Eight athletes from the Richmond-based Connaught Skating Club will be heading to Winnipeg for a spot at next week’s national championships.

Melody Zhu and Gabriel Blumenthal are two of eight skaters from Connaught competing in the Skate Canada Challenge which will run from November 30 to December 3.

Zhu, who recently joined the Richmond club, said she struggled last year but is excited to get back on the ice to compete in the senior women’s category this year.

“This year, I can really find myself and I think I’m better prepared for this upcoming competition,” Zhu said, adding that he had a lot of “mental and physical struggles in the past year.

“I hope to really show that I’m capable in a long program. I just work on my solo every day. I’m not going to give up and looking forward to the competition.”

Meanwhile, Blumenthal who also recently joined the club will be competing on the men’s senior team in the Skate Canada Challenge.

Blumenthal told the Richmond News he was feeling good and confident from his training after making the switch to the Richmond club.

“I have a higher jump now compared to last year. This year is a new club, new kit and not everything so I definitely have a lot of new skills to show off this year compared to last year,” he said.

“This is the first national level competition this season, so it’s quite interesting.”

Connaught Skating Club trainer, Keegan Murphy, said the athletes competing were “peaking at the right time” for the competition, and he believed they all had what it takes to qualify for the Canadian championships as long as they “just do the way they train every day.”

The athletes participating in Skate Canada are as follows:

• David Li – Junior male
• Neo Tran – The junior male
• Angelina Guan – Junior woman
• Ellie Cheung – Junior female
• Melody Zhu – Senior woman
• Amy Shao Ning Yang – Senior woman
• Gabriel Blumenthal – Senior man
• Wesley Chiu – Senior male