Skating coach earns provincial honours

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This article was published 05/05/2020 (2207 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

East St. Paul Skating Club coach Tanya Pilat has been recognized for her coaching excellence with a pair of honours from Sport Manitoba. Last month, Pilat was named female coach of the year and also earned the Dr. Jack Hunt Memorial Award.

Pilat’s coaching career dates back more than 30 years, to when she began serving at her hometown club in Elm Creek. At just 14, Pilat became Elm Creek’s coach and, as soon as she was eligible at 16, she began taking courses to become a professional coach.

“I have always loved working with children, and realized at an early age that my passion was not in competing but in working with other skaters,” Pilat said. “I always knew I wanted to continue my skating as a coach, helping other skaters achieve their goals and realize their potential.”

Pilat said she loves watching and working with skaters as they set and then achieve their goals. She also enjoys helping people do things they feared they could not.

“This season, I had a skater who struggled with self confidenc, (but) I have always believed in her abilities,” Pilat said. “In March, she won the STARSkate Provincial Gold medal in STAR 6.”
After 30 years, Pilat said she still has plenty of new things to learn. Over the last four years she has been helping her daughter Jade and partner Emmet Dewar learn pairs skating. While it was first done solely for fun, the duo soon found they were quite good and capable of succeeding competitively.

“They have earned spots on the Canada Winter Games team last winter (placing fourth) as well as qualifying for Skate Canada Challenge for the past two years in pre-novice pairs,” Pilat said.
Without a dinner to announce the awards, Pilat said she learned of the honours in more humble settings. When the Dr. Jack Hunt Memorial Award was announced in the morning, she was cleaning. When the female Coach of the year award was announced in the evening, she was watching a movie with her family.

“It was very different to find out like that. I was thrilled, honoured, and excited for the sport of figure skating to be recognized in this way. I work with a number of amazing coaches, and we all bring out the best in the skaters we work with. It’s not just me, but my fabulous team around me that have lead to this.”

In addition to East St. Paul, Pilat also coaches at several sites in Winnipeg and also in Arborg. She said the coronavirus pandemic quickly halted the season, just before important two-day test sessions and the much-anticipated year-end show in East St. Paul. Important fundraising events and competitions were also cancelled.

Pilat said she is working with athletes over Zoom and helping them with dry land training as they work to retain muscle memory. She also focuses on the mental aspects of performance.
“A lot of what I am doing with the skaters is also mental health checks, making sure they are staying positive, and doing what they can to develop mental training,” Pilat said.