologist in general radiology and now the
last past 5 years in interventional radiology. I started coaching in 2010. In this time I have achieved my canskate
cerification, canpower cerification and my regional coach certification. When I am not at the arena, I enjoy spending
time with family and friends.
MICHELLE BURGER
Skating Career;
I was one of the first members of the Langton Skating Club when the arena was established in 1971. I was 2 years of age when I began my skating career. I have been on skates for over 50 years practically as long as I have been walking. After my first year of skating my mom and coach decided to pair my brother Alan and I up to skate dance pairs. We skated and competed dance pairs for a number of years until Alan went on to continue with his hockey career. I also competed in singles and synchro (precision) teams throughout my skating career. I have accomplished my gold dance level and gold skills level. While coaching I continued skating and passed my 4, 5, 6th figure tests. I reached my Junior Silver Free skate level before becoming a professional coach. In 1987, I began to coach at the canskate group level while finishing high school. During that time I completed my level 1 coaching status in 1988 to be able to teach private lessons in the club. Shortly after my level 1, I completed my level 2 status and am currently a Provincial level professional coach. I have taught consistently in the Langton skating club since 1987 and have enjoyed every year molding skaters into successful athletes and guiding them down the path they decided to go with their skating careers. I have organized and taught our Canskate programs from the beginning until I got more involved with skaters at the Provincial competitive level in singles and synchro. I have had great success in my career with 2 synchro teams (Crystal Visions and Crystal Dimensions) bringing home many medals representing the Langton Skating Club for more than 10 years. As years went on and life got busier, I gave up the canskate program and the synchro coaching and continued with the private lessons. I have taught both recreational and competitive skaters for over 30 years and have helped many skaters achieve their gold level accomplishments! I am so proud of each and every one of my skaters throughout the years. As well as my own two daughters, Brooke and Haley as they both are triple gold level skaters and joined me on the wall of fame in Langton Arena!
Professional Accomplishments
At the age of 18, I began my coaching career. I attended post-secondary school and achieved an administrative diploma and worked full time at the Catholic School Board for 5 years before moving on to The Children’s Aid Society in the accounting department for the next 5 years while continuing to teach skating in the evenings and on weekends. After having my daughters, and the relocation of my work I found that in order to continue to work and skate I had to leave my job and began my own independent Bookkeeping service in order to juggle both children, full time job and teach skating. In 2014, I was awarded the Western Ontario Section Club Recreational Coach of the Year. Currently, I continue to work full time as a bookkeeper as well as being involved in teaching full time with both Langton and Delhi Skating Clubs.
When not at the arena…
I enjoy golf on the off season as well as camping and boating. Most of all, I love spending time with my girls and their families as much as possible!
Favourite skaters
I would have to say my favourite skaters are all of my present and past students. I have been able to instill the confidence, thrive, and accomplishments to take with them in their future endeavours.
ALEXANDRA CASIER-SMITH
What are your coaching credentials?
Certified CanSkate Coach
Certified Regional Coach
Skating career:
I am a long time Langton Figure Skater who has come back to Norfolk County to teach everything that I have learned throughout my years of skating both recreationally and competitively. I started skating at the age of 3 and never looked back. I skated with Langton Skating Club until I was 12 and then I moved on to higher level training centres to pursue my dream as a competitive singles skater. During those years, I had the chance to work with different program choreographers, coaches and off ice trainers who helped me be able to compete within the Novice Category. In 2012, I stepped down from the competitive stream and took a chance competing in the Provincial stream where I placed and became a competitor for the Western Ontario Provincial Team – Placing 7th in all of Ontario. In 2013 I returned to my past coaches, who I now coach along side, to earn the rest of my gold tests which ended up making me a Quadruple Gold test skater – Skills, Freeskate, Interpretive & Dance. When I headed to Brock University in September of 2014, I became a member of the Varsity Figure Skating team and spent 2 years competing at the Varsity level. After I returned home from University, I was approached by a fellow coach to join an Adult Synchro team – those 5 years of skating synchro myself, has assisted in the rebuilding of Synchronized Skating in Norfolk!
As the head coach for the Ice Crystals Synchronized Skating teams, I am so excited to see this program continue to grow as each year we are building new teams!
The 2023-2024 Season is a special year for me as well as I enter my 10-year mark as a Skate Canada Coach!
What are some of your other professional accomplishments?
I am a graduate of Brock University with a Bachelors Degree in Sociology, and a graduate of Fleming College with a certificate in Children’s Mental Health. I also work as an Educational Assistant with the BHNCDSB.
When you are not at the rink what are you doing?
Outside of the Figure Skating world – I am a mom of 3 and a wife to my husband Tyler. We enjoy spending time together, whether it’s just at home relaxing or out for a visit with extended family members. However, we always find ourselves back at the rink, so when I am not at the arena for coaching, I am watching the girls continue through the CanSkate stages or watching Tyler play hockey! And I can only imagine that soon enough our son will be out on the ice too!
Michele Docker
What are some of your other professional accomplishments?
When you are not at the rink what are you doing?
Larissa Hare
Skating Career;
Growing up I started participating in various sports at a young age, baseball, soccer, dance etc. Nothing stuck until I
started skating when I was 7 And completely fell in love with the sport. Since then I’ve completed Silver Interpretive
Singles, Junior Bronze Skating Skills and Bronze Creative Dance and will continue working on my skills to complete
my tests! I’ve been a program assistant for around 10 years, I’ve gained immense knowledge and have enjoyed
teaching and watching others also become very passionate for this sport. I’ve recently completed the Skate Canada
CanSkate coaching program, I am currently a coach in-training and looking forward to sharing my knowledge and
enthusiasm with the skaters while working my way to be a fully certified CanSkate coach!
Professional Accomplishments;
I graduated with an honours diploma in Medical Aesthetics in June 2022. I was hired at Timeless MediSpa where I
work along side our medical staff.
When I am not at the arena;
I enjoy spending time with friends and family, golfing and working at the clinic!
