‘Mature,’ medal-winning Okanagan figure skating team the focus of national documentary

It’s never too late to follow your dreams, and seven ladies from the Okanagan did just that.

An Okanagan-based skating team, hailing from Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country, reportedly began their endeavour as a “casual, fun exercise” that developed into an idea to participate in an international figure skating competition.

Karen Smith, a 46-year-old member of the team, suggested they move their Sunday skate up a notch and participate in an international figure skating competition at the 2018 International Skating Union (ISU) Adult Figure Skating Competition in Oberstdorf, Germany.

The seven Okanagan skaters aged 46 to 77 that form Team Okanagan are now in the spotlight a second time, having their journey captured in the CBC and Bountiful Films documentary, “To The Worlds.”

Described as a mixture of “Skate Canada” and “The Real Housewives,” the documentary films figure skaters Karen Smith (46), Isabella Ciocoiu (49), Donna Bergvinson (61), Jacqueline Parser (65), Maureen Barnes (76), Henrietta Penney (77) and narrator Wendy Ord (59).

“The brochure said for ages four and up. So, I said, well tell me where it says I can’t join,” said 59-year-old Wendy Ord.

“And the kids were like, how old are you? You’re older than my mom. I’m like, I’m older than your grandmother.”

“To The Worlds” premieres on January 18 at 9 p.m. on CBC as well as the CBC TV streaming app or online at noon the same day.

You can watch the trailer below!