A start in skating, a future in speed – PortageOnline.com [Video]

It all began in 2016 when a young Portage resident gave hockey a shot. It didn’t quite click for him, but his love for skating remained. That’s when Joel Simpson discovered something new—speedskating. 

Simpson no longer lives in Portage, but Calgary. Still, Portage is where the journey began, as he made regular trips to Winnipeg to train in a sport that would eventually take him across the country. 

“I initially started skating in Winnipeg, so I would drive out to Winnipeg, do my practices, but I attended school in Portage,” says Simpson. “I graduated from Portage PCI. I was in my first year of hitting in hockey, and I just really did not enjoy it. I lost interest in hockey, but I still loved the skating aspect of it. I was looking into other sports that I could do, and I saw speedskating on TV — the Olympics — and …