For the first time, Glacier Skate Academy of Whitefish is sending five girls to the juvenile qualifying level of the Pacific Northwest Regional Figure Skating Championships.

Skaters attending are Sophia Burrough, Azlyn Caldwell, Muriel Mercer, Hannah Rainford and Makenna Woody.

The club is also sending Grace Elden to the preliminary non-qualifying level competition. Three girls — Shatara Boye, Sophia Elden and Mary Margaret Mercer — will compete in the pre-preliminary non-qualifying level.

The 2017 Pacific Northwest Regional Figure Skating Championships includes competitors from Washington, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska. It is held Oct. 19-23, 2016 in Wenatchee, Washington.

“We are very excited to be sending nine athletes to this year's regional championships,” said Chad Goodwin, Director at Glacier Skate Academy. “They all have been training five to six days a week and for the first time, year-round, at the Stumptown Ice Den to prepare for this competition.”

For the qualifying level and for those skaters placing in the top four, the Regional Championships is the first stop on the way to the 2017 Pacific Coast Sectional Championships in Salt Lake City. The top four at the sectional championships qualify to compete at the 2017 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas City, Missouri.

For more information about Glacier's skate programs, go to their web site glacierskateacademy.org or call Goodwin at 406-407-8226.