(On February 24, 2025 the Goulbourn Skating Club and coach Cathy Skinner held a celebratory send-off for Katie Xu and Michael Raytchev who are Team Canada competitors at the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games being held in Turin, Italy.)
Approximately 1,500 athletes from 102 delegations are competing in an international demonstration of inclusion, acceptance, and unity in Turin, Italy. Two of those athletes are Katie Xu and Michael Raytchev of the Goulbourn Skating Club. Under the guidance of their Coach, Cathy Skinner, they have been taught the disciplines of figure skating to bring them to the world ice surface.
On February 24th, a send-off celebration was held by the Goulbourn Skating Club for Katie and Michael at the CARDELRec-Complex. It was an opportunity for parents, residents, fellow skaters and coaches to wish them all the best for their competitions in Turin.
Both Katie and Michael and their families have much to be proud of. Katie and Michael have served as ambassadors for the special needs community from the time they joined the Goulbourn Skating Club and coached by Cathy.
With autism, Katie has grown and excelled as an athlete in both figure skating and swimming, competing at both the Provincial and National levels. Joining the Goulbourn Skating Club in 2011, and under the tutelage of Cathy, she has built her confidence can say, ‘challenge accepted’ when faced with any hurdle. Katie also attends Algonquin College where she takes a computer course in App programming.
One question was asked of each athlete by the Special Olympics World Winter Games (SOWWG) personnel. What have you learned playing sports that you use in work/school/life? Katie shared, “What I learn from playing sports are working hard, not giving up and be a good team member. I’m using them in my school/college and work. At work I learn new skills from team members, work hard with co workers and help each other. At school I learn to work hard and try my best, never give up on school/college work. Study more, never giving up, be a good student, don’t make too many mistakes and work together with my classmates.”
Having started figure skating at age 9, back in 2016 at age 14, Michael Raytchev started his journey of solo figure skating and winning at every skating championship in which he competed. For his winning performances, in 2019 Michael was chosen as the sole Special Olympic male athlete for all of Ontario to compete in the Canada Winter Games. Also a swimmer, Michael swims for the Nepean Swim Club. Michael also attends Algonquin College where he is enrolled in computer program development.
When asked by the SOWWG personnel, what have you learned playing sports that you use in work/school/life? Michael kept it short, “Hard work and determination.”
Cathy Skinner has gone above and beyond to not only coach Katie and Michael to ensure they achieve their goals, but has shared the important life skills to guide these athletes and others outside of the skating world.
Coach Cathy shared with Stittsville Central, “I’m just so proud of all they have accomplished and hope they are creating wonderful memories to last a lifetime.”
Both Katie and Michael will be competing on March 12 and again on March 14 in the Pala Tazzoli Stadium, Turin, Italy. On March 12, Katie and Michael are competing individually in the Short Program (Mixed skaters) at 1:58pm EDT and again on March 14, they will be competing in the Free Skate (Mixed skaters) at 9:00am EDT.
Katie and Michael are extraordinary athletes who have practiced and competed earnestly all year to be able to take part in the 2025 World Winter Special Olympics Games – the determination and diligence they have given to their profession is beyond incredible.
Visit the https://results.specialolympics.org/world-games-turin-2025 website to follow our skaters. You can watch live coverage of the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 Figure Skating events from March 12-14, streaming on TSN+ each day at 10:00a.m. EDT. Get up-to-the-minute news updates, medal counts, interviews, and highlight videos on TSN’s official Special Olympics video hub on TSN.ca and the TSN app.
