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 Karen Morin won 16th in her
category at the American Adult
Figure Skaters Association National
Competition this spring in
Lake Placid, NY. Now some folks
would say that’s not all that great.
But, wait a darn minute!
Karen’s story is quite outstanding.
Born near Kingsey Falls, growing up on
her parents, Vin and Carol Morin’s dairy
farm, determination and hard work were the
order of the day, attributes that would serve
their daughter Karen well. “She would
watch any ‘dance’ or figure skating competitions
on television and from an early age,
dancing was her dream,” her mother recalled
during a telephone conversation recently.“So, when she was 10-years-old, off
we went to enroll at the ‘dance’ school.”
“Well, you can imagine her disappointment
when they couldn’t accept her. The
classes were filled and there was no room.”
But disappointment was replaced by determination
and Karen was soon wobbling
on to the ice, a new member of the local figure
skating club where, until graduation
from high school, you could find this persistent
youngster five days a week, taking a
lesson one day, practising the next, another
lesson the following day and more practice.
“Oh yes, I remember those days very
well. I would make her a sandwich, pack up
her skating clothes and skates, pick her up
at school and while we drove to the arena,
she would gobble up the sandwich, change
her clothes and get her skates on and laced
up by the time we were at the arena door,”
Carol Morin reminisced.
Karen skated through the different levels
of required figures with ease, her future
seemed assured as either a professional
skater or teacher.
But destiny, at least during those years of
postgraduate study in Quebec and Ottawa,
would intervene, seemingly putting an end
to any future on the silver blades. A serious
car accident while she was studying in Quebec
left Karen with a hip injury that brought
her skating career to a crashing end.
Or so it seemed. For Karen, studying in
Ottawa opened a new world. She met her
future husband there and dreams of spotlights
on that oval of ice began to fade, that
is until a transfer to Wisconsin, and raising
a family brought all those memories back.
Karen takes up the tale. “Robyn decided
she would like to join the club here. Well,
you can almost know what comes next. My
daughter began skating, I offered to help,
was back on my skates, some very adept
figure-skaters in my age group saw me and
the rest is history.”
But would her old injury prevent getting
back in shape? “I began to re-learn the spins
and jumps I remembered. Someone suggested
I should consider competing in the
adult figure-skating events and that meant a
rigorous re-conditioning program, medical
checks on my hip, and uncounted hours of
practice.”
To qualify in the pre-bronze category,
Karen once again faced the challenge of
perfect spins, single and double jumps, the
lutz and the axel. “I had to work up a program
that lasted exactly two minutes and
ten seconds.”
“Well I made it through pre-bronze in
2005, moved into the bronze category, and
this year was in the silver level and came
16th - pretty marvelous when I look back,”
Morin admitted. At the Lake Placid event,
over 500 competitors presented 850 programs.
Of course, she’s not stopping now.
There’s a gold and master level beckoning
and Karen is working hard to meet that
challenge head on with yoga, weight-lifting
and conditioning during two-hour sessions
four or five days a week. Spending time
with husband Robert Bernier, teaching six
youngsters at the local club, this 37-yearold
mother of two, Robyn and Kurtis, is left
with little time to spare. “You have to be focused
and willing to work hard,” she admits.
But the family and my own instructors
are so supportive; it’s a great help.
And my hip? Well it turned out that it
wasn’t the hip causing the pain, it was a
damaged disc and with the treatments they
have prescribed, it’s much better. It doesn’t
hurt as much and I’m able to do those spins
and jumps. And by the way, one of the top
adult figure skaters in the association is my
best friend and she’s a very energetic and
in-shape 50-year-old. Now that’s incentive.”
Karen and her family live in Stoughton,
Wisconsin, USA.
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Volunteers
rally to restore Weir Beach shoreline
BY SAMANTHA MORLEY
 Sometime you have to get “down
and dirty” in order to lead by example.
On Saturday and Sunday
June 14 and 15, 32 dedicated volunteers
from Memphremagog Conservation
Inc dug, planted, shoveled,
watered, and sweat as the shoreline of
Weir Beach in Ogden was transformed
into not just a view of the lake, but one
with a touch of natural beauty.
While it threatened rain all weekend,
Mother Nature decided to recognize the
helping hand being offered to her, and cooperated
weather-wise. In total, 600 shrubs
and 130 perennials were planted along 110
metres of shoreline, in addition to a fence
along the 100 metres of the perimeter of a
tributary stream feeding into the lake at the
site.
The project, led by biologists from
Natur’Eau-Lac, was the second phase of the
Weir Beach renaturalization, helping both
protect the health of the lake, and provide
an example on how renaturalization can be
beautiful. With new laws in place enforcing
the renaturalization of shoreline properties,
the Weir Beach demonstrates to those in
doubt that a well-planned shoreline can be
both renaturalized and provide a “green
window” view of the lake beyond. The finished
product, that all are invited to visit,
was made possible by a contribution of
$11,500 from MCI and $8,500 provided by
the MRC of Memphremagog’s Pacte Rural
program.
A common question asked this summer
season is, why renaturalize grassy lakefront
lawns, that have existed for years? Premature
aging of Lake Memphremagog, among
many lakes through Quebec, is partially the
result of the transportation of sediments and
nutrients into the lake through the artificialization
of the shorelines of both lakes and
the rivers feeding the lake. Artificial lawns
that have taken the place of natural vegetation
on many properties, open the lake to increased
shoreline erosion. In addition,
shorelines, as the last barrier before the
water, act as a buffer zone, acting as a filter
to runoff and the nutrient and sediment load
it carries, absorbing, and lessening its impact
on the health of the lake.
The new rules concerning the shoreline
do not mean, however, that you have to
plant a line of tall trees on the shore, blocking
your view of the lake, nor does it mean
that you have to plant a garden that requires
tremendous upkeep. The idea of a green
window, framing a clear view of the lake
with natural beauty of all heights, shapes,
and colors, is something to think about. In a
continually changing society, it’s time to decide
which is preferable and what we value
as being beautiful: a clear view of a sick,
polluted lake, or a quiet spot in nature,
peeking out onto a beautiful blue, healthy
lake?
Memphremagog Conservation invites
everyone to view the Weir Beach site in
Ogden, serving as an example of the beauty
of a renaturalized shoreline, in addition to
demonstrating the dedication of those involved
with the project.
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