A Red Deer speed skater was among five athletes from Central Alberta to receive a grant for their high level of ability and a strong commitment to their sport.

17-year-old Stefanie Spicer was awarded the Athlete Development Grant for the spring of 2017, from the Red Deer Game Foundation.

Spicer captured gold in the 500 and 1000 metre race at the National Age Class Speed Skating Championships this past season and will be using the money to help pay the costs of training and equipment.

The amount of money she’ll be receiving is unknown at this time, but she says it’s a huge honour just to be recognized.

“I really appreciate being recognized for all the work and time that I’ve put into my athletics. It feels good to get something back from it,” she laughed.

Falling in love with the sport at a young age, she says the story behind it is something she’ll never forget. 

“10 years ago I was watching the World Cup Championships with my parents on TV and I just looked at them said ‘I want to do this’ so they signed me up for a tryout day and I’ve stuck with it ever since.”

Spicer will be attending the University of Calgary in the fall where she will train and compete with the Alberta High Performance Speed Skating Team.

 “I think it’s going to help me really improve, just having a higher level of skaters around me. Being in Calgary, I’m able to have ice all year-round instead of just a couple of months in the winter.”

Slalom kayaker Darius Ramrattan from Innisfail, wrestler Drew Persson from Eckville, BMXer Molly Simpson from Red Deer and fastball player Kyle Ringdahl from Delburne were also awarded with the Athlete Development Grant.