Breken Brezden was just five years old when Donna Drysdale of Dauphin saw something in her.
It was Breken's first year of figure skating and Drysdale led Skate Dauphin for many years so she knows great talent when she sees it. Now 12 years later, Brezden is still living her dream on the ice as another skating season has arrived.
Breken has now begun her season in Hamilton, a city that is home to more than 780,000 people. On top of her extremely busy training schedule on and off the ice, Brezden will begin her post-secondary studies at McMaster University and she will be studying Life Sciences.
"I know it will be a big change, but as much as I'm nervous about it, I am very excited as well," said Brezden. "I still have some shopping to do for my residence and stuff. I'm excited to start the next chapter of my life."
Since first stepping on the ice at Credit Union Place with coach Drysdale, Brezden has continued to improve immensely and when she was nine, she started travelling to Virden to train with Patti Hole. Patti has more than 35 years of coaching experience and she has coached at the Olympics in the past. During this entire time, Breken continued to train with Donna in Dauphin while showing off her amazing talents in the city and across the country.
With the new skating season now here for Breken, she's looking to build off the incredible season she had last year. Winning gold medals both in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Breken stepped up her game at the national championships as she finished in the top 10 and she was less than a point away from being in the top five. An accomplishment that she is very proud of, all of Breken's success has certainly not gone unnoticed.
Skate Canada has announced its NextGen Team for the 2023-24 season. The team includes 45 skaters, 13 of which are women and only three of them are from Western Canada. When opening up her email recently, it was all smiles for Brezden and her family as she was named to the team for the season.
Skate Canada’s NextGen program was created to support the operations of Skate Canada’s high-performance development system with the purpose of ensuring athletes and coaches reach their maximum potential through various development and training opportunities.
Selected skaters and their respective coaches are provided essential support to further their athletic goals while identifying and supporting the development of the skills necessary to be competitive at a national and international level.
"I was at the bank with my mom when I first got the email and we couldn't help but celebrate," offered Brezden. "It's a really great feeling to know that all of my time, hard work, and dedication is paying off. To get this kind of opportunity is very satisfying for me. I'm happy I have the chance to continue showing what I can do."
Brezden will continue training in Hamilton for the next several days before heading to Boston for the Cranberry Cup, an event that welcomes skaters from across the globe. In the Junior Women's age group, Breken will be going up against skaters from Mexico, the United States, Argentina, Egypt, Greece, South Africa, and Chinese Taipei.
It will be the first time that Brezden goes up against international competition and she is very much looking forward to the challenge ahead of her.
"I feel pretty confident with the trajectory of my progress, even compared to last year, I am starting leaps and bounds to where I started last year and I had a successful year," said Brezden. "I'm very happy to be on the ice as much as I am, I'll continue to put everything I have into this so I can become the best skater I can."
