Deena Beacom has been going the extra kilometre as director of the club for the past four years. She could boast a wealth of talent, experience, and credentials if she were that sort of person. As her husband, I am happy to do so, and to attest to Deena’s extraordinary temporal and spiritual commitment to the club and its skaters.

After a very rewarding and successful competitive career highlighted by a win at the senior level for Western Canada, Deena merited principle roles for several years as a touring professional with Ice Capades. This background has given her the confidence to exercise leadership as a competitive coach and as the driving force behind the biennial sell-out ice shows at the Esquimalt Archie Browning Sports Centre.

After ten years as a competitive figure skating coach and seven years leading skaters to the national championships, she has continued to expand her knowledge of the sport by embarking on level IV national coaching certification after passing level III with distinction. Deena has also recently become a Technical Specialist under the New Judging System and thus stays on top of new developments in the way elements are assessed for difficulty in competitions. This is a very important asset in preparing skaters for these competitions.

I am very proud of Deena for her initiatives in the club as a whole and with individual skaters. She has the resolve and integrity to realize her vision. She has the wisdom and heart to bring the best out of her skaters and to help them make skating a rewarding part of their lives.

Hi. my name is Gary Beacom, and I have been coaching on and off for the past fifteen years or so. As you can see from my web site, http://www.garybeacom.com/, I also keep my own skating in shape, and I am continuing to experiment, create, and think deeply about the sport, art, and entertainment medium known as figure skating.

I am immersed in skating in more ways than one, as a performance artist, as a coach, as a national level Technical Specialist, as a skate sharpener, and as the author of a how-to book about figure skating that is scheduled for publication in early 2006. Regular daily skating and training keeps technical concepts so important for good technique fresh in my mind. It also allows me to develop movement and choreographic innovations that I share with the athletes.

Marla is a NCCP Level 3 Certified coach and has been coaching StarSkate and competitive athletes in singles, pairs and dance for 27 years. She has coached skaters at the national level in singles, pairs and dance. Marla has also had experience as a Senior competitive pairs and singles skater and was a Junior National competitor in pairs.

Marla brings a wealth of knowledge to the Racquet Club and specializes in choreography, singles, pairs and dance. She is also a Certified Dance Teacher, Certified Family Mediator, and a Certified CanPower CoachCoach.

Gail brings 27 years of coaching experience throughout various clubs in British Columbia to the Racquet Club. Teaching all levels, from beginner through competitive, toddlers to adults, she enjoys all aspects of coaching, choreography and performance.

As a competitive skater in singles, pairs and Junior dance, with a Western Canadian win in Novice Pairs, Gail has a well rounded understanding of the sport of figure skating.

Over her career she has produced and directed countless ice shows and conducted and assisted at many Field training skaters seminars on the island. Gail also was involved in the planning of and performances created for The Butchart Gardens new outdoor skating rink. Volunteering continues to be special to her and she has, and continues to, develop and organize programs and special events for different volunteer school, charity and workplace organizations.

With her youngest daughter as an actively competitive skater at Racquet Club she is extremely happy to be a part of the continuing generations of young skaters who make her home club such a special place to be and be proud of.

The Racquet Club of Victoria is pleased to welcome Matt Willis as club coach! 

Matt comes to us with 3 years of coaching experience as well as invaluable experience as a national and international competitor in ice dance.  

Matt was a 5 time provincial champion in different pairs and ice dance levels, 3 time western challenge champion in Novice ice dance plus won the silver medal in pre-novice pairs and won the Bronze medal at two North American Challenge Skates in Novice Ice dance (San Jose, California and Burnaby, BC). He has trained at some of the top Elite Athlete training centres in Canada including the BC Centre of Excellence, Centre Elite de Boucherville in Montreal and the Glencoe Club in Calgary. 

Matt’s  interests in coaching focus on artistry/choreography, edge and stroking development, ice dance, and freeskate. Matt has a keen interest in composing and arranging music which aids in music selection and choreography as well as costume design.  

His goal is to attain his NCCP level 3 status within the next 2 years.  

Matt coaches all levels of skaters including competitive dance teams.

Welcome, Matt!