Though the sun is still shining and temperatures range in the high 20's, the Weyburn Skating Club is already gearing up for a busy season.

The club has a large tournament and new additions to its program to look forward to this year.

The provincial Bank of Montreal Sectional Skating Championship will be held at the Colosseum on November 6-9, hosted by the Weyburn Skating Club.

This major event determines who will represent Canada in the national championships, according to Skating Club president Gerry Nagy, who said planning has been underway for over a year.

"It depends on the numbers of competitors that are going to be coming in, but it should be fairly large."

Changes to the club's programs this year include pre-power and CanPower skate classes. The pre-power program is an introductory level part of CanSkate and is aimed at young hockey or ringette players. It teaches basic skating skills in a power skating environment, Nagy said.

The focus of the program is to develop balance, forward and backward skating, stopping, turning and agility while in full hockey gear. The training takes place once a week as part of CanSkate sessions.

CanPower Skate is aimed at hockey or ringette players who want to sharpen their skills. This program will run from Oct. 3 until Dec. 5. Neither of these programs have been offered through the club before, Nagy noted.

The club is also bringing back Tessa Kerowatski as a CanPower, CanSkate and senior skate coach and Susan Benning as a CanSkate coach. Jesse Fidelak, Keri Hill and Cara Paicu will also travel to Weyburn to help with senior skaters. Fees for the club have also gone down from last year.

The CanPower skate clinic started on Monday and will run until Sept. 27, at which time the fall school begins.